The Compex Muscle stimulator Guinea Pig....Me!

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So as you may have read, my last post was on the Compex muscle stimulator and was all about the research but like all things, the proof is in the pudding so I have decided to be a Guinea pig!


My Training history:


Now I have performed consistent resistance training for years and realistically I haven't made any real gains for years (getting older maybe?) If anything my strength has reduced! For example, the most that I have ever deadlifted in a training set was easily 5-6 years ago and was 120kg. Currently I can only 85-90kg, so not so good, to be honest.

The Plan:


So this week I have basically incorporated the Compex into my workout. The plan is to give you feedback on everything every 2 weeks with an ultimate goal of increasing my strength in 12 weeks

Now I'm not going to measure every exercise for this blog but I will pre-select the following exercises for comparison and this is not a 1 rep max this is what I train with for each set:

Deadlift: Current weight: 90kg (including the bar at 15kg)

Seated Dumbbell shoulder press: 16.5 kg each side (including the bars at 4kg each)

Lat Pull down: 50kg

So there are my baselines and I'll update you on things every couple of weeks.

The Method:

So I am training as normal, which is basically 4 days of strength work per week.
To roughly break this down, I am doing Chest, Shoulders and Triceps on one day. I am doing Legs on another day then doing Biceps, Upper Back and Lats on another. The final day is a whole body day with one set per exercise. I change the exercises week to week in each session and alternate each week

So I am using the Hypertrophy setting on the Compex rehab 400, which achieves more muscle contraction as it targets Type I, Type IIa and Type IIb muscle fibres. I am turning the unit up to the highest intensity that I can tolerate, which is painful at times.

I am using it on Pec Major, Deltoid, Infraspinatus and Triceps in the first session. On either Quads or Hamstrings, depending on the session of legs that I am doing and always on Calves. The next session I am using it on Lats, Middle and lower Traps and Biceps and the final session I am just using it on Calves.

Here are the pad placements according to Compex:




The full contraction phase only lasts for 6.5 seconds with active relaxation for 8 seconds so I am performing my reps concentrically and eccentrically as much during the 6.5 seconds as possible but depending on the exercise I am either working in the 6.5 seconds with a few seconds in the active relaxation part and on other exercises I am going through 2 phases of contraction and 1 relaxation phase to do all my reps in that set.

Basically i'm doing between 6 to 10 reps to failure, with 3 minutes rests between sets, then i'm doing 4 sets (except the whole body day).

What are the early signs?


Well they are looking very positive. So far, what I have noticed is very interesting to say the least! When I perform the rep with the unit giving the full contraction then I can actually move the weight easier than with out it and this has already meant that I can actually train with more weight on some exercises

It is an amazing feeling! The muscle contracts extremely strongly to the point that without the opposing resistance with the weights I can't control the movement. For example, on my Calves, by the time I get to my training intensity without 170kg on the bar I would raise up but would be unable to get my heels back down without the weight pushing me back to earth.

Another example is with the Lats, basically when it's in the contraction phase I can't get my arms up to start the exercise (I can't Shoulder press my Lats!) I have to wait for the relaxation phase then get into position and take up the slack before the contraction phase starts.

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)!!!!

I haven't had much DOMS for a long time but I am getting much more now since using the Compex. Now I know that I could use the recovery setting to aid this but it's having the time to do this. I see DOMS as a good sign as this means that I am getting a better training effect especially eccentrically.

In Summary:

I have my baselines, I have my plan (and i'm sticking to it) and the early signs look very promising. The plan is to keep upping the intensity more and more and use this to essentially exceed what I can lift with it to then develop more strength without it.

I will keep you posted and we'll aim for 12 weeks to see the final results.

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