How to perform DVR's

[jonlclay]

I'm new to Transformetrics and DVR's so a couple of questions.

1. How fast should you perform a DVR exercise?
2. When you say Moderate, Heavy & Very Heavy any idea how to tell which level you are working at?
3. Do you maintain tension between reps? I seem to be flexing constantly during the entire set?
4. How long should you rest between sets?

Any advice is appreciated.

Jon

[isorez]

You will get a plethora of answers from a variety of people.
If you are just starting out, isokenetically build tension in the muscles and act as if you a moving an object, of, say, 20 lbs or 30lbs. Practice the movement in both directions. Go for 10 reps. Rest and do a 2nd set...then move onto another movement. As you progress, you might want to go the advanced route, and act as if you are moving an object of grater weight by increasing this tension prportionitly.....and then with this amount of tension bbring it down to 6 reps....and, as practiced bysome, only do this movement in one direction per set.
But to answer another of your questons....yes....you are in a constant 'flex' during the entire 'rep' whether you moving in one directoin or also in the 'other' or 'negative' direction.
Go to Gregs forum, on the front page click on it, and I'm sure he can give you a lot of insight, too. I'm sure that Royce will also see you post and he will pass on his thougts. There are a number (Greg and Douglis, too) of members here that have acheived nice results by implementing DVR's/VRT or even somewhat soley relying on them for their full workout. I sprinkle them in here or there at this point. ANyway, welcome to the forum. Do some searches on some past subject to get some more ideas, too.

[gruntbrain]

Don't ignore the less "sexy" joint mobility drills where varying levels are DVR tension are applied; use full ROM moves with DVR tension for healthy joints. Once the joints are healthy you can graduate into the "sexier" applications of DVRs

[John Peterson]

Hello jon,

The more intensely you contract your muscles the slower the movement will be. It will feel as though you are moving with the 'breaks on' because in essence that is exactly what you are doing. In DVR/VRT the resistance is supplied to the active agonist muscle by it's antagonist with which it is paired. As you develop the ability to contract both agonist and antagonist muscles at various levels of intensity from very light to extremely intense you learn the art of muscle control. This in turn helps you in virtually any athletic endeavor. So to answer your questions:

1) The more intensely you contract agonist/antagonist the slower the movement will be. It will literally take as long to perform three ultra intense DVR/VRT reps as it will to perform 10 to 12 at moderate tension.

2) As you work with the method you will intuitively know the differences between ultra intense, high, moderate, and light levels tension. This is something that must be experienced. I personally recommend that you do this in front of a mirror so that you can make visual observations and be able to note to yourself, "So that's how it looks and this is how it feels to be at ultra high tension (or whatever level of tension you are working). In time you won't need the mirror at all. But then again it does make a great training accessory.

3) It's a good idea to release tension momentarily between reps in order to let the blood flow naturally. This was recommended by Alois P Swoboda and I agree with it. Although there are times that we will maintain tension while moving in both directions (forward and back, up and down).

4) How long should you rest between sets... Depends on how intensely you have contracted and how long it takes for your respiration (breathing) to normalize.

I hope my explanation helps you Jon. good to have you with us.

---John Peterson

[jonlclay]

All,

Thanks for the information, I appreciate your help. Looking forward to transforming over the next several months. Learning to visualize the mucles working together during the exercise is a lot different from what I was taught before. I can say that when performing the DVR's I feel the muscles work a lot more than when I used to lift weights. Feels like I get a better workout than before in less time. I'm very glad I discovered Transformetrics and this forum with all the great advice.

Keep on smilin!!

Jon

[gruntbrain]

If a mirror is not practical then perform DVRs with closed eyes( the mind/muscle connection seems to improve)

[douglis]

jonlclay,

Both John and isorez gave you excellent advices.
I want to inform you about a problem that many beginners of this great training method face.
Many people find it hard at the beginning to strongly contract the big muscle groups(mostly back and legs).
Back,for example, is a very big muscle group and is hard for the delts to provide the braking force although the negative movement is always stronger than the positive.
But you become stronger much quicker in the eccentric motion (antagonists contract eccentrically) so after 1-2 months of practicing you'll be able to work your back or your legs very hard.
Keep in mind also that big muscle groups need more training sets.
I strongly recommend to do a search at Greg's place and also check Royce's routines.

[Royce]

Jon writes:

I'm new to Transformetrics and DVR's so a couple of questions.

1. How fast should you perform a DVR exercise?
2. When you say Moderate, Heavy & Very Heavy any idea how to tell which level you are working at?
3. Do you maintain tension between reps? I seem to be flexing constantly during the entire set?
4. How long should you rest between sets?

Any advice is appreciated.

Royce replies.
Jon

I’m a strong believer in HIT—high intensity training. HIT provides a means for achieving maximum size and strength.

The mantra for HIT practitioners is that “ you can never train too hard, but you can train too much.” That means a particular muscle group should not be worked more than twice per week.

Each exercise should be done for one set of ten repetitions at absolute maximum tension. It should take you around eight to ten seconds to complete a repetition.

To be sure, there are variations on this theme. For instance, HIT can nicely incorporate super slow movements where a single rep, lasting anywhere from 30 to sixty seconds. And if a person is wedded to power cals, I suggest one set of as many repetitions as one can muster.

Although you can rest as long as you like between sets, I prefer to move quickly through my routine. On average, I rest around ten to thirty seconds between exercises. I have explained all of this in various routines that I have posted over the years. They have worked for many, many people.

In sum, the central theme of HIT is to build a program that features brief, intense and infrequent workouts. For some cardio effects, “high stepping” with DVR resistance works very well, along with about a half hour a day of brisk walking.