Learning all about different fiber types, motor units, the evidence for what approaches maximize hypertrophy vs strength vs power vs endurance … is interesting, but really, what you are doing is great. You have measurable increase in your muscle mass (by arm circumference). You are getting stronger. The common thread is the same whatever strength training approach you use: try to keep gradually making complete body (push pull upper body lower body all planes) progress and challenging your system with more … resistance, volume, variety … in different combinations. Respect recovery. Don’t hurt yourself.
If it was just me I would completely agree wit you. I have developed my little machine and I am contemplating selling it as a little cottage industry. It doesn’t behave like other types of resistance training devices so I would like to have a little more scientific explanation available so I would know how to recommend it’s usage. I will try and give you a good description of it’s behavior within the hour.
Ah. You think you have come up with something new and are thinking about how to market it.
You may then want to start out with some history of strength training devices! (And how they have been sold.) For your purposes you can likely start with Jack Lalanne. He came up with both resistance bands and the Smith machine. His bit was to focus on the general public training safely.
Arthur Jones’ Nautilus bit emphasized efficiency. And progressive resistance.
You may also want to understand about how devices can be isokinetic or isotonic. And about the differences between isometric, concentric, and eccentric movements as part of the program.
It sounds like HoneyBadger has made good progress. Since I find the weightlifting nitty-gritty interesting, I spend a lot of time reading the fine print. But of course, DSeid is correct. You can make anything complicated, but lifting is very simple. You just have to do it consistently, and push yourself to do harder stuff as your body adapts. If you are working hard, you should make progress.
I should have been more careful recommending minutiae, even if I think it good. The internet links are a good place to start - but I’m sure there are better examples. One might find this advice too simple. A good overview even for people who know a lot about these things is the book The Muscle Ladder, but it is slightly pricey. There are many good websites that cover the basic to intermediate level, which likely cater to your demographic.
It is worth emphasizing you do not need to take any supplements. There is interesting evidence to consider creatine, and some evidence for additional protein in some populations - but most people get enough protein in their diet. The evidence behind [whatever you think is great] tends to be modest, if there is any benefit at all.
This is what i am trying to establish now, It has some interesting characteristics about it that should appeal to a very wide range. One particular thing I like that is very different from weights is that you can be at 70% or 80% or 90% with every stroke. You don’t have to remove weights to do a burnout. I tested some of the parts today to see if they could withstand the rating I am hoping for and they passed that with flying colors. A have a couple more changes on my protype and then I plan to start posting videos with enough detail to make it almost impossible for anyone to get a patent on it. I would hopefully get one good run before I just became another competitor and I could possibly build a brand in that time frame.
You’re asking a great question that touches on how the body compensates during muscular fatigue.
Yes, when one muscle group begins to fatigue during a high-rep exercise, your body often recruits synergistic muscles, muscles that assist in performing the same movement to help share the load. This is a natural response as your nervous system tries to maintain movement efficiency and reduce the chance of failure or injury.
However, the degree of compensation depends on the specific exercise, form, and the muscle groups involved. For example, if you’re doing push-ups and your triceps fatigue before your chest, your shoulders might begin to contribute more. Over time, this can subtly shift the mechanics of the movement.
That said, compensation isn’t always perfect or sustainable. As fatigue builds, form often degrades, and the risk of strain or injury can increase if the supporting muscles aren’t strong enough or if you’re pushing too far past fatigue.
If you’re noticing consistent form breakdown or discomfort in certain areas, it may be worth:
• Adjusting your rep range (e.g., 20–30 instead of 40)
• Including more rest between sets
• Adding targeted strength training for weaker muscle groups
One interesting feature it has not unique to pulling but somewhat unique to pushing is that all the movements are done while sitting. So I f I am doing a push pull to the middle of my chest and start to fatigue can switch it up to pulling to my chin or my belly button without even stopping. This is one of my favorite features.
Have you compared to what is out there in pneumatic and hydraulic variable resistance systems? There are also some high tech ones available like Tonal and Virtuvian but those are more cable based.
Several expired patents that never made it to market. They had similarities but lacked the key components. The pneumatic requires an air compressor and is far more expensive. It probably has a similar feel but still a completely different animal with a huge difference in cost. They all lack the flexibility. I have had a bad back for years and it is hard for me to lay on a bench so I designed all from the sitting position if you choose.
Just walking for the legs and a few deep knee bends while holding on to a chair. I had a little surprise when it comes to the core, If I don’t lean against the back of the seat while doing the bench it works my stomach and on the pull stroke works my back. The core has to take the place of a support. Not sure how intense it is but the muscles are nice and tight when finished. My stomach muscles are feeling rock hard when I flex them but I am too fat for a six pack. I don’t think it works the obliques, I am working on that as we speak. Going to try sitting in the chair sideways for the push pulls and see if that engages them. One side and then the other.
I want to highlight this statement. Many of us like that slight sore feeling and there is nothing wrong with it. But it really is not required. Damage is not the requisite stimulus for growth.
I really like The Muscle Ladder book quoted above. It is a good choice for beginning and intermediate lifters, and even advanced lifters will learn something. (Don’t quite know why the hardcover is so pricey, but Kindle is more reasonable.)
Soreness does correlate poorly with benefit. And it is rarely necessary to “train to failure”. However, since muscles get stronger u by repairing the microscopic strains induced by exercise, some muscle breakdown necessarily occurs and is desirable. However this need not be painful.
For me, I could work my back and traps all day. Working a new exercise with intensity might make me sore, and it is inportant to differentiate soreness from injury, which should prompt one to stop that exercise and test that muscle for days to weeks. My hamstrings get sore with heavy stimulus.
Training to failure is something I need to assess. You never hit failure on my machine because it has no weight or counterforce. I can just keep pushing it all the way down to less than 1#. What I can control is the effort I apply which doesn’t correlate with the force. I feel like I am doing about 75 to 80% on every stroke but I really have no way of knowing for sure. I am puzzled as to why the flexed stiff feeling seems to increase for several days after a workout before it starts to subside. On the 4 day it seems to start subsiding.
That’s good. Preserving or even increasing lower body strength is important too.