Thread: Theory of NMA (Neuro Muscular Activity)

Originally Posted by klosey

I have been toiling with this theory quite some time so i figured i would post it on here and see what people think.

I have been reading that the higher the level of neuro-muscular activation or stimulation, the greater the opportunity for muscle growth from the exercise.
Now i understand that the most Nuero muscular stimulation comes from the body moving through space with weight rather than just moving a weight, as the body has to encorperate stabilizer muscles aswell as an increase ...in nerve activity and muscle groups which are stimulated. Now since moving the body through space is a more natural nature for the body than stationary lifting, in theory it should have a higher adaptability in these movements aswell as hold the biggest potential for growth.
Now because of this i herby challenge the classic belief that the superior movements are :

Bench
Deadlift
Squat

but are infact
Weighted Press ups
Weighted Pull ups
Squats (the body is travelling during movement)

Obviously early on most of the learning that occurs will be neurological rather than muscular untill the body adapts to the movements.

ah the theory i have been playing with for 5 years lol. just no real proof.. i might guinea pig it after finishing my 6 weeks yates style training.. My examples are from difficultly of the movements.. look at say.. world strong men.. who practice dragging, pulling and pushing objects more than standing still with a bar.. or even Ronnie coleman able to squat 800lb but was just as knackered after doing 150kg lunges across a car park

I do think that at first the body wouldnt be able to handle this as a full body workout but in time (after CNS adaptations) you could do this 3 times a week... or split it into a rolling 4 times in 6 days.. lower/upper off lower/ upper off

Now i am aware concept wise, hypertrophy wouldnt be at its best but at the moment my current belief is this would increase the bodies growth potential by activating sumwhat otherwise dormant muscle and central nervous regions.

I would like to hear other people's thoughts on this obviously i am going to design a full workout based on highest NMA movements only, then hopefully test it out for 4-6 weeks

(yes before anyone asks this is all my own thoughts not someone's google study)

Very interesting thoughts. I would like to see your workout designs and maybe put this into practice with you too as yes i can see your point of not just hitting the muscles with weight but also getting the CNS to adapt also. I also believe that if you can stimulate the CNS as well as the muscles correctly then over time they will develop and grow in synchronicity which should yield for better overall body growth and development too as i did read somewhere that the most important muscle for producing mass is in fact the neuromuscular junction (where the nerve cell ends and the muscle cell begins)!
If you can also increase the efficiency of the transmission of impulses at this point then you can increase the power of the muscular contractions and inturn the amount of work performed in each set which would mean the more work you are able to do the bigger, stronger and fitter the body will become.

Originally Posted by mickfootie

Very interesting thoughts. I would like to see your workout designs and maybe put this into practice with you too as yes i can see your point of not just hitting the muscles with weight but also getting the CNS to adapt also. I also believe that if you can stimulate the CNS as well as the muscles correctly then over time they will develop and grow in synchronicity which should yield for better overall body growth and development too as i did read somewhere that the most important muscle for producing mass is in fact the neuromuscular junction (where the nerve cell ends and the muscle cell begins)!
If you can also increase the efficiency of the transmission of impulses at this point then you can increase the power of the muscular contractions and inturn the amount of work performed in each set which would mean the more work you are able to do the bigger, stronger and fitter the body will become.

iNow here is the first step.. i need to design a workout.. or 3 and figure out what works best.. i have a feeling fullbody may be too much.. although volume wise that could be sorted by doing a yates style 2x warm up and 1 working set routine..

So do you have a workout program structured for this for us to take a look yet? I saw this on Andy's FB page, and he seemed pretty keen to take a closer look at what may come from this style of training, which means there has to be something in this.

Originally Posted by PharmaFreak

So do you have a workout program structured for this for us to take a look yet? I saw this on Andy's FB page, and he seemed pretty keen to take a closer look at what may come from this style of training, which means there has to be something in this.

At the minute no.. i am currently listing the highest NMA activites and then going from there. some are more difficult than others doesnt seem to be a way around direct arm, calf, or shoulder isolation at the minute... Legs is easy enough

High NMA for legs

Squats
Lunges
Step ups (with weight)

also had a thought for cardio..
In theory sprinting would be a NMA cardio..so would dragging weight or running in a weighted vest..

A 'very rough' outline if full body would be something like

Weighted Press ups,
Weighted Pull Ups
Clean & jerk
Squats
Lunges

but it would cause an A-B program to allow deadlifts, step ups, weighted dips. push press.

Thats the problem i'm having at the minute

This is unreal. This is almost the routine that Ive been gravitating to myself recently instinctively. Ceetainly dragging weight is where I got to as well with cardio for maximum NMA. It's a sensible logical conclusion.

I'm struggling with a knee injury that's been persistent for sometime right now unfortunately, though I think I'm going to get the step ups and lunges in there with a little resistance and be careful on progress.

Originally Posted by physique

This is unreal. This is almost the routine that Ive been gravitating to myself recently instinctively. Ceetainly dragging weight is where I got to as well with cardio for maximum NMA. It's a sensible logical conclusion.

I'm struggling with a knee injury that's been persistent for sometime right now unfortunately, though I think I'm going to get the step ups and lunges in there with a little resistance and be careful on progress.

I think alot of people will subconciously tweak a few bits to increase NMA without actually knowing it.. like when you do say 50rep squats for fun instead of a normal set.. thats an increase.. or lunges just to see what they feel like... main problem im having is there arent that many high NMA for upper body :/ and none at all for arms :/ mind you.. could get round that by supersetting two exercises together..

You could consider using a TRX machine to increase movement through space with upper body training regimes. It would become somewhat more difficult to increase weight, but intensity could be added through time alterations?

50 rep squats - wow! There's some seriously strong guys here on this forum.

How do you build up to doing pull ups with weights. I can hardly manage to do 6 pullups with my bodyweight. I assume there some skill or strategy in place to get yourself there. Someone told me to do pulldowns until you can pulldown on the machine with your body weight. Which I have done, and can do more, yet it doesn't transcribe well to pullups. I feel cumbersome and can't do it. Any ideas what to do to improve?

What's a TRX machine??

Originally Posted by Jaime_Snow

You could consider using a TRX machine to increase movement through space with upper body training regimes. It would become somewhat more difficult to increase weight, but intensity could be added through time alterations?