Muscle twitch and its relation to weight lifting...?

Question

a coach in my school gym was talking to me and my friend about some type of fibers and twitching when weight lifting. he said that pausing during the hardest part of the lift will use fibers or something like that and its better for gaining muscle
i didnt really understand it well so i was wondering if anyone here could explain it to me.

Answer 1

It's a kind of variation of Isometric exercise - Static Contraction Training.

"Isometric exercise or 'isometrics' are a type of strength training in which the joint angle and muscle length do not change during contraction (compared to concentric or eccentric contractions, called isotonic movements). Isometrics are done in static positions, rather than being dynamic through a range of motion. The joint and muscle are either worked against an immovable force or are held in a static position while opposed by resistance.

Isometrics was first brought to the public’s attention in the early days of physical culture, the precursor to bodybuilding. Many of the great bodybuilders of the day used and incorporated Isometrics into their training regimes. Perhaps the most famous of the Isometric advocates was Charles Atlas. In his course he advocated a series of dynamic tension exercises which included Isometrics.

Isometric approaches to exercise have seen a sudden resurgence of late due to the work of John Little and Pete Sisco, who popularized it in a system called Static Contraction Training. This involved using isometrics with measurable progression by using very heavy weights held near lockout in whatever position allows the heaviest weight, moved only about an inch to get there, and held for a length of time. This bypasses the previous limitations of isometric exercise which limited guaranteed progression due to dependance on intuition and feel for evaluating the stresses being placed on the muscles. Now, some isometric machines have been developed which provide digital readouts of the stress being placed on a bar, rather than using plateloading. This saves time, allows more gradual progression, better isolates the isometric approach as there is absolutely no movement, and also allows for lighter loads on weaker days.

Today many new training protocols exist incorporating isometrics once again. Isometric exercises are often made into parts of normal, isotonic exercises. For example, during a set of rows, some people hold their position when the handles are closest to their chest in order to "squeeze" the muscle, in an effort to further strain the muscle. Other systems dedicate themselves entirely to isometrics; among them are the aforementioned Static Contraction Training, and the Max Contraction Training developed later by John Little. MCT uses the same isometric high-weight principles, but differs in that it utilizes isolation exercises that avoid bearing load with one's bone structure, resulting in different movements for targetting the pressing musculature.

Isometric exercises have some disadvantages as compared to isotonic movements. Some exercises can be more difficult or more dangerous to perform due to the weight involved (i.e. an isometric squat). In addition, isometric training will only increase strength at the specific joint angles of the exercises performed, while isotonoc exercise increases strength throughout the full range of motion. In order to isometrically train the full range of motion, exercises must be repeated at a variety of joint angles. This is due to the neurological effects of isometric exercises on force output at specific joint angles."

My opinion is only certain movements need to have the extra squeeze and normally on the last few reps towards failure. Alternatively, try continuous tension training by which you just slow down the lifting speed to eliminate momentum. However, you should lift in a normal manner most of the time.

^_^ good luck