I recently read an article by Jason Maxwell regarding certain elements of resistance training that combine to help you add muscle (create hypertrophy).

Thinking back to a Youtube video I watched months ago about dumbbell bench press technique and keeping the pectoral muscles under tension throughout the lift (by basically pressing the dumbbells further apart, than closer together), it sank in that perhaps muscle-under-constant-tension might be the way to go.

However, how could I relate this method to my clients or even remind myself without an active image to keep me focused? Always telling someone not to lower the weight all the way down or to move through the movement or think of it as one long movement, can get distracting, repetitive and soon enough lose its impact.

As I moved through my workouts, however, I started to see my constant movements take a specific shape. Before, I suppose, I perceived them as an up-down, stop-at-the-top stop-at-the-bottom kind of move.

But now I was starting to see a set as one long continuous movement, almost made up of one long rep or wave!

It seems that telling my clients to see/feel the movement as a wave, as one long continuous motion, challenges their stamina, their strength and most importantly, their concentration. They seem to stay focused on the task at hand and, as well, are less prone to injuring themselves at any point during the rep, and they are 100% engaged at all times.

Give it a try, it is definitely food for thought, and might be the kind of image that you or some of your clients might take.