Do you think that to achieve a stronger and healthier physique you simply need to keep lifting more and more weight every time? According to Sebastián La Rosa, a longevity and exercise expert, this is a common mistake found in gyms. The expert insists that good muscular development requires a careful technique, as well as a sound understanding of the biomechanics of the body. ‘The secret to increasing muscle mass isn’t merely lifting more weight, but doing it better,’ he says in a video on social media. A philosophy that proposes a paradigm shift for lasting results.
According to the expert, the problem for many athletes is that, by focusing exclusively on lifting the weight explosively and quickly, they are wasting a large portion of the potential of their daily routine. Thus La Rosa warns that ‘if you only focus on lifting the weight quickly, you are training barely a third of the movement.’ To correct this technique error, he considers it essential to break down each repetition into its fundamental components, since ‘each repetition has three phases’ that should be trained with the same intensity.
The three phases of the movement
The expert explains that these phases are the concentric, the isometric, and the eccentric:
- The concentric phase occurs “when we lift the weight, when we shorten the muscle”.
- The isometric phase “has to do with holding the weight in place” without any movement.
- Finally, the eccentric phase happens “when, generally, we relax the muscle and lower the weight”.
For La Rosa, “it is not enough to train hard: you must work all three phases of the movement” if you seek real growth.
El entrenamiento superlento
To maximise the effectiveness of these stages, the expert proposes a specific method known as super-slow training. The main aim of this technique is to prolong the stimulus on the muscle fibres. To achieve this, he recommends applying the so-called “5/5 rule”, which involves “5 seconds lifting the weight in the concentric phase and 5 seconds relaxing the weight, lowering the weight in the eccentric phase”.
This technique prioritises mechanical tension over sheer load volume. As the specialist notes, ‘the muscle grows not only by how much weight you lift, but also by how long it remains under mechanical tension’. By slowing the movement, the athlete ensures that each fibre is recruited efficiently.
The role of nutrition
Nevertheless, physical effort is only part of the muscle-growth equation. La Rosa emphasises that the metabolic environment must be right for tissue repair. In this sense, nutrition must act as a structural support: ‘You need your alimentation to accompany you‘: a small surplus, around 300 kcal per day, to give the body the material it needs to build muscle. This moderate surplus is the key to ‘gaining muscle mass without accumulating fat’.
Beyond calories, it is essential to ensure adequate protein intake, according to the expert. In this regard, precision is critical, so he suggests using tools to “analyse your meals with a photo” to ensure you are in the ideal range.
‘Gaining muscle is much easier when you train better and when you eat with precision,’ asserts the doctor.
