Stretching Use to its Limits: Kinesiotape Assisted Advanced Strength Training
By
Steven Helmicki and Shayne Baylis
“The art of progression lies in taking the best tools and adapting them to
your needs based on the science of feel.”
Note: The authors recognize the tremendous amount of training time that is
condensed into a few days in the single strength athlete examples. It may seem
and most likely is too much time consideration and will be certainly viewed
critically by the overtraining gurus who believe that anything of considerable
discomfort is too great and not a wise training choice. The authors agree on the
context of this volume repeated over and over. However, many things change with
the intermittent super volume workout spaced in between explosive power
training. With time between exceeding 30 days but not greater than 45, we see
enormous tissue expansion and work capacities clearly emphasized on the chosen
sports field. It creates dominant behavior. Dominant behavior wins games,
sometimes out of generating pure fear alone.
In this experimentation, kinesiotaping was used to enhance strength by
activating muscles and assisting movements. With its elasticity, the kinesiotape
assists in lifting the skin and amplifying circulation, healing, and waste
disposal from the musculature under stress. Inevitably, the tape’s elastic
quality lifts the skin, which enables the lymphatic and circulatory system to
function with a greater capacity, resulting in a quicker recovery and augmented
muscle bulk.
Kinesiotaping helps reduce muscle fatigue and inflammation. It gently
stimulates the skin and Golgi tendon organs to improve kinesthetic awareness
while assisting in an improved range of motion and overall joint function. All
taping was applied at the origin to insertion for athletic muscle support and
strengthening.
Neck experiment
The neck taping involved taping the sternocleidomastoid muscle from origin
(sternum and clavicle) to insertion (mastoid process), activating the muscle to
increase strength during muscle training. Taping was applied with 25–50 percent
tension around the muscle belly.
Over the course of five hours, a twenty-minute session of neck work was
performed six times.
Again, maximum variety was used in an advanced trainee with ten years of neck
training. After the tape was removed, progressive perceptible tissue expansion
occurred beyond that found when similar training was performed without the tape.
Biceps experiment
The arm taping involved the bicep brachii using a “Y” strip from origin
(radial tuberosity) to insertion (coracoid process, superior glenoid tubercle).
Taping was applied with 25–50 percent tension around the muscle belly.
One thousand reps of biceps work were performed over two days. This was done
utilizing as many exercises as possible in order to complete the required number
of repetitions in as short a period of time as possible due to the physical and
psychological aspects of the endeavor. The tape held quite well. However, allow
the tape to adhere to the skin for at least one half hour before any activity.
After the tape was removed, the trainee felt super atrophied for the first
few hours. However, over the course of the next two days, a tremendous one-inch
growth occurred under substandard feeding conditions and protein deficits. The
trainee elected to utilize this twice yearly. Coupled with proper carbohydrate
and protein uptake, the gains should be severe.
Back experiment
The back taping was done to affect the latissimus dorsi using two different
types of taping. On the right side, a functional assistance taping was used from
origin (L5-S1 vertebrae) to insertion (bicipital groove) with 50–100 percent
tension. On the left side, muscle activation with 25–50 percent tension was
applied to the latissimus dorsi from origin (L5-S1 vertebrae) to insertion.
Functional assistance taping compared to activation taping while performing
dumbbell one-arm bent rows with a 150-lb dumbbell in sets of five throughout a
three-hour period was observed. Immediately, the right side performed stronger
even though it was the athlete’s non-dominant side. That remained so throughout
this strength endurance training.
Although not scientific enough to be evidenced across athletic population
lines, this result warrants work on muscle imbalances or non-dominant side
weaknesses in this athlete and perhaps others by utilizing functional assistance
taping methodologies. This dramatic acceleration ability improvement continued
over a prolonged stretch of training. Considerations beyond hypertrophy and
strength endurance include the enhancement of explosive power endurance, which
is the key component to athletic adaptability of strength training.
Steven Helmicki is the president of Primordial Strength Inc. and creator
of the Primordial Strength System, which specializes in coaching, developing,
and certifying teachers, coaches, and athletic administrators in a proprietary
system. For more information, visit Primordialstrengthsystems.com.
Shayne Baylis was a late round OHL draft choice who played ice hockey for
Niagara University. He is in his final semester of chiropractic school and
certified in kinesiotaping levels one through four. He is preparing for his
professional hockey tryout using Helmicki Training and is collaborating on the
forthcoming book, Primordial Strength Systems Hockey Training.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.