Denisov On "Statodynamic" Training Method

Machine-Assisted Translation from Ivan's Youtube Channel

Source: Statodynamics In Training: 3 Main Objectives - Training Muscles and Ligaments with One Exercise

Original source is the 2nd video in Ivan’s series of videos on so-called “Operating Modes” of training: Static, Statodynamicn and Dynamic. What follows is my machine-assisted interpretation of his lecture on the Statodynamic mode. Please note that technical subjects are difficult to translate and my interpretation may be totally inaccurate given my lack of knowledge in the subject matter. As always this content is presented for educational uses only, as allowed for by the Fair Use doctrine under United States law.

Statodynamic mode is one of the most fundamental methods of training, used by both bodybuilders and endurance athletes. Isokinetics (a method of rehab exercise) uses specialized machines to constantly maintain load throughout the entire range of motion, similar to Resistance Band training (a more common rehab/PT method). For example in a banded dumbell press, at the bottom of the rep, the hands are pulled outwards by the bands. Statodynamics is the recreation of this mode of effort using only kinetic motion (the basic movement of common lifts). Operating time - the time under tension of muscles and ligaments - is the most important factor.

In Ivan’s video on the Static mode of training, he asserts that ligaments are only strengthened via time under stress, optimally 20-50 seconds per set. In Dynamic exercises, strength is built in less than 20 seconds of effort per rep. Endurance may be developed using more than 50 seconds of effort, but there is one drawback to this overly long duration - the long period of constant tension strengthens the ligaments, but muscular effort begins to arise as the muscle begins to move while contracted. While the muscles are contracted, blood flow is restricted, and this produces an additional load on the capillary network as well as the muscle fibers. The energy-production processes that result in the muscles while working under anaerobic condition are why this isn’t recommended. Under durations between 20 and 50 seconds, both the capillary network and the muscles are being worked optimally.

The charm of the Statodynamic method is that it does not produce “jerks.” You slowly reach full compression of the muscle and slowly stretch it back out. Accordingly, moments of rest are completely eliminated, and therefore the overall training load drastically increases even with a small increase in weight. Normally weights of 25-30% of 1 rep max have the desired effect. It seems like 30% is nothing, if you can squat 200kg then there will be only 60kg on the bar - in a normal squat this will have no effect, but without the moment of muscular relaxation at the extremes of each rep, we are constantly straining. By doing reps slowly without momentum, the muscle is under constant load. This constant tension is the advantage of statodynamic mode. This is why bodybuilders do not straighten their joints completely, for example not allowing the bar to touch the chest and not allowing elbows to lock out in a bench press.

Stodynamic training is useful for the development of strength and endurance. This graph will help explain the concept.

The Y axis is percentage of maximum effort, and the X axis is the development of the physical qualities of strength and endurance. Clearly a lot of repetitions at 5% effort would be endurance work, while 100% effort indicates a single exercise that’s only able to be completed once - pure strength training. In the middle there is endurance, but note that there is no clear deliniation - the qualities flow together smoothly, like colors in a spectrum. Call it a gradient. Endurance, especially in the Statodynamic mode, starts at 25%. Any less and there won’t be adequate intensity in the workout. Intensity, meaning the degree of impact. 25% is the beginning of endurance work, but its very light. If you can squat 100kg and work with 25kg, you can squat forever, so there’s really little strength work involved. At 35-40%, the “Strength Factor” increases. “Strength Factor” is a term Ivan coined, not a scientific term - the interest lies in the degree of force you apply, which again gradually increases in a gradient.

Although there are no strictly delineated categories, we are mostly interested in strength-endurance. This is the ability to perform an exercise for a long time, without relaxation. “Without relaxation” is an important nuance, for example in kettlebell lifting you can find a relaxation phase while pausing in rack or top fixation. This is no longer strength-endurance in its purest form. In the past, kettlebell lifting was considered pure strength endurance, but this was a misconception. Strength-endurance contributes to results in kettlebell, but it is not the main factor - some relatively weak athletes have achieved MSIC while others who are quite powerful aren’t capable of those numbers. There is an additional “special endurance,” and other sports where there is a rest phase, for example rowing, require exactly the same kind of work: strength-endurance, but also special endurance.

From about 50% max effort, very effective development of muscle mass - hypertrophy - begins, especially when we work under constant tension (Statodynamically). Effort from 50-80% is the basis of classical bodybuilding work. Primarily 60-70%, but for pure strength up to 80%. For endurance, no more than 50%.

So how does this relate to using Statodynamics for developing special & strength- endurance? Dr. Viktor Seluyanov popularized the theory of mitochondria. This is all based on Seluyanov’s work. In order to get a sufficient load for adaptive changes it's necessary to reach 70-90% of work capacity since for an already-adapted athlete less than 70% would be fairly easy. This doesn’t mean 70% as a percent of max effort (not referring to the graph’s Y axis), it means specifically the percentage of what a person can do before complete exhaustion. Max effort depends on motivation. You can’t really determine 100% empirically, it depends on the central nervous system which will decide whether you can give an extra 10 seconds or not. So what is the best way to reach this load?

Seluyanov’s method is to work the slow-twitch muscle using 8-15 sets. The primary way to develop endurance is just using high volume, but Seluyanov noted that if we do this using a continuous method of work, “hydrogen ions” are produced (he explains it in detail, this is just a summary), which destroy mitochondria. Therefore the result you get with long-duration high intensity work isn’t actually 90% of work capacity, and even if you force yourself to reach 90%, the recovery period will be extremely long. Nobody understands this trick. For bodybuilders using heavy loads, 90% or close to 100% doesn’t result in such a long recovery [probably due to less overall time under tension]. In bodybuilding the one final rep [to failure] is considered important, but for the development of endurance there’s no need.

We are considering 8-15 sets, so understand what happens in each set - imagine that each one is heavier by 5-10%. 5-10% of your body’s energy reserves are consumed each time. If the load in the first 3 sets was 70% then in the last sets it will be 80-90% and you get the final load exactly upon completion of all 15 sets. This is why the interval method is used. [I think this is an analogy, not literally perscribing increasing load each set, since this would be Variable method, but I will have to look into Seluyanov’s work - Ed.]

The interval method that Seluyanov uses to develop special endurance is as follows. Each set is from 30-50 seconds. According to research, cells can survive for 40-50s without oxygen. So if you perform anaerobic exercise for more than 50 seconds, you are not heading towards fitness, but into death. The adaptation we are trying to cause reaches its limit and fails, but if we do everything right it grows. Go 100% and your adaptive capability falls off rather than increases. The critical point of adaptation , and the art of training, is to perscribe a load so the athlete ends up into the state right before the limit (90%), but never over it (except in competitions). In the interval method, work is equal to rest, for example 30s work 30s rest is enough for the muscle to recover - disperse harmful hydrogen ions - and start again. Percentage of Max Effort is very low (25%), a heavy load or pump isn’t felt during a set or even after all 15, but the muscles work optimally the whole time.

The first factor is the number of sets and the second the is percentage (of max effort), that is, the lower the percentage the higher the number of sets. For 8 sets, start with approximately 40% max - this should be enough to reach approximately 90% effort by the end. Of course this system is experimental, and every trainer is trying to understand and learn it. It’s very difficult and you need to train for several years to understand. And if you don’t get it right, everything is destroyed.

So those were the principles of endurance training. For strength training, how do we pump up muscles? Under constant tension, slowly lowering the weight, it isn’t possible to do 8-15 sets, so the percentage effort increases. Secondly, time under tension is reduced since strength development is not based on oxygen consumption, as opposed to endurance. Under v02 max mitochondrial development is encouraged as well as the capillary network - adaptive changes begin in order to fight against the lack of oxygen. [Not sure this is an accurate translation]

For strength-endurance, sets of 40-50% max are the basis. For Strength (50-80% max), the basis of effort is anaerobic, and the adaptive load is obtained due to constant tension. Therefore, the Statodynamic method is popular with bodybuilders - they lift without straightening their elbows or locking their knees, reaching the top and immediately going down, this kind of work leads to high intensity. For bodybuilding at 50-80% max, the Repeated Method is mainly used: Rest between sets is as long as necessary to fully recover and explode again. When we expand the muscle many times it begins to hypertrophy, that is, adaptive changes cause muscle growth. If we do this after the 8-15 sets, [unsure if this is an accurate translation; again I’ll have to research Seluyanov to correct it] for beginners 2 sets are enough, for intermediate/semi-pro 4 sets, 8 sets is peak athletic development. This is the total sets per each muscle group. This is how bodybuilding takes place using the statodynamic system. This is why bodybuilders aren’t strong in lockout, because they don’t spend time in that position.

In order to develop strength you have to get out of the comfort zone- there are zones of comfort, discomfort, and stress. That is, 30, 60, 90% effort. Statodynamics drives us into stress due to constant tension, but it is softer [than long duration/continuous work] for the connective tissues and good for the development of local muscular systems.

This training method affects strength and endurance, but the secret is it doesn’t end there. Noticed we started with 25% load, but what if it is less than 25%? With high effort, constant exposure can overload the CNS and result in symptoms of overtraining. With effort below 25% the body is being rehabilitated. With 10-25% load relative to personal maximum (easy work), the Statodynamic mode does nothing except increase blood supply. This is exactly what injured body parts (joints, ligaments, muscles etc) need in order to heal. Perentage of intensity should be 30-40%, in other words if you can squat 100 times you’ll get bored, but if you squat 30x slowly without turning off the muscles you are giving 100%. 15 squats is good, 3 sets of 5 causes a powerful increase in circulation. This is what Prof. Bubnovsky’s system is based on, they use kinetic training machines which give mainly tensile load, lets say with additional stretching, which is a modern & effective system used by physical therapists. Tense the muscle, hold it and slowly give way, and stretch at the end. This system works, it’s just stretching under load, whereas Statodynamic training is movement under load. Under load you pump first, withstand the effort, then you begin to stretch. The whole point is there’s an increase in blood circulation, and if you use 30-40% of maximum (ultra light weight), with a volume from 3 to 10-15 sets for muscles and ligaments and joints they begin to stop hurting magiccally. For example when your elbow hurts, pump it slowly with a slight tension; for example straighten against a resistance band calmly and carefully - whatever you feel is 30%, light and relaxing. In this mode we can work the injured area, and it recovers.

The previous video discussed the Static (Isometric) mode and its uses. The next one in the series discusses the Dynamic mode, which is a normal lift, resting 1 second at the bottom and 2 seconds rest at the top. This method’s uses compared to Statodynamic mode will be discussed.

The human body is very complex, the main thing to understand is if there is a lack of “voltage” and blood supply is available, this causes adaptive reactions. If this doesn’t happen, somewhere you are decieved by percentage of load. The percentage decides in which zone you work, how efficiently the work is done, and how long the recovery will take - which decides when the next workout is done and what load should be perscribed. These are nuances that can trip you up, but are what allows you to train correctly and constantly progress.

“Once again, Success, Health, and of course Victory, especially over ‘gravity on the couch.’ Good luck, friends” - Ivan Denisov