Max Contraction Training: The Scientifically Proven Program for Building Muscle Mass in Minimum Time

I read the reviews claiming no improvement and injuries - that is the opposite for me - age 53 and my son - age 25. We followed the Max Contraction system for 9 months and then bench marked our progress on a Hammer Strength machine incline bench press. Prior to Max Contraction we maxed out at 150 lbs - after 9 months we were able to do 250 lbs. At age 53 and weighing 185 lbs my comparisons in strength are as follows: Curl machine - 110 lbs vs 65 prior, pushups 55 vs 35, decline bench 300 lbs vs 180 on Hammer St. machine, and 220 lbs vs 130 on the Pec machine. The workout takes 30 minutes only 1 time per week, I found no injuries, it greatly increased strength. The only negative was I have gained some weight and need to do more aerobic and calorie burning. I was refered to the book by a friend who at age 54 said he was stronger than he has ever been in his life from Max Contraction. I highly recommend this method and have been shocked at the results. With 30 minutes of lifting per week I was figuring I would be happy to see even a 10% increase in strength but was shocked to see the results. With a busy schedule, I never would put in the 3 days per week but this book makes it clear that it is intensity not time that inceases strength. I would have never believed it if I did not see it happen myself. I did not buy the max straps and just adapted equipment at a fitness center to accomplish the exercises. My pull down for example is loading 220 lbs on the machine and pulling it down with both hands and then holding for 10 seconds with one hand. A partner helps but I do all the stuff alone since my son got married. I do not understand the negative articles and cannot imagine what these guys did considering the results my son and I experienced. Good luck to all of you.

...and by strong minds I mean those willing to question what they believe to be true. Little does an excellent job of applying the scientific method to the problem of efficient strength training. Go into any gym on the planet, well, let's say 99.99% of them, and you'll find that MOST of the people are doing the following: o Sets of repititions. o Working a particular muscle group 2 or 3 times a week. Little establishes directly and by reference, that intensity stimulates muscle growth, not repitition. If repetition stimulated growth, then Phil the fifty year old bus-boy who has been working six days a week for the last twenty years, would have legs larger than Mr. Universe (genetics aside), for that matter so would marathon runners. When I talk to people at my gym, I find it perplexing that they accept that a marathon runners leg muscles don't become massive, yet are pushed to their limit of repatitous (Low Intensity) endurance. They ache the days after a race, they need 'repair time' and so forth. They accept this without a hint of doubt. Point out someone at the gym with massive legs and they will accept, again without question, that the hugely muscled legs are the result of heavy weights (ie High Intensity). Now take these two data points and compare them, most peoplem, I find, are unwilling to believe (at a gut level) that intensity, and intensity alone, is the stimulator of muscle GROWTH. Further that sufficient rest is as essential as the excersise itself to obtain optimal results; time to repair the muscle, and FURTHER, time to allow the GROWTH that was the very reason you walked into the gym in the first place. "Getting GROWTH by NOT going to the gym before Wednesday???" Yes Sparky, that's exactly what he's saying. If you want to be stronger, EACH TIME you return to the gym, then you have to be willing to look at experimental data to see what produces the largest gain in strength FOR A GIVEN TIME. That is, who can spend 3 months in the gym and produce the best result. This book will show you that. I did find that some material in the book to be stated rather repititiously, and it would have had more of an impact if the material were stated more concisely. I'd have tossed some of the philosopy and the quotes, didn't impress me and seemed distracting. Read on though. Sometimes we (all of us) can find imperfection in something or someone and use it to make ourselves 'uncoachable', when we'd be better off taking what value we can, and ignoring the rest. In this regard, I think Little has a HUGELY important message to deliver to the strength training world. I recommend his book whenever I get the opportunity. If you are interested in improving your strength, and you want to do it in a way that ignores 'established practice' and instead focuses on 'experimental result', then this book is for you. It may really change some perceptions you may have about muscle growth.

Little gets right down to the root cause of muscle growth: INTENSITY. A careful study of research on muscle growth confirms that it's not the movement your limbs perform; it's not repetitions--it's INTENSITY OF MUSCLE OVERLOAD. Little homes right in on this critical point. His exercises are designed to maximize intensity on a specific muscle (rather than compound exercises.) Much of Little's work is based on the classic, "Toward an understanding of health and physical education" by Arthur H Steinhaus. (This book is definitely worth getting as well.) This work shows the results of numerous experiments (by mostly German researchers) on both humans and animals. Surprisingly, empirical results confirm that even brief, full contractions with maximum intensity can lead to maximum rate of muscle growth. Little is correct, therefore, when he suggests exercises of very short duration. Research confirms that indeed, just a few seconds at max intensity is sufficient to trigger a near-maximum rate of growth. One suggestion for future editions: I didn't see very much about warm-up. It seems like this should be covered in detail, given that the suggested exercises will be at maximum intensity. Isn't that all the more reason for careful warm-up? To be fair, Little does suggest a SLOW contraction, which presumably would minimize the risk of injury. Little also exposes the questionable claims of the myriads of supplements. The science of muscle growth is really not that complicated. If you study the scientific literature (not Muscle magazines) you'll quickly see the basis for Little's method. It's based on fact, not marketing biases. Purchasing this book is a "no-brainer." If you're really serious about muscle growth, you would be wise to get it, as well as the Steinhaus classic.

Max Contraction Training is THE greatest bodybuilding book I've ever read! I've been using the program for three months and have gotten stronger each time I work out. My TOCs are up every workout and so are all of my weights. I'm now only training twice a week and am still getting stronger! I expect that I will be down to once a week in another month or so. My muscle mass has also increased quite a bit, having gained 10 pounds of solid muscle in three months (I had my bodyfat levels tested at the YMCA that I train at). This is a great book with great information. John Little rules!!

I've read John Little's books and articles on high intensity training for over 20 years now. His first series of articles were published in the mid 1980s in a British publication called "Bodybuilding Monthly." It was in this publication that he first began to research and test the principles that would become "Max Contraction Training." At that time he advocated that trainees train solely within their anaerobic pathways (this was years before such a topic was even broached by bodybuilding magazines)of 60-seconds. Later, after more research, he refined the application and reduced the TOC (Time of Contractions) to 1-to-6-seconds. Max Contraction Training is the furthest evolution of high intensity training without question. Little's influence by Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer is unmistakable (and acknowledged within the text), but what he has discovered is his accomplishment alone and something for which he deserves full credit. That a full range of motion is not a necessity to develop a "full" muscle and can serve to induce injury or, at best, retard progress, is an important contribution to scientific bodybuilding. Also his long time emphasis on recovery ability taking up to seven or more days to be completed has recently been established clinically as necessary for optimum growth (compensatory adaptation to the stress of exercise) to take place is certainly revolutionary compared to the old fitness/bodybuilding model of three to four days per week training (no wonder none of us made progress on the other systems!). Speaking personally, I have utilized Max Contraction (in its various evolutions) for over 10 years and have never had an injury and have gained 30 pounds of muscle during this time. In fact, I'm still getting stronger training once every 12 days -- at age 49! Reading any book by John Little is time well spent, but Max Contraction Training is most certainly his magnum opus (at least in the bodybuidling realm; he also has written great books on history, philosophy and martial arts). Read it, employ its principles and enjoy the best gains of your life.