The importance of developing tendon strength for the overall, that is, absolute human strength, was first recognized by Iron Samson, a well-known historical figure, a legendary Russian strongman.
His real name is Alexander Ivanovich Zass. In 1924, he created a system of isometric (static) exercises and began to train on it himself. Zass tendon workout are a complex of not complex static exercises, for which
Alexander Zass used a chain.
The goal of the Samson system is to increase the strength of the tendons. They are the link between bones and muscles. Samson said: "It is necessary to develop what underlies the muscle, especially the tendon, and not the surface mass, volume."
To perform Samson's isometric exercises, you should buy a meter and a half of a 5-mm chain with a pair of carbines. You will fix them so that they form loops (handles) and you will hook them into the desired link, choosing the necessary working section of the chain, or close it.
In principle, you can use any means at hand - a belt, a rope or a strong rope. Choose with what it will be more convenient for you to work, it is important that the working projectile does not stretch.
Tendon training by Alexander Zass - a set of exercises
1. Stretching the chain with one hand
Starting position - legs wider than shoulders. Take the chain with a straight hand at the corresponding knee, and with the other bent hand at the waist. With this hand, try to stretch. Then the position of the hands changes.
2. Stretching the chain over your head
It is necessary to stretch your work projectile with your hands above your head. The muscles of the arms are mainly worked out, as well as the muscles of the chest and back.
3. Stretching the chain in front of you
Chain in bent arms in front of the chest, elbows at shoulder level. Try to stretch it by tensing the muscles of the chest and arms.
4. Stretching the chain behind your back, straining your arms
The chain passes in the area of the shoulder blades and is held with straight hands. The triceps of the arms are tightened, a little chest.
5. Stretching the chain behind the back, straining the back
The exercise is performed in the same way as the previous one, only the chain is slightly longer. The latissimus dorsi muscles are tensed.
6. Stretching the chain on the chest
Fasten the chain tight around the chest. Inhale, and as you exhale, tighten the latissimus dorsi and chest - try to break the chain.
7. Trapeze Chain Stretch
You need two chains to complete this exercise. Attach leather loops to one end of each chain, through which you thread your feet. Stretching the chain, strain mainly the trapezius muscles and muscles of the hands.
8. Chain stretch for delta and triceps
When stretching, change the starting position of the hands. Tension and focus mainly on the triceps and deltoid muscles.
9. Chain stretch for biceps
Clamp the chain with your foot to the floor and with the corresponding arm, bent at the elbow, pull it up. So for each hand. You can change the length of the chain to work out the bundle at different points of the load. The ligaments of the biceps are well strengthened. This is one of the favorite exercises of many athletes. It is indispensable for those who are engaged in arm wrestling.
10. Stretching the chain through the leg
Stretch the chain, change the starting position of the legs, arms and torso. (Tilt to the left leg, then to the right.)
11. Stretching the leg-neck chain
Put one loop of the chain on the neck, the second on the foot and hold it against the floor. You need to put something on your neck, because. the chain presses very painfully (but it still does not save from bruises). The muscles of the back are tensed.
12. Stretching the chain in the supine position
Lying on the floor, stretch the chain, tensing the muscles of the shoulder girdle and triceps. Keep your body in tension.
13. Handstand chain stretch
In a handstand, stretch the chain, tensing the muscles in your arms, back, and neck. Balancing, transfer the load to the fingers.
14. Standing with two chains
In this exercise, we use two loops. Stretching the chain, it is necessary to strain the muscles of the neck and back.
15. Stretching the chain standing on one leg
Performing this exercise, we strain the quadriceps femoris (quadriceps) and arms, then change the position of the arms and legs.
In conclusion, it should be recalled once again: if you are involved in any kind of sport, the Samson system will only help you, but not a replacement. At the same time, any sport can be reinforced with statics. Perform isometric exercises in combination with dynamic ones!
In fact, the human body has a lot of hidden abilities that we don’t even know about. If they are developed by practicing Samson's training system, sensational results can be achieved.
Start using this technique and the effect will be excellent - every week your strength will increase by about 3-5%!
At the same time, Zass was not so much a theorist as a practitioner. He proved the effectiveness of isometrics: he developed unprecedented strength in himself and performed in the circus arena with numbers that shocked the public. And later, scientists brought scientific evidence of the effectiveness of the system he created.
If Samson's achievements had not been recorded in a photo, video, and if not for the thousands of viewers who witnessed his strength, hardly anyone would have believed that a person is capable of developing such incredible abilities. He bent nails and metal rods, tore chains and horseshoes, kept several horses running in different directions, and performed many other miracles that demonstrated his super strength. He was rightly nicknamed the Great or Iron Samson.
Alexander Zass became the idol of many athletes around the world. His most famous followers are strongmen Charles Atlas, George Jowet, circus athletes Ivan Shutov and Gennady Ivanov.
In the 60s of the last century, isometrics were a very popular way to develop strength. But nowadays not everyone knows about it.
Alexander Zass training rules
The Samson system saves time and energy.
Tendon training Zass lasts no more than 15 minutes. It should be preceded by a thorough warm-up aimed at warming up those muscles and joints that you will load. As in dynamics, this is necessary to avoid injury.
Important rules for tendon training:
- Breathing should remain even
- A wave of power should spread throughout the body
- Smooth entry, voltage, smooth exit
- The maximum voltage should be reached smoothly, with a gradually increasing voltage and the same smooth decline
- It is necessary to clearly remember: breathing - wave - input - voltage - output. No jerks!
In the Zass system, breathing should be even, calm, without long delays. As you begin the soft entry, you take a slow, deep breath. The execution process is accompanied by a long exhalation. At this point, you are tense. A slow exhalation should accompany the exit from the exercise. It always terminates the load.
Athletes who are engaged in powerlifting know that the maximum load must be accompanied by an exhalation, sometimes they scream at this moment - this is an exhalation.
When performing isometric exercises, you need to learn how to control the degree of muscle tension. The correct choice of their duration depends on this.
If all the force is applied at 100% - the duration of the exercise should be only 2-3 seconds, if 80-90% of the force is about 5 seconds, 60-70% - about 8 - 9 seconds. In any case, muscle tension should not exceed 10 seconds in duration.
In the first month of training, you should not make maximum efforts. The body should not experience stress. It is unacceptable to continue the exercises if pain appears.
The strength acquired by the Samson method is maximally manifested only in the position in which it was developed. Therefore, it makes sense to work out the exercises, over time changing the angle of inclination or bending of the torso, arms and legs.
What is the basis of Samson's system?
As already mentioned, the system is based on isometric exercises. Their essence is that the muscles do not contract, i.e. do not change their length, although they are tense. Efforts are applied without movement in the joints - in statics.
Therefore, it doesn’t matter what you do - wrestling, boxing, arm wrestling, workout, or just go to the gym - the isometric system of Alexander Zass will suit everyone. Reinforcement of dynamic training with static exercises will undoubtedly increase athletic performance.
The system is well suited for both professional athletes and beginners. It increases physical strength, endurance and strengthens the ligaments, which minimizes the likelihood of injury.
How often to do and how many approaches to do?
You can choose one or more exercises and workouts based on your goals. It depends on the load that you get at work, in other workouts, at home. It is impossible to give specific figures - one person works at a construction site all day, and the other sits in the office at the computer. We can only advise you to train for the first time at least every other day, and then every day.
The number of approaches also everyone chooses individually based on their physical fitness and fatigue at the time of training. You can do 2 to 5 repetitions of each exercise. Rest between sets should be 40 seconds - a minute.
Conclusions
But one static will not be full. It must be understood that muscle mass is not developed by tendon gymnastics. Only dynamics and work with weights will help here. Therefore, the best option would be to combine training according to the Samson system with dynamic exercises.
Useful links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SYmlUK9aXw&t=179s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2DjYyTlk-o
