Compex Performance - Manual (Page 263)

261
English
stimulation energies (up to 999) in order
to recruit the maximum number of fibres.
Below a significant stimulation energy
level, it is pointless, for an average user, to
do stimulation sessions. In fact, the
number of fibres involved in the
stimulated muscle is too low for any
interesting improvement in the
performance of that muscle.
T he more fibres that are recruited, the
greater the improvement that will be seen.
If only 1/10 of the fibres of a muscle
work under stimulation, only that 1/10
can progress. That is obviously much less
appreciable than if 9/10 of the fibres
work and can therefore progress. You
should therefore take care to work with
maximum stimulation energies, i.e., always
at the limit of what you can support.
T here is obviously no need for you to
reach the maximum stimulation energy
right from the first contraction of the
first session of the first cycle. If you have
never used Compex stimulation before,
you should do only half of the desired
programme during the first 3 sessions
with sufficient energy to produce
powerful muscular contractions to
familiarise yourself with the technique of
electrostimulation. You can then start
your first stimulation cycle with your own
specific programme and level. After the
warm-up, which must produce very clear
muscular twitches, you should raise the
stimulation energy progressively, from
contraction to contraction, during the
first three or four minutes of the work
sequence. You should also progress with
stimulation energies used from session to
session, particularly during the first three
sessions of a cycle. A normally prepared
person will already reach very significant
stimulation energies during the fourth
session.
4. Progression in the levels
I n general, it is not advisable to go
through the different levels quickly with
the intention of reaching level 5 as fast as
possible. In fact, the different levels
correspond to progress with
electrostimulation.
T he most frequent error is to change
from level to level as stimulation occurs at
increasingly higher stimulation energies.
The number of fibres subjected to
stimulation depends on the stimulation
energy. The nature and amount of work
that these fibres do depend on the
programme and level. The aim is, first of
all, to progress through the electrical
stimulation energies and then through the
levels. The more numerous the muscle
fibres you stimulate, the more numerous
will be the fibres that are going to
progress. But the speed of progress of
these fibres and their aptitude for
operating at a higher rating depend on the
programme and level used, the number of
sessions per week and the length of these
sessions, and also on intrinsic factors
particular to each individual.
T he simplest and most usual procedure is
to start with level 1 and raise the level
when changing to a new stimulation cycle.
A t the end of a cycle, you may either start
a new cycle at the next level up or do
some maintenance at the rate of 1 session
a week at the last level reached.
5. Alternation of stimulation
sessions / voluntary
training
T he stimulation sessions can be done
outside or during voluntary training.
W hen voluntary training and stimulation
are done during the same session, it is
generally recommended that the voluntary
training be done first followed by the
stimulation. This means that the voluntary
training is not done on muscle fibres
which are already tired. This is particularly
important for strength and explosive
strength training.
H owever, in resistance training, it can be
very useful to proceed in the reverse
order. Before the voluntary training, by
means of stimulation for resistance, a
PERFORMANCE FR DE IT ES EN:ENGY Man FR 14/02/08 15:11 Page 261