Goosey
.
Written in 1970
Throw a stone into a pool of water, and it will make a splash – and a wave will run to the far end of the pool; the
larger the stone, the larger the splash – and the larger the wave.
A very similar effect results from any form of
exercise – I have named this "indirect effect".
When one muscle grows in response to exercise, the entire
muscular structure of the body grows to a lesser degree – even muscles that are not being exercised at all; and
the larger the muscle that is growing – or the greater the degree of growth – the greater this indirect effect will
be.
Until quite recently, this effect was most pronounced as a result of the practice of full squats.
It has been
repeatedly demonstrated that the practice of squats – as a single exercise – will induce large-scale muscular
growth throughout the body; and while nobody yet understands why this happens, there is no slightest doubt
that it does happen. The results are extremely obvious; for example – if a six foot man weighing 150 pounds is
put on a regular schedule of heavy squats, he may gain 50 pounds of muscular bulk within a year, as a direct
result of this one type of exercise.
But all of this growth will not occur in the legs and the lower back – the areas
of the body being worked – in fact, a very marked degree of growth will also occur in the muscles of the
shoulders, the chest, the neck, and the arms. While such an individual might have 13 inch upper arms at the start
of such a training program, it is almost impossible for his arms to stay that small; by the end of the program, his
arms would probably be at least 15 inches.
And in almost all cases, the bulk of this arm-size increase will be in
the form of muscular fiber – rather than fatty tissue; the strength of the arms will increase in proportion (but not
in direct proportion) to the size increase – in spite of the fact that no exercise is employed for the arms at all.
All other muscular masses of the body will show the same effect – to a greater or lesser degree.
While it is certainly possible to build an obvious degree of disproportionate muscular size through the
employment of an unbalanced program of exercises – and a training program limited to squats would be just
that – there seems to be a definite limit to the degree of such disproportionate development that the body will
permit; for example, it is difficult to build the size of the arms beyond a certain point, unless the large muscles
of the legs are also being exercised.
It is very common for young men on a weight-training program to ignore the development of their legs entirely –
while concentrating on their arms and the muscles of the torso; on such a program, the arms will grow up to a
point, but then additional growth will not be forthcoming – or at least not until heavy exercises for the legs are
added to the training program, and then the arms will almost always start growing again immediately.
Apparently having reached a maximum permissible degree of disproportionate development, the body will not
permit additional arm growth until the legs are also increased in size.
Or perhaps some other cause/effect
relationship is responsible – but the results are obvious, regardless of what the actual causative factors may be.
It is not necessary to understand the effect to be aware of its results.
While the actual percentile of effect from this factor is not known, it is obvious that it varies within a certain range –apparently depending primarily upon
two conditions;
(1) the larger the mass of the muscle that is being exercised, the larger the degree of results
from indirect effect will be, and
(2) the greater the distance between the muscle that is being exercised and the
muscle that is not being exercised, the smaller the degree of results will be.
Throw a stone into a pool of water, and it will make a splash – and a wave will run to the far end of the pool; the
larger the stone, the larger the splash – and the larger the wave.
A very similar effect results from any form of
exercise – I have named this "indirect effect".
When one muscle grows in response to exercise, the entire
muscular structure of the body grows to a lesser degree – even muscles that are not being exercised at all; and
the larger the muscle that is growing – or the greater the degree of growth – the greater this indirect effect will
be.
Until quite recently, this effect was most pronounced as a result of the practice of full squats.
It has been
repeatedly demonstrated that the practice of squats – as a single exercise – will induce large-scale muscular
growth throughout the body; and while nobody yet understands why this happens, there is no slightest doubt
that it does happen. The results are extremely obvious; for example – if a six foot man weighing 150 pounds is
put on a regular schedule of heavy squats, he may gain 50 pounds of muscular bulk within a year, as a direct
result of this one type of exercise.
But all of this growth will not occur in the legs and the lower back – the areas
of the body being worked – in fact, a very marked degree of growth will also occur in the muscles of the
shoulders, the chest, the neck, and the arms. While such an individual might have 13 inch upper arms at the start
of such a training program, it is almost impossible for his arms to stay that small; by the end of the program, his
arms would probably be at least 15 inches.
And in almost all cases, the bulk of this arm-size increase will be in
the form of muscular fiber – rather than fatty tissue; the strength of the arms will increase in proportion (but not
in direct proportion) to the size increase – in spite of the fact that no exercise is employed for the arms at all.
All other muscular masses of the body will show the same effect – to a greater or lesser degree.
While it is certainly possible to build an obvious degree of disproportionate muscular size through the
employment of an unbalanced program of exercises – and a training program limited to squats would be just
that – there seems to be a definite limit to the degree of such disproportionate development that the body will
permit; for example, it is difficult to build the size of the arms beyond a certain point, unless the large muscles
of the legs are also being exercised.
It is very common for young men on a weight-training program to ignore the development of their legs entirely –
while concentrating on their arms and the muscles of the torso; on such a program, the arms will grow up to a
point, but then additional growth will not be forthcoming – or at least not until heavy exercises for the legs are
added to the training program, and then the arms will almost always start growing again immediately.
Apparently having reached a maximum permissible degree of disproportionate development, the body will not
permit additional arm growth until the legs are also increased in size.
Or perhaps some other cause/effect
relationship is responsible – but the results are obvious, regardless of what the actual causative factors may be.
It is not necessary to understand the effect to be aware of its results.
While the actual percentile of effect from this factor is not known, it is obvious that it varies within a certain range –apparently depending primarily upon
two conditions;
(1) the larger the mass of the muscle that is being exercised, the larger the degree of results
from indirect effect will be, and
(2) the greater the distance between the muscle that is being exercised and the
muscle that is not being exercised, the smaller the degree of results will be.
