EQI Exercises and Performance
EQIs can be done with nearly all the muscles of the body. However, it is best to select those muscle groups and sport actions that will benefit the most from the aforementioned benefits.
Some examples of EQIs:
- EQI Push-up (performed with hands on blocks) - EQI Dip (performed on parallel bars)
- EQI Lunge (performed with feet on blocks)
- EQI 1-Leg Squat (performed with back foot on block) The possibilities are endless.
In regard to the duration and intensity of EQIs, it is important to note that to reap all of the benefits mentioned above, duration must be emphasized. Because of this, intensity must be sufficiently low so as to allow sufficient duration of the muscle action.
However, while duration is favored over intensity, proper posture is emphasized above all else. As soon as posture begins to degrade, the exercise should halt. This is a small point, but is cannot be emphasized enough.
EQIs should be performed to muscular failure (or the aforementioned degradation in form) in order to get the most benefit. This is due to the fact that as you fatigue, you will sink lower into the stretch. The further (up to a point) the SEC and PEC stretch, the more benefit you can expect to see.
The time you can hold an EQI for is largely dependent on what exercise you are doing.
However, as a guideline, I have provided a table below so that you can have an idea of how your athletes’ performances rate. Again, keep in mind that proper posture must be
emphasized over duration. A long duration EQI with poor posture will not translate into good results, and may even have negative effects.
Categorization of Performance in Multi-joint EQI Movements (Lunge and Push-up on Blocks)
Time (seconds) Category
With such a wide-array of benefits it is possible to justify the use of EQIs at nearly anytime during a training session. However, I feel that the primary benefit of EQIs is the re-lengthening of contracted tissue. With this in mind, EQIs can be used before and/or after a training session.
Pre-Training
Since muscles are less compliant when they are contracted (Hawkins 2002), injuries are more likely in a contracted muscle. Using EQIs before a training session may prevent injuries during the session since EQIs stretch the SEC and PEC, resulting in a lengthened muscle. Remember that traditional stretching does not offer this injury prevention benefit because it only stretches the PEC. In addition, the duration of the EQI will be longer since isometric endurance is higher at the beginning of a training session due to a lower body temperature (Siff 2000).
Another added benefit of performing EQIs at the beginning of a session is that they may enhance the performance of the following dynamic work. Karaev et al. (1978) found that static work performed 5-8 minutes prior to dynamic work resulted in increases in reflex excitation (particularly beneficial prior to KEAT training), amplitude of muscle tone, maximal strength, and stride frequency (running). If used to enhance the following dynamic work, then the EQI action should not be taken to muscular or technical failure.
Post-training
Using EQIs after a training session will re-lengthen the contracted tissue. This is important because if the muscles are left in a contracted state, then blood flow to the muscle will be significantly reduced (Zatsiorsky 1995). This is bad news for those of you who are worrying so much about post-workout nutrition. If blood can’t effectively reach the muscle, then how do you expect it to utilize the various nutrients in the blood to repair itself?
One of the first benefits people notice is that they are not nearly as sore the next day if EQIs are done after a training session. This is most likely because the muscles have been re-lengthened, allowing for optimal recovery. The implications of this are great. If the body can achieve complete recovery at a rapid rate, then more training sessions are possible in a given time-period. To further accelerate the recovery process, take advantage of reactive hyperemia by drinking your post-workout shake 15-30 minutes before doing your EQIs. This will provide the exhausted muscles with a large dose of the substrates they need to recover.
Periodization
Due to the potential long-term benefits of EQIs (strengthening the tendon, shifting the length-tension curve, hyperplasia) it is beneficial to introduce EQIs early on in an athlete’s training. However, this does not mean that EQIs must always be present in the training program. Like any other training methodic, EQIs must be periodized in order to reap the most benefits from them.
Keep in mind that strength is regime-specific. Because of this, EQIs must be developed individually. Left untrained for too long, your strength in EQI exercises will decline even though your performance in other exercise regimes may increase.
Conclusion
Traditional stretching has recently been looked down upon, and rightly so, by many as being ineffective at promoting flexibility during dynamic sporting actions, as well as being ineffective at relieving muscle soreness. While both of these criticisms are valid, traditional stretching has often been removed with nothing to take its place.
EQIs not only do a better job of enhancing dynamic flexibility and relieving muscle soreness, but they offer a myriad of other benefits to the strength coach and the athlete who are willing to put in the hard (and painful) work involved.