CAPILLARY BEDS AND YOU:

 

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continued from:  The Quest: for the 405lb Bench

 

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A capillary is a blood vessel that exchanges oxygen for carbon dioxide and other nutrients. Capillaries increase or decrease with need.

So: If you are using a muscle, there will be many “capillary beds” facilitating that muscle in the ranges that you use it. Should you not use that muscle, or range of motion, you will lose capillary beds in that area.

Kind of a “use it or lose it” situation.

 

Since I started my NFL combine training (haha), I have been able to bench press 225lbs, 25 times. HOWEVER, I achieved this by stopping the bar at 90 degrees of elbow flexion.

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Because there are few capillary beds in my pecs between 90 degrees of elbow flexion and my chest, I could only achieve 14 reps with 215 lbs.

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So what do you do? On one hand I have a bunch of registered kinesiologists saying that you have to touch your chest; and on the other, I feel that this form destroys shoulders.

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Knowing me, I will begin to build capillary function at those ranges of motion so I can one day rake that test. Dangers be damned!

Oh and by the way, I hold the gym record for the 3 minute bike test….2.73kms 🙂

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