From Engin Terzi (copied from John-Engin Armwrestling facebook page)
the danger with too much statics is that if you are not flexible then you are very breakable. i mean once you have very strong locks then it is very possible you to get injured once you receive a pressure which is more than your static lock can handle. i am not saying "do not do statics hold".i just say that too much of statics,which means that basing your training only on statics will surely cause injuries anytime you are applied pressure which is more than what your angle can handle.just to clear one thing,i meant injury during armwrestling not during training.because during training we go as far as we wish,but during the competetion we never know how much pressure will be applied on our locked angles.supporting static trainings with dynamics is one of the best way to avoid injuries caused by statics.with full motion dynamics the arm will be trained in different angles and this will make it strong even when it gets out of it's static lock angle.dynamics are supporting locked joints with pumped muscle strength.right now i am 3,5 months away from my main goal which is Europeans and my training looks 80%dynamics and 20%statics,in following months statics will increase and near to the my main goal it will be about 60% statics supported by 40% dynamics.
i really can not say anything to be the fact since these are my experiences&opinions.i take armwrestling as a static angle sport,but there are other top athletes they may find dynamics better for their armwrestling strategies.i always started to train with heavy dynamics with low reps and ended with static trainings.i thought this would be better to get my arms used to for strong reaction.i only did very little warm up with very light weights to save my power to the main training.i have never done streching except for a few months in the beginning of year 2000.it did not affect my arms in positive ways about performance but it was good for their health.
years later i am full of injuries in my elbows,i think it maybe because of too much statics,or the way i armwrestle (side hits),or because of not starting to lift with good warm up,or because of not doing any streching,or because of pulling up to 7-8 classes in the same events,or pulling at the toughest tournaments such as WAF and EAF for 15 years or because of all these.
i am not an expert about streching but with the experiences that i have now,if i could go back in time i would start lifting with 2-3 sets of full motion in pyramidal system (which i currently started to do) to provide a healthy range of motion, then half motions,and then static training (for it is necassary for my style).
i would also stretch without applying much pressure,i mean it can be done without using a wall or our other hand,only as to relax the joints and muscles.i think full motion light weight trainings and training pushing muscles help our joints a lot.
i have never pulled for warm up before a tourney,i may be wrong but this is how i feel it to be right.i do not use any weights or rubber bands,i dont hold anyone's hand either.i just do short rowing movements without tighting my elbow so much.a little bit wrist curling again without holding anything and with 5-10% tightness to just to warm it up.and then little bit of arm curling without pressure and shoulder warm up a little (if the place is cold its necessary because once the shoulder pains then it is very hard to armwrestle).i like my arm&hand to save their hunger for the competetion.i think that the rehabilitation for any injury should have been done during the training session.i recently do my last training with dynamic half motion bicep and pull ups to help recovery for healthy range of motion.i use about 60% of my maximal to protect my joints while pumping blood in my muscles.i do this last training 7-8 days before the competetion.i do not do any kind of statics,or maximal dynamics or anything that can apply pressure on my joints(at the last training before the event).i also do not train wrist,rotator,hammer any other smaller muscle groups when it is about 12 days near to tournament.bicep and back recover themselves easily esspecially if i train them with only 60% percent of their maximals.these resting days can be different for other people depending on age,their training types and health of their arms.one of the best warm up before the competetion without losing any hunger or strength is keeping the area warm for hours.walking without getting tired also makes me feel good for the blood circulation.
at the end i can say that strecthing may help to the armwrestlers whose strategy is not based on statics but dynamics (JMO).strecthing is good for the health of your arms and also to avoid the injury.but strecthing may not be very good if you have static based armwrestling and training.if you have static armwrestling way then do strecthing without touching anywhere by letting the part of your body to do it by itself but without damaging the tightness of your tendons.i believe in shaping my arms,i can not drink water from my right hand because it does not supinate enough to hold water in my palm.so i try to say that too much strecthing would loose these static built arms.from other side we see the best ever armwrestler having his arm moving into every direction possible,which means a very dynamic forearm.it is a confussing subject,but i suggest every one to find a way which is best for themselves.there are many options,not only black and white.
my style is based on static locks and strecthing with high pressure reduced my performance,but i felt my arms healthy then but i had to choose success.i should not have seen it as black or white.and do some light strecthings during the off season at least.armwrestling has not been analised and studied as other sports yet.it is being built on the shoulders of the elite armwrestlers by using their experiences.but i am glad to see that studies of the other sports which are similar with our sport,do not deny our personal experiences.i am not surprised because we would not have been as succesful as we have been if we were not on the right paths.
once i thought i was made of steel but injuries taught me good lessons
