Ok, I found this on the internet. Greg probably wrote this around 2012. Later Greg and I will add our thoughts. It would be nice to hear some of Your thoughts also, Thanks!
" Focused Muscular Tension - how do you make it work? Well, pull up a chair and I will give you some guide marks. Do you tense one set of muscles while you relax another set? There are primary muscles we are trying to work with FMT, but there are also secondary muscles being worked at the same time. Try this experiment. Flex the bicep independently of the bicep or flex the tricep independently of the bicep. Feel the muscle not being contracted. You will also feel tension in that muscle, although not as much as the primary one being contracted. You can't completely relax your antagonistic muscles, nor is this really desirable. In fact, I make FMT exercises full body movements by keeping tension on the thighs by flexing them slightly and strongly contract my abdominal muscles when I exhale. It is all part of the package. Are Props necessary? No. I have done these exercises Swoboda style with open palms. I have done them with tightly clenched fists. I have done them with 3 and 5 pound dumbbells and I have done them with six inch lengths of thick plastic pipe. They all work, but I ran into tendon and shoulder strain with the 5 pound dumbbells. How do you generate tension? Flex hard the muscles you are wanting to work primarily. Take them through a range motion as you continue flexing hard and as you provide resistance from antagonistic muscles. It is exercising with the brakes on. You will feel other muscles working as you flex and as you extend. That is O.K. Focus mentally on the primary muscles you are trying to strengthen and build. What do you visualize? There are all kinds of mental tricks. You can visualize the muscles as you wish to see them. You can visualize lifting weights as in Greg Mangan's VRT system. You can visualize pulling steel cables like I do at times. Or, you can just focus on the tension of the muscles and making them harder and more rigid. When do you relax the muscles? You can keep the muscle under tension for the whole set; albeit varying that tension slightly on the negative descent. After your set you relax your muscles completely by shaking them out. Or, you can keep tension on the contraction and flexion, and then relax that tension on the negative. Which is best? Which one works for you. I prefer the former over the latter. Will you build size? It depends on several factors, genetics and how well you are already developed being two of them. In general an untrained muscle will develop quicker and you will see more size initially; that is if you grasp the concept of focused tension. In general with a muscle already trained you will see more muscularity as more of the fibers are recruited, but not necessarily more size. The muscle will look bigger on account of being more muscular, but not actually be bigger in circumference. How many sets and reps? For high tension no more than 6 repetitions for one to two sets. For moderately high tension do 8-10 reps for two to three sets. For moderate tension do 10-15 reps of two to three sets. One three set approach that works really well is 10 reps moderate, 6 reps high tension, and 8 moderately high tensioned reps. Do I still need to do pushups and pullups? It is up to you. Both the Swoboda course and the light dumbbell Sandow course had pushups. Combining FMT with pushups creates a synergistic effect on your strength and build that you won't necessarily achieve with just one or the other. What exercises do I do FMT style? You can do just about any exercise this way. I have done McSweeney's Tiger Moves plus several from the Atlas course. Check out chapter 3 of Pushing Yourself to Power. I prefer the Swoboda exercises and several I developed on my own. I also picked up a couple, sans the dumbbells, from George Jowett and Vince Gironda. How often should I train FMT? To be honest, I do 30 minutes every day. With the deep breathing you do and the tension and then muscle relaxation it is a great start to your day, or even a calming event after a rough day. Should you train every day? That depends. What are your energy levels? Do you feel drained after an FMT workout? You have to make that decision. "
I would like to add some technical details from my FMT/co-contraction practice.
1. Slow movements
I perform FMT/co-contraction (CC) exercises slowly. One reps takes 12-15 sec. It allows me to involve more muscle fibers during movements.
2. Short isometric (ISO) CC before each moving
ISO CC for 2-3 sec additionally help reaching higher muscle tension in the following movements.
3. Keeping ISO CC level through full range of movement (ROM)
CC in working muscles is maintained during all phases of a rep.
4. Synchronization of ISO and movements with breathing
I breath in before short ISO, hold my breathing for 2-3 sec in ISO, and then slowly breath out during slow movements to one direction. Then I repeat this sequence when I move my limbs or body to the opposite direction. This allows reaching and keeping highest tension levels in working muscles during reps.
5. Usage of different trajectories of movements
I use linear, circular, eight-like trajectories of movements with CC to develop muscle fibers under different angles.
6. Each set is performed to reach burning/pain in the working muscles
Burning/pain creates the needed hormonal background for development muscle fibers (see my previous post “Static-Dynamic (Stato-Dynamic) Method).
7. Total time of CC training is 45-55 min daily
This time allows me to perform 3 sets for all main muscles.
8. Only total time under tension in the set is important
High CC level is held through the set for 1.5-2.0 min.
Sometimes you take the simple for granted.