Repetitons
May 8th 2007 13:19
I have never played golf,but I understand from watching how important the subtlest changes in mechanics can be in improving the score of a golfer. Weight training is more similiar to golf than might seem apparent at first. A trainer who wants to be successful will ultimately be forced to apply scrutiny to everything he/she does. One example of tinkering with your workout is the speed of individual repetitions.
There,as might be expected,have always been advocates of doing your repetitions as slowly as possible and others who have maintained that the proper approach is rapid reps. Anyone training with one will find training with the other for awhile to be stimulating. That does not mean,however, that that training effect will last. I think the best approach to rep speed is to analyze what each approach has to offer and try to incorporate both.
Slow repetitions emphasize continuous tension. Anyone can make a curl,for instance, much harder by simply slowly the rate at which it is done. A slow eccentric (or out) phase can be followed by an extremely deliberate concentric(back to the start)phase can make a single set of any exercise extremely taxing. I am not sure,however, that the body is designed to perform very slow movements and build optimum muscle from them. Humans tend not to perform their daily tasks at at slow pace and most types of exertions are better performed with speed. Drop something on the floor and stoop to pick it up. Did you go up and down very slowly? Not really. Speed of movement is natural and you cannot neglect it.
Fast repetitions emphasize explosive speed of movement. It is this kind of explosion that is the main stay of athletic movements. By emphasizing the speed of a repetition you are forcing the fast twitch fibers in muscle to fire and they are responsible for muscle size to a large extent. The problem with stressing speed is that it can easily lead to cheating in which momentum does the work and the target muscle is minimally engaged.
A compromise is the best policy in selecting rep speed. I suggest that you emphasize speed on the eccentric portion of whatever movement you are doing and that you focus on continuous tension as you return to the starting point. This give your muscles the benefit of both approaches and forces you to concentrate on each set. Try this. Your servant, as always.
Slow repetitions emphasize continuous tension. Anyone can make a curl,for instance, much harder by simply slowly the rate at which it is done. A slow eccentric (or out) phase can be followed by an extremely deliberate concentric(back to the start)phase can make a single set of any exercise extremely taxing. I am not sure,however, that the body is designed to perform very slow movements and build optimum muscle from them. Humans tend not to perform their daily tasks at at slow pace and most types of exertions are better performed with speed. Drop something on the floor and stoop to pick it up. Did you go up and down very slowly? Not really. Speed of movement is natural and you cannot neglect it.
Fast repetitions emphasize explosive speed of movement. It is this kind of explosion that is the main stay of athletic movements. By emphasizing the speed of a repetition you are forcing the fast twitch fibers in muscle to fire and they are responsible for muscle size to a large extent. The problem with stressing speed is that it can easily lead to cheating in which momentum does the work and the target muscle is minimally engaged.
A compromise is the best policy in selecting rep speed. I suggest that you emphasize speed on the eccentric portion of whatever movement you are doing and that you focus on continuous tension as you return to the starting point. This give your muscles the benefit of both approaches and forces you to concentrate on each set. Try this. Your servant, as always.
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