Rep Execution

Hey CT, i just read your article Negatives: You’re Doing Them Wrong.

Indeed it seems ive been doing negatives wrong. Im changing my ways, however i need a little more help.

Lifting mostly in the 6-12 rep range should i be moving the weight as fast as possible under control?.

Should i be pausing at any point during the rep? eg. bottom of a press/squat or at the stretched position of a pull.
Should i be holding/squeezing at the contracted position of a pull/row.

I picked this up in one of your old articles:

“Accelerative concentric, controlled eccentric: In this type of contraction, you’re trying to accelerate during the actual lifting portion of the movement and lower the weight under control. You go to the exercise’s full range of motion, but you briefly pause (around one second) between the stretch position and the following lifting action. This short pause will negate the contribution of the stretch-shortening cycle to the force production.”

Is it outdated by now?

Many thanks in advance.

From what I understand, it’s all about what you want. There are many different lifting tempos and styles that you can utilize.

For example: Take the Military Press vs. Push Press.
Both are very similar.
The Military Press can help you develop strength coming out of the bottom, while the Push Press can help you overload the middle/top of the movement because it essentially removes the very bottom position because the legs get the bar moving until about forehead level (at least for me.)

I believe that for the most part, the concentric should be generally fast. Eccentrics seem to be where you might want to toy around with depending on the exercise. For example, John Meadows explained in a previous article how 3 second eccentrics for back don’t work too well, as the biceps often take over.

Hope this helped!

  • Colby

[quote]Glue wrote:
Hey CT, i just read your article Negatives: You’re Doing Them Wrong.

Indeed it seems ive been doing negatives wrong. Im changing my ways, however i need a little more help.

Lifting mostly in the 6-12 rep range should i be moving the weight as fast as possible under control?.

Should i be pausing at any point during the rep? eg. bottom of a press/squat or at the stretched position of a pull.
Should i be holding/squeezing at the contracted position of a pull/row.

I picked this up in one of your old articles:

“Accelerative concentric, controlled eccentric: In this type of contraction, you’re trying to accelerate during the actual lifting portion of the movement and lower the weight under control. You go to the exercise’s full range of motion, but you briefly pause (around one second) between the stretch position and the following lifting action. This short pause will negate the contribution of the stretch-shortening cycle to the force production.”

Is it outdated by now?

Many thanks in advance.[/quote]

This method of doing reps is best when training for higher reps (6-12). If you were training for maximum strength or power it would be different.

Thanks for helping out guys. When im training in the 6-12 range im only interested in increasing muscle size, if strength/power accompanies that size they are welcome.

What im hearing is that the 3-1-1 tempo is valid/good in the 6-12 range but that it might not be a good idea for all exercises. Is it a proven fact that 3-1-1 is better then 1-0-1 for size or do i just have to pick one, do it for months, measure, then pick the other & do the same, then compare.

Many thanks!

[quote]Glue wrote:
Thanks for helping out guys. When im training in the 6-12 range im only interested in increasing muscle size, if strength/power accompanies that size they are welcome.

What im hearing is that the 3-1-1 tempo is valid/good in the 6-12 range but that it might not be a good idea for all exercises. Is it a proven fact that 3-1-1 is better then 1-0-1 for size or do i just have to pick one, do it for months, measure, then pick the other & do the same, then compare.

Many thanks![/quote]

I’m not a fan of “tempos”… just counting the tempo will take your focus away from lifting. I prefer to use “execution guidelines” such as:

Perform the eccentric portion under control, hold the stretch a second, pull as hard as you while keeping good form.

And you are right, some exercise work best by using a hold/pause in the stretch position (pressing, legs) while others work best using a squeeze at the peak contraction position (pulling, biceps, triceps)

Got it! Thanks Thib !