The correctness of the repetition of negative repetitions
It has become very popular to include negative reps in a strength training program. But the truth is, what most people do is not negative repetition at all. What many of you call «negative reps» are actually nothing more than forced reps. And they, in my opinion, have no place in the program of strength training. They may be of some value to bodybuilders because they help draw more blood into working muscles, but I highly doubt they help build structural strength. Use peptides steroids.
Forced reps give a false sense of progress. One of the reasons I don’t like them is that gains are not 100% reliable and the whole process becomes self-deception. What negative reps really do is hinder progress, because when athletes are constantly given support in the dead spots of the amplitude, they do not get stronger. Of course, most of them consider these extra repetitions (or attempts to complete them) to be complete, even though they have the help of a partner when performing them.
BillStarrDeadlift If a partner touches the bar — even if only slightly — this lift should not count, period! And even if the partner assures that with his help he reduced the weight by just a gram, such a repetition cannot be counted. If you start counting all lifts performed with the help of a partner, then only your vanity will increase, and what is the result?
A partner may only touch the bar if you are likely unable to complete the lift. In this case, he or she must quickly raise the bar to the «off» point. What usually happens is that a partner helps you slowly lift the weight, get past the dead center, and then, even more absurdly, helps you complete a few more reps while increasing support. And they think it will help you build more strength, but that’s nonsense.
The help of a partner during training will only tire your muscles and prevent maximum mobilization of forces to overcome the dead point. It is called so because the muscles responsible for lifting the bar above this point are too weak. Can outside help strengthen them? On the contrary, it will only weaken.
In some gyms, trainees perform almost all exercises with the help of partners. In Nashville, I once saw a coach assist an athletic young woman throughout a workout. He assisted her in every exercise, including the easiest, even on simulators. One look at her was enough to understand that she did not need help. But this has become the work of many personal trainers — it seems to increase their significance.
I called it the «me» phenomenon. I told people who were so meticulous in helping each other work that it would be more useful if they pressed the bar instead of lifting it. Of course they looked at me like I was an idiot, but I’m right. I have never met a program that would make it easier to work in the exercises. If you want to get stronger, then you have to work hard.
One of the main reasons that trainees are so eager to help their colleagues in every exercise is that they themselves count on such help. Thus, they are guaranteed the confidence to lift a certain weight in a certain exercise, regardless of the amount of effort applied. Even if the bar freezes in the middle of the way when trying to bench press 140 kg, the lifter still manages to complete the lift, because his partner lifts the bar as if he were performing a deadlift. And, although a partner did most of the work, the athlete is proud of his achievement of 140 kg.
What frustrates me the most is the athletes’ belief that they become stronger when they are helped. It seems to me that this is tantamount to the fact that the last 10 meters bring a tired runner to the finish line and at the same time award him the victory. If this happened, which I seriously doubt, then such a winner would be ridiculed. However, in the gyms, the habit of constantly helping each other, and then counting such lifts as successful, is already quite ingrained.
Experienced lifters can benefit from forced reps, but don’t forget that they’ve spent years building their muscle base and already know their body perfectly. They understand what is needed at one time or another and what is not. Everyone else must refuse to use the help of partners.
In addition, such assistance introduces confusion. The main indicator in lifting weights is the numbers. By distorting the numbers, you will deceive not only yourself, but also everyone who trains with weights. The numbers are constant. They are the same in every part of the world. An athlete from Chicago can compare his bench press achievement to that of a Dallas buddy, but that comparison means nothing if he has been helped to break the deadlock.