It’s more complex than that. It’s not the eccentrics per say, but excessive inflamation that reduces insulin sensitivity. And it is not an issue if a normal volume is done
I see do you still prefer/recommend the “Perfect rep” style on Thib army blog?
3-5 seconds slow controlled ecentric first 3/4 of movement followed by 1/4 drop and violent turnaround/concentric (like the old perfect rep from ibodybuilder days)?
And then perhaps for isolation work play around w/ different rep schemes/tempo (includign cart’ers 10-6-10)
I tried it on hamstring curls before BB hip thrusts a few days ago. Long story short, the lengthy TUT and the near-failure partial reps give a hell of a pump, and make it easy to utilize the MMC. Are there tons of other ways to achieve this desired effect? Yes, but if Paul Carter is advocating for one of them in particular, you can bet your ass that it’s effective.
You say (unless I misread it) that ‘piston style’ reps are not optimal for growth. I respectfully disagree. All rep styles have merit. In terms of muscle damage, yes, eccentrics all the way.
But the occlusion effect of ‘piston reps’ should not be overlooked. I love me some metabolic stress. Don’t even care if it’s less than optimal. It’s fun.
I believe there’s a “break-over point” when it comes to discussing theory in correlation with actual training. Educating oneself is always good, but the break-over point is obsessing over details.
Thinking about training theories all the time is sort of an addiction. Instant dopamine hit multiple times a day. Check t-nation. Check elitefts. Check Thibs’ forum. You thought you had the perfect program yesterday. Now this new post or article came up… drooling
That’s when you start getting paralysis by analysis from comparing Carter’s 350 method to Thibs’ latest article about reps and some post you saw from Wendler in a roundtable 2 years ago. How does it fit into Doggcrapp? And what about Mountain Dog Training bro splits combined with layers?
On and on and…
Heard of optical illusions? Well, this is ‘optimal illusions’.
Being so categorical and peg this or that as ‘not optimal’ is like focusing on the shape of one cloud, missing the big picture of the entire sky. (Sorry, felt like stroking my long, white zen master beard for a second there. (eccentric-less strokes, mind you!))
Not trying to be an ass, brother. Training IS damn interesting. Just be mindful of the mind traps.
4 Likes
I don’t always use the 3/4 rep technique (this is what I call the controlled then fast turnaround reps). Sometimes it’s “piston like reps”, sometimes slow eccentrics, sometimes tempo contrasts, etc.
I LOVE everything about this post!!!
A lot of people are very surprised when they see me train (or when I write programs for them) because they don’t see all the methods I talk about, or that other coaches talk about. It is very basic training with A FEW methods thrown in there but only on a need-to basis.
1 Like
Guy’s a lost cause, don’t even try 
I know. The problem is that regardless of how many times in the past I told him what his problem was, he never learns… he goes away for a few weeks then come back with a new theory or method or something that someone did. I can’t ban him because he is not unpleasant to others or anything, and really, he is the only one that will end up being hurt. But I do find it really annoying.
1 Like
So you’re telling me you’re not deploying every technique known to man?! How disappointing!
On a serious note, when it comes to the water type ‘ebb and flow’, do you sometimes have to remind yourself not to fall into the trap of putting more and more things from the buffet on your meat and potatoes plate?
Or have you now - after all these years - come full circle to such an extent that you can now comfortably stick to the roots of your personal training philosophy?
All the time. Especially when I’m stressed or tired.
This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.