The perfect rep has been discussed mainly in the context of building muscle, but how does the perfect rep fit in with strength training? To break my question down further, how does it in fit in with the training of:
Those that train for powerlifting - their competition involves a pause at the bottom of the squat and bench press. Would they be best off using the perfect rep except in the weeks leading up to competition?
Those that train to lift maximum weight without a pause - for some people, it seems they cannot lift as much weight when using the perfect rep vs. using “regular” reps. Would they be best off using the perfect rep except in the weeks leading up to testing their maxes?
Thanks for your responses - I couldn’t find anything on-topic using the search function. I am working on fixing up some injury issues for the time being, but I am looking forward to really applying all that I have learned here from reading CT’s work.
[quote]lavi wrote:
To CT or anyone knowledgeable on this topic:
The perfect rep has been discussed mainly in the context of building muscle, but how does the perfect rep fit in with strength training? To break my question down further, how does it in fit in with the training of:
Those that train for powerlifting - their competition involves a pause at the bottom of the squat and bench press. Would they be best off using the perfect rep except in the weeks leading up to competition?
Those that train to lift maximum weight without a pause - for some people, it seems they cannot lift as much weight when using the perfect rep vs. using “regular” reps. Would they be best off using the perfect rep except in the weeks leading up to testing their maxes?
Thanks for your responses - I couldn’t find anything on-topic using the search function. I am working on fixing up some injury issues for the time being, but I am looking forward to really applying all that I have learned here from reading CT’s work.[/quote]
Look at the videos of Matt Kroc training… everything he does is pretty darn near what I would call a perfect rep. F = mass X acceleration. So trying to lift the weight as explosively as the weight will allow is actually a very effective way to build strength.
YES they have a pause in the bench press during their competition; the competition bench is a skill, an athletic even, and it must be trained specifically; much like a golfer must work on his swing. So some paused stuff is good, it is actually another way of overloading the stretch position. But that doesn’t exclude performing ‘the perfect rep’ in training.
They did a study on depth jumps (dropping off of a box, and jumping back up as soon as you touch the floor) which is mechanically similar to what happens during a fast turnaround on your lifts. The beginners had a drop in performance vs. their vertical jump and the advanced athletes had an increase in performance. This tells me that when you are not used to the type of force produced at the turnaround point of a perfect rep your performance might decrease; but as you get better at it, it will increase.