Hello! I have a question on how I should lift weights, let me explain.
These last few months I’ve been gaining a lot of strength and I even surpassed old PR’s. Visually there’s also a difference. As if something finally clicked. Now recently I’ve been getting a bit of aches and pains (shoulder, hip, lower back, …). All very minor but annoying. This made me question my lifting technique and the intensity (% of 1RM) used for every exercise. Yesterday I reduced my usal weight by 15-20% on all my lifts - ironically those were my working weights a few months ago. I’ve noticed a big increase in control over those weights compared to then. For instance my 1RM for benching is 80kg. Normally my working weight is 65kg for 6-8 (80% 1RM). Yesterday I took 10kg off the bar (55kg - that’s 70% of my 1RM), but slowed down the eccentric to 2-3 seconds and actually tried focussing on my chest more instead of just doing the exercise ‘with good technique’. I got the same amount of reps as I’d normally get with 65kg, but I felt as if my chest was ‘worked’ a lot better. I can asses my RPE fairly good by now and I stayed at 7-9 for most exercises - lifting in a garage gym with no spotter and taking it too far will make you learn very quickly btw. My point is: at 70% I should be able to get 12 reps 0 RIR, but if I pushed my sets I think I could squeeze out only 10 reps lifting that way. At 65kg I still have ‘good’ control over the weight, but it feels a lot different. I can also control the eccentric, but it’s 1-2 seconds down and I don’t feel as stable. The reps are actually really ‘hard’ from the start, compared to yesterday only the last 3-4 reps were hard, but on my muscles, not on my body as a whole.
Which of both ways should you lift if hypertrophy is the goal? Progression over time is ofcourse the main driver, but I’m asking about the way you should lift the weights.
All the current science says that the more weight you lift for the same amount of reps, the better.
There are lots of “bros” who still believe in the “pump” and “slow negatives” or how you said - “feeling the muscle”. Its all cool and i also would like to do that and believe in that but the actual exercise science says that - if you can lift 65kg for 10 reps explosive and you can lift 55kg for 10 reps controled, the more strenght AND hypertrophy is stimulated by doing the 65kgs.
There are people who talk about metabolic fatigue and stuff like that which comes is about all the slow negatives and control and pump and shit, but the science behind that is still unclear.
Also, i dont think its necessary to get caught up in the form of every rep. If you are working heavy your form will deterioriate and that is not a sign of you training wrong, its a sign of you doing actual work. When professionals go for heavy singles those singles a looooot of times look like complete shit and could be used as an example of how NOT to lift, so its a good example of how the form of each rep is not the most important factor.
So my opinion based on what i have learned from current available studies is that - pick a way you can lift the most weight for the most reps using full range of motion and stick with that.
I also find it hard to progress in weight/reps when paying attention to every rep. These last few months I’ve gained a lot of strength and I think muscle aswel, because I’m actually intentionally trying to push more weight. It’s not that I’m dropping the weight down, it’s still controlled.
The literature doesnt say “more weight is better.” The literature suggests hypertrophy is prinarily stimulated by maximal exertion at 30% 1RM or above.
By slowing down the eccentric a little bit, you imposed less overall load on your joints (feeling less achy for you), but still achieved a high RPE and a subjectively challenging load (RPE7-9). The lihter set did everything needed to stimulate hypertrophy
The number 1 factor in this hobby/pursuit is longevity and consistency. If lifting as heavy as possible made you feel shitty, the slower eccentric tempo is preferable. They both will make you bigger and stronger.
Yeah. Looking back at some of the injuries ive sustained from going too aggressively and the training time they took away to recover from, then get back to previous strength Then start gaining again looks like a lot of time wasted.
A couple more months worth of patience and steady work is minuscule in comparison to the total amount in years.
There are benifits to both styles of set. It doesnt have to be an either or/ which is better situation as long as you keep progression at the heart of it and dont take either style to extreems.
IMO you are putting too much emphasis on subjective scales of measurement like RPE, RIR, and %1RM. By no means is this a dig on you, simply that even really experienced lifters tend to mis-represent all of these metrics.
Doing nice, controlled negatives is great! Timing them? probably not so much… it takes concentration away from the contraction - by extension, this reduces your brains’ capacity to send Motor Recruitment Units (I believe this is the proper term) to the muscle.
My .02: focus less on how many seconds you are performing negatives, and simply focus on doing the eccentric longer than the concentric. I would challenge you to try some of these same exercises with the Rest-Pause technique to see what your true 1RM is (not for squats, deads or OHP!). You will probably be surprised. I know I was
Some guys really Thrive on one style or the other. And some guys really Hate lifting one way or the other.
For everyone else, some mix of the two styles works great.
I like to alternate “Heavy” “Explosive” lifting with “Lighter” “Controlled” lifting. The heavy, fast stuff builds strength and muscle. And the lighter, slower work is a good way to recover to avoid aches and pains, while building Mind Muscle Connection and muscle.
It’s also common to do “big” lifts like bench press with heavier weights and violent intention. And then to do flies or DB press with a more controlled, muscle focused technique after that.
Little update: as suggested by @FlatsFarmer I tried a mix of both yesterday. Did my OHP a bit more explosive (still controlling my eccentric) but more focussed on power (hit a PR yay). Same with pull-ups (PR yay). After that I did incline bench and seated rows, really focussing on a slower eccentric, feeling the muscle stretch on the IBP and feeling the contraction (holding it for 1-2 sec with a full stretch afterwards) on seated rows. For incline hammer curls I did a mix, 1 heavy set of 8 and 2 back off sets of 15-20. First set a bit more explosive, then 2 sets with a 3 sec eccentric. Skullcrushers and db flyes were focussed on getting a good slow stretch.
Had a great workout and today I woke up sore (in a good way - not my joints) and muscles feeling pumped.
I do have a follow up question about programming, if somebody can answer me that. I usually keep sets the same and focus on progression for reps/weight. Is there any benefit to ramping the volume week to week and adding intensity techniques as the weeks go by? E.g. start with 2 sets for an exercise at RPE 7, then bump it up over the course of the weeks to 4 sets with the final set being RPE 10 (maybe a myo rep set or drop set) and then deloading. Rinse and repeat. Or is that more for advanced trainees? Or should you set a range for yourself, like 3-4 sets and depending on how you feel that day perform 3 or 4 sets, with or without an intensity technique? More of an autoregulated approach? Or just keep things the same, so you know what parameters are changing and if it stops working, only then add volume/intensity? Which of the 3 would be more suited for me at this moment? (1RM’s: BP 80kg, SQ 95kg, DL 120kg, OHP 50kg)
I like the 1st way you mentioned. Pick some lifts, start slow the first week, then crank it up for 4-5 weeks. When you get tired, back off for a week, then start pushing again. It doesn’t work for everyone, lots of dudes have a real problem getting through that first, non killer week.
The 3rd way, keeping everything the same and adding weight/reps in a very orderly, regimented way is cool too. Although sometimes it can be a bit of a drag to be so 'locked in." Like some days maybe you need an extra warm up set or two, and it’s hard to fit that in when you’re trying to match last week.
Auto regulation is cool too, but you’ll probably need more experience running your program before you can do it right. Like you’ll want to get through a training cycle or two to learn How Much is Enough before you start tinkering too much.
Yes, that is a form of progressive overload that will work. Mike Israetel is a big fan of increasing sets over a block, then deloading and starting the whole process again
Personally, not a fan of this strategy because it means some sessions last 30-40min and some exceed an hour and a half.
If you like it, then do it (although the intensifiers like myo-reps or drop sets are probably unnecessary)
