For me, I use heavier loads for pure growth, and lighter slower loads for definition, if that makes any sense, and I try to hit a muscle group with both types of lifts twice per week. This is just personal preference and is based off of my results, not any specific scientific data.
Also, for muscle groups that can cause potential injury (chest and shoulders), I like to use lighter slower loads in order to maintain form and avoid injury.
Wow,. you know I guess it really must be an individual thing,… and even with that, it’s also a ‘how am I feeling today’ kind of thing. Personally, I’m never one to really overthink the basic rep,… but I do always handle the weight with a considerable amount of control on the eccentric portion of the movements. I will note, that with the few injuries I’ve had over the years, I to tend to work a lot slower at the onset of my weight sessions, believing that I’m still getting a good amount of muscle stimulus, but being a bit safer as it were, until everything’s firing like it should be… or even on days when I’m just feeling a little tired, those are days when I’d most likely use a little less weight, but ‘milk’ the movement a bit more.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Wow,. you know I guess it really must be an individual thing,… and even with that, it’s also a ‘how am I feeling today’ kind of thing. Personally, I’m never one to really overthink the basic rep,… but I do always handle the weight with a considerable amount of control on the eccentric portion of the movements. I will note, that with the few injuries I’ve had over the years, I to tend to work a lot slower at the onset of my weight sessions, believing that I’m still getting a good amount of muscle stimulus, but being a bit safer as it were, until everything’s firing like it should be… or even on days when I’m just feeling a little tired, those are days when I’d most likely use a little less weight, but ‘milk’ the movement a bit more.
The negative provides a rest from the positive since it takes more energy to lift a weight than to lower it. You are also far stronger during the negative than during the positive. Anyone who has ever done negative-only training knows that you can use far more weight for negative-only reps. By shifting the balance of the set toward the negative, you should be able to handle more weight for a given length of time (although not necessarily for a given number of reps).
The negative provides a rest from the positive since it takes more energy to lift a weight than to lower it. You are also far stronger during the negative than during the positive. Anyone who has ever done negative-only training knows that you can use far more weight for negative-only reps. By shifting the balance of the set toward the negative, you should be able to handle more weight for a given length of time (although not necessarily for a given number of reps).[/quote]
Your are so right! One time I used a 12 minutes negative and was able to use over 9000 pounds. True story.
I find I can do twice as many reps when take 6 second negatives compared to fast explosive reps. You know… cause i get all that rest during the negatives. Time under tension be dammed I tell you!
The negative provides a rest from the positive since it takes more energy to lift a weight than to lower it. You are also far stronger during the negative than during the positive. Anyone who has ever done negative-only training knows that you can use far more weight for negative-only reps. By shifting the balance of the set toward the negative, you should be able to handle more weight for a given length of time (although not necessarily for a given number of reps).[/quote]
Come on man… I think it was pretty easy to see I was not talking about negative only training but rather having a slower eccentric portion while still having a concentric portion… no?
[quote]MODOK wrote:
I believe its more of a function of how much total time the muscle can be under for a given weight than a negative per say. Say I can do 225 with a controlled negative and explosive concentric for 15 reps to failure and it takes 3 seconds for each complete rep = 45 total seconds. Now take the same weight, do a 4 sec negative one sec pause and 4 second concentric for 5 reps= 45 total seconds. I’ve done this little experiment in many different lifts and it always works out almost the same that total TUT for a given weight is what is at play regardless of the speed of the contraction. [/quote]
I see what you mean.
I meant the question more in terms of TUT vs heavier weight I guess, while still keeping the same rep #
Well this is always a debate and a good one at that. However, I feel that it is different for each person or specific training they are currently undergoing. For Example, when I am dieting I’m not trying to make huge gains in size or strength, simply cut down while I try to maintain muscle. I also have to realize that I am very depleted and tired. Because of this I will focus more on eccentric, between 3-5 sec, and less on trying to go heavier and heavier. Now this doesn’t mean I am using a very light weight, instead it’s still relatively heavy just extremely controlled. To each his own, I do use TUT and I feel as though it does have its benefits.
