Negative repetitions. What are “negative repetitions”? How to do negative reps for biceps correctly
Negatives or negative repetitions(sets) is an effective method of increasing the intensity of training, increasing muscle mass and strength. Negative reps are also effective when you feel stagnant in your training.
This method consists in the fact that when performing an exercise, the trainee practically eliminates the positive phase of the repetition (lifting weights) and leaves only the negative one (lowering weights). For example, when performing the popular bench press using the negative method, you only slowly lower the barbell to your chest on your own, and lift it up with the help of your partner.
The use of the negative method in training allows you to significantly increase working weights, since in the negative phase the muscles are able to develop significantly greater force. The main condition for using the negative repetition technique is the help of a partner who helps you lift the weight, and you, in turn, spend less energy on the positive and give all your best in the negative phase.
In some exercises, negativity can be performed without the help of a partner, on your own. These are all exercises that are performed with one arm or leg. For example, doing dumbbell bicep curls. The positive phase of the exercise (lifting the dumbbell to the top point) is performed with two hands, and the negative phase (lowering) with one.
The negative method without the help of a partner can also be used in leg curls, leg extensions and leg presses.
In pull-ups, you can stand on a high stand so that your chin is above the bar, then, with your legs tucked, slowly lower yourself into a hanging position, then stand on the stand again and repeat all the steps to perform the next negative repetition. In dips, the same technique is used to perform the exercise.
The benefits of negatives
Positive exercises are those that cause a shortening of muscle length, while negative exercises are accompanied by muscle stretching.
When you lift heavy weights, your muscles contract and become shorter. As you slowly lower the weight, your muscles again become very tense under the influence of gravity, but at the same time their stretch increases (they lengthen). The muscles receive enormous stress from this unnatural position, and muscle fibers are torn. As a result, the healing mechanism of damaged muscles is activated, which leads to increased muscle growth. It turns out that by focusing on performing the negative phase of the exercise, you spur your muscles to grow.
Negative reps are very effective at challenging your muscles, giving them maximum stress. And after performing negative reps, it will take you much longer to recover your muscles.
Despite the benefits you get from using negative repetitions, it is not recommended to use them as the basis of your training, since they do not involve the positive phase of training, which you also need. It is necessary to use negative repetitions when you have not made progress for a long time and you feel that your muscles are not receiving an “explosive” load. Negatives will certainly wake them up and remind them of what real stress is!
You need to start performing the exercises with a weight that is your maximum, since negative repetitions with your working weight when the negative phase is delayed for several seconds will not bring any effect. The maximum is calculated in terms of the maximum weight you can perform one repetition (one rep) without support. To this maximum you need to add another 5% of the weight, that is, for example, if you bench press a maximum of 100 kg, then start with a weight of 105 kg.
Try to complete the first negative repetition in 8 seconds. If you do it in 3 seconds, then the weight is too high. The negative phase should take 4–8 seconds.
Execution order
To perform negative reps, athletes must have sufficient experience and a solid base, as negatives place a lot of stress on the elbows and shoulders.
If you have just started working with negatives, it is better to do them once every few weeks. With more frequent use of negative repetitions, there will be a decrease in efficiency and the muscles will get used to such a load.
When performing negatives, you push the weight out in a traditional manner and lower it in a slow motion. Of course, this technique requires a maximum working weight, which you lift together with a training partner. Lowering the weight is done only independently, as slowly as possible.
Lord of the entire site and fitness trainer | more details >>
Genus. 1984 Trained since 1999 Trained since 2007. Candidate of Masters in powerlifting. Champion of Russia and South Russia according to AWPC. Champion of the Krasnodar region according to IPF. 1st category in weightlifting. 2-time winner of the Krasnodar Territory championship in t/a. Author of more than 700 articles on fitness and amateur athletics. Author and co-author of 5 books.
Place in : out of competition ()
Date of: 2014-02-16 Views: 13 748 Grade: 5.0 Before we begin the harsh practice, a little theory. During any exercise, muscles perform three types of work. 1. Overcoming. When you lift a projectile against gravity. The vast majority of training is based on this type of work. 2. Static. When the projectile is in one position. That is, for example, when you hold the barbell motionless at some point in the trajectory of movement. This method was widely used in his training by the famous Alexander Zass. 3. Inferior. When, under the influence of the gravity of the projectile, it is lowered down. It is precisely the third type of work that is key in negative repetitions. Now I will try to define this training method.
Negative reps are reps where there is a SLOW and CONTROLLED lowering of the apparatus or your own body. Moreover, the weight or muscle fatigue should be such that you are unable to lift the apparatus.
From this definition it is clear that in order to effectively use negative repetitions, either the weight must be extreme (that is, you cannot do overcoming work with it), or the muscles must be tired so that, again, you cannot lift this weight. Based on this, two purposes of negative repetitions can be distinguished:
Increased muscle mass
This is precisely the second case described in the definition. It is used mainly in bodybuilding. And you can do most exercises with it. Here's an example. You do 30 kg for 10 reps. You do the tenth repetition with all your strength. And then slowly and under control lower the barbell down for 5 to 10 seconds. You can not limit yourself to one repetition, but ask your partner to lift the barbell up for you and do several more such repetitions. The essence of the effect is that in this way you can put more stress on the muscles. And the stronger the stress, the better your muscles respond to the load. After all, it is such extreme stress that makes them grow. In my practice, I widely use this method in . When a person, after the last pull-up, goes down very slowly (up to 30 seconds). This approach allows you to increase the number of pull-ups.Increased muscle strength
This is the first case described in the definition. And it is usually used in powerlifting. You can only do basic exercises this way. Let's take for example. Let's say you can bench press a maximum of 100 kg one time. You put 115 kg on the barbell and slowly (the same 5 - 10 seconds) lower it to your chest. It's like you're resisting the weight of the barbell. Naturally, the assistants return the bar to the racks. This method is usually practiced by powerlifters in, and. Moreover, the weight of the projectile must necessarily be greater than your maximum. By about 10% - 20%. Otherwise there will be no point. You can perform either 1 or 2 – 3 repetitions. Personally, I don’t practice more than 3 repetitions. What is the essence of the effect here? Why are your muscles getting stronger? For those who know human physiology, there is no mystery here. The pressure that the weight of the projectile exerts on your body and your muscles causes a corresponding signal that is transmitted first to the brain and then through the motor neurons to the muscles. And the strength of muscle contraction directly depends on the strength of this signal. And the strength of the signal directly depends on how much weight is pressing on your muscles. By the word “presses” I mean the force of impact, and not in the literal sense. And here we come to the key point. When you lift more weight than you can lift, the strength of the signal sent to your muscles is greater than ever before. And this signal causes your muscles to contract with a force that they cannot develop with inferior work.If we take the maximum muscle contraction during overcoming work as 100%, then during static work the muscles can contract by 110% - 120%. And when inferior by about 130%.
conclusions
Negative reps can serve as both good variety for your workouts and a good way to tone your muscles and. But I wouldn't recommend this method for beginners. As for the growth of mass, it will continue to grow for the first time. And if it doesn’t grow, then negative repetitions are unlikely to help in this case, and you need to look for the problem elsewhere. As for increasing strength, the joints and tendons of beginners are simply not ready for such extreme loads. After all, supermaximal weights pose a high risk of injury. Also, you don’t need to use negative reps in every workout. How often, I cannot say. See for yourself here. Good luck.By the way, you can order yourself
There has long been a debate in training about which phase of movement is most important for muscle growth, positive (when lifting weights) or negative (when lowering weights).
Scientific research based on the experience of professionals and amateurs has confirmed the fact that both phases of movement are equally effective for muscle growth, but each of them works in its own way and must be performed at its own pace. Negative phase leads to a sharp increase in hormone secretion IGF 1. This hormone increases muscle mass and also reduces muscle recovery time after exercise. Positive phase exercise also has a powerful effect on the hormonal system, but here there is already an increase in the secretion of testosterone, and in comparison with the negative phase, in the positive, testosterone stands out as much as 40% more! All this suggests that both phases of repetition are important and equal attention should be paid to both.
Another thing is that there are training options aimed at the negative, when, for example, in the bench press the weight is deliberately set too heavy, which cannot be lifted in the positive phase of the movement
yourself, and two partners at the edges of the bar (or one in the center), help lift the weight to the top position, and it lowers with their own effort, slowly under control. This happens because, according to the physiological structure, in the negative phase you can overcome much more weight than in the positive phase. But of course, this version of extreme training is not considered as the main one; it is used for variety, to “surprise” your muscles by adding something new to the training. Also, a variant of negative repetitions is sometimes used to combat stagnation in the strength indicators of an exercise. The emphasis in this case is deliberately placed on the production of the hormone IGF 1, which, as is known, accelerates muscle recovery time, and the faster the muscles recover, the faster they will be ready for a new, powerful training and reach the next strength level.
It is important to remember that training based on negative repetitions is quite dangerous due to the risk of choosing an excessively large weight, so this type of repetition must be performed especially carefully, without exaggerating the weight load. It’s better to do a test repetition once again and find out how you feel when working with a given load, than to immediately, often at random, lift an exorbitant weight. Health is always more important than any, even the greatest results in training.
Performing repetitions.
What is the best way to perform repetitions, at a slow pace or vice versa at a fast pace? To answer this question, you need to know that there are « fast and slow muscle fibers. And, accordingly, when working only at a slow pace, fast fibers will not work. Therefore, to work with the greatest impact, the positive phase of the repetition (lifting the weight) is performed at an explosive, accelerated pace, and the negative phase (lowering the weight) is performed at an emphatically slow pace. In this case, both “fast” and “slow” fibers receive the necessary load. This is also due to the fact that when lifting weights in an explosive style, the number of working fibers in the muscle increases by an average of 10%. In general, the load-bearing phase should not last longer than 2-3 seconds.
Negative repetitions can be included in the training program as an element of training that improves athletic performance. They are negative only because the muscles are involved in the main work not in the usual, but in the negative phase. In the bench press, this will be the moment of lowering the barbell, and, for example, when doing pull-ups on the bar, this will be the lowering of the body. That is, a kind of work in reverse. However, it is precisely this kind of work that is very effective, especially if it has become less and less possible to progress using the usual methods.
Breaking is not building, and lowering is certainly much easier than raising. The trick is that when performing negative reps, the weight used should be higher than normal. What should it be like? Let's take things in order.
Working phases
Let's start by highlighting three main working phases into which any exercise can be divided. These are the concentric, isometric and eccentric phase. During standard execution, the concentric phase predominates - the moment of muscle contraction when we push or pull the working weight. The subsequent movement is only a return to the starting position, where the effort required is minimal.
The isometric phase is the moment of static load. The task here is not to pull or push something, here we simply hold a given position. The working weight in an isometric exercise can be used greater than in a concentric one. The muscles are in a contracted state, but they are not tasked with contracting beyond that. Essentially, we can push the wall, and the moment of our contact with it will become an isometric phase. The wall won't budge.
Isometric exercises are very effective for certain muscle groups, including the core muscles, and are also in demand in sports such as wrestling, arm wrestling, etc. The point is clear: the muscles must be adapted to a maximum load that can last for some time. However, statics are not applicable and are minimized in the training program of many other sports, including contact martial arts, and also imply increased stress not only for muscles, but also for ligaments and joints.
The eccentric phase is the same negative repetition, during which the muscles experience maximum tension. And if in the usual mode, when lowering the barbell, for example, we spend practically no effort, then when performing eccentrically, we load our muscles as much as possible at this stage.
Strength or mass?
It's no secret that exercises aimed at increasing muscle mass consist on average of 8-12 repetitions per hike. To develop strength, the number of repetitions ranges from 3-6 times. Why is this so?
It involves the process of hypertrophy of muscle fibers, and the time it takes to perform, roughly speaking, ten repetitions is the optimal period for loading “fast” muscles, provided that the last repetitions will need to be “squeezed out”. The development of strength involves an increase in the contractility of the muscle and its adaptation to explosive force. To do this, the target muscle must receive the same stress, but in a shorter period of time and with an increase in working weight. Naturally, the number of repetitions in the approach decreases.
Knowing that the growth of muscle mass is, in fact, a reaction to the load received, it becomes logical to conclude that the load needs to be increased. As these muscles adapt. Negative repetitions are one method of such building. It is in the eccentric phase that the tension goes through the roof.
Examples of negative repetitions
The preface turned out to be too long, let’s finally move on to the description of the training. Different sources have different views on what exact weight should be used and how many seconds the negative phase should last.
Let's consider our topic in the context of a specific exercise. Let it be negative reps in pull-ups. Let's say you can do five pull-ups with a 20 kg weight. It can be assumed that you will “pull” one time with a weight of 28 kg, so for negative repetitions you can try pulling up with 30 kg. As you already guessed, someone will have to help you rise to the upper phase.
The weight should be selected in such a way that during the lowering phase you can barely hold on for 5-8 seconds. Considering that on the second or third repetition you will get a little tired, it would be quite logical that everything will start from 8 seconds and go downwards. After doing 4-5 reps, repeat the set 1-2 times, varying the weight if necessary.
Once you try this exercise in practice, you will understand why it is at such moments that you experience maximum stress. They actually have to deal with a weight that is significantly greater than the working weight. More weight means more stress, but taking into account that the technique (trajectory) does not suffer, and the target group works as it should.
- Note. In the case of negative reps for pull-ups, there are a few things to consider. The classic grip (fingers away from you) involves “engaging” your back. When working with weights, you mayYou don’t want to help yourself by moving your legs and part of your body forward a little, which will take some of the load off your back. In addition, we should not forget that the likelihood of injury to both the back muscles and the thoracic spine increases significantly. When using a finger-to-self grip, the biceps will be heavily loaded, regardless of the position of the legs and body.
Pros and cons of negative repetitions
In order to explore the topic of negative repetitions as constructively as possible, we will list the main points characteristic of this training, highlighting its advantages and disadvantages.
So, the advantages:
- The maximum effect, allowing you to develop strength and build muscle mass at a new level (if, of course, you do everything correctly, consistently and do not forget about the basic rules).
- Opportunity to add variety to your training program.
- For ambitious fans of heavy weights, this is a reason to please yourself.
- The technique can be used without weights, for example, in the same pull-ups, if a person does not have enough strength to pull himself up at least once. Over time, he will develop strength and everything will work out for him.
Actually, it all comes down to increasing the effectiveness of training. Let's look at the disadvantages:
- Not suitable for beginners. It is necessary to have sports experience and appropriate physical condition when it comes to working with heavy weights. It is also necessary to understand and feel how negative training can be harmoniously inserted into the overall training program.
- An assistant is needed who will help in the concentric phase or simply lift the load upward (when learning pull-ups, it is enough to select a horizontal bar at the appropriate height and simply jump into the upper phase).
- Long-term recovery (at least 1-2 weeks after training with negative repetitions for a specific muscle group) - after all, the greater the load, the longer the rest should last. And we already know that with eccentric exercise the load is high.
- Injury hazard.
conclusions
Negative training is suitable for experienced athletes who need it as a new step in their training program. This will allow, among other things, not to spoil the technique of performing movements and avoid injury.
To continually progress in muscle growth and strength, you need to constantly surprise your muscles. There are many ways to surprise and give your muscles new stress to grow. Today we’ll talk about one very effective method that can create enormous stress conditions for your muscles. So, the topic of today's article: Negative reps in bodybuilding - what are they? Correct technique!
Negative repetitions– this is when you lower the weight of the projectile at a very slow pace (about 4 – 10 seconds). Negatives, probably, almost the most effective method in terms of gaining muscle mass and strength, as they can simply kill your muscles (create extra stress for them), which will ultimately lead to inevitable muscle growth and increased strength.
Since this method is very energy-intensive, I do not recommend using it on an ongoing basis in your training program. (this is especially true for athletes who train without farm support). If you constantly work with negatives, you can very easily catch overtraining. Also, they are strictly contraindicated for beginners (if you are a beginner, then focus on the correct technique for doing the exercises). Negatives can be included in your training when your training experience is more than 1 year. I recommend using them only in basic exercises. (to minimize the risk of injury).
The correct technique for performing negative reps in bodybuilding:
If you put muscle volume in first place and strength in second, then this method can be used in two techniques (with and without using the positive phase). If anyone doesn’t know, the positive phase is when the muscle contracts (for example, when lifting a barbell for biceps, upward movement), and negative is when the muscle receives maximum stretch (for example, when lowering the barbell onto the biceps, downward movement).
WITH POSITIVE PHASE:
In this case, you need to contract the muscles at a fast pace (1 - 1.5 seconds) and stretch the muscles at a very slow pace (4 - 6 seconds). Let’s look at the example of “standing biceps curl”:
Raise the barbell up quickly (within 1 – 1.5 seconds)– lower the barbell down slowly (within 4 – 6 seconds). In the last reps, you can use cheating to throw the barbell up. If you do 6 repetitions in this mode, it will take 30 – 45 seconds.
WITHOUT POSITIVE PHASE:
In this case, you will need the help of a partner (or partners) who will perform the positive phase instead of you. All you have to do is do the negative phase. I like this option better, since you can put more weight on the barbell, which ultimately creates even more stress for the muscles. Let’s use the example of “lifting a barbell for biceps while standing” to see how all this happens in practice:
Your partner throws the barbell up (makes a positive phase), and you don't put any effort into it (just hold the barbell in your hands to control this movement). After the bar is at the top, the negative phase begins. This is where your partner releases the bar and all the weight falls on your biceps. Within 4 - 6 seconds, you lower the barbell under control (slowly), and when your biceps reach maximum stretch, your partner again picks up the barbell and throws it up as quickly as possible and then releases it again. If you do 6 repetitions in this mode, it will take 30–40 seconds.
Another option is to put negative reps at the end of the approach. For example, do 6 reps on your own (at normal, average pace)+ 4 reps with negatives (without positive phase, with the help of a partner). For this technique to work as effectively as possible, it is important that the 6th repetition be a failure. That is, so that in the 7th repetition you will no longer be able to do the positive phase on your own. In this case, your muscles will receive the most severe stress, since you are simply overloading them (they do what in principle they cannot do).
If for you strength is much more important than impressive volumes, then in this case negative reps in bodybuilding are used a little differently. If you think about it this way, this option is likely to be more popular among powerlifters than bodybuilders. The essence of this technique is that you must work with negatives with a supermaximum weight (105 - 120%) in the range of 1 - 3 repetitions. I’ll say right away that this method very effectively develops the strength qualities of an athlete, but at the same time, it is very traumatic.
To make it clear, I propose to look at how it all looks in practice. Imagine that in the bench press, your maximum weight for 1 repetition is 100 kg (100 kg = 100%). If this is the case, then you need to put 105 – 120 kg (105 – 120%) on the barbell and do 1 – 3 repetitions at a slow pace. At the same time, you only give your all in the negative phase. The positive phase is performed by your partners.
For example, let’s say you decide to do 115kg (115%) for 2 reps. Placed yourself under the barbell, your partners (on the sides) helped remove this weight from the racks. You begin to very slowly lower this weight onto your chest. (within 5 – 10 seconds). As soon as the bar touches your chest, your partners lift it up (you don't waste any effort lifting... you just control the movement). As soon as the bar is at the top, the partners release the bar and you again, at a slow pace, lower it to your chest. As soon as the bar touches your chest, your partners lift the bar up and place it on the racks. All! The approach is over!
This method is very cool and effective. I recommend using it 1 – 2 times a month (I use it once every 3 weeks). Negativity is a great way to shock your muscles and break through plateaus!
Sincerely,