Negatives for positive results

New muscle growth is a result of a number of factors. Diet (both calories and macro-nutrients), rest, and muscle stress. While diet provides the building blocks for growth, and rest periods allow the body time to heal and grow, stressing your muscles provides the catalyst necessary to trigger the physical response of new strength and new muscle.

Every repetition of every exercise has 3 phases – the positive, the pause and the negative. The positive is the part of the repetition when the muscles contract to either push the weight away from you (in a bench press for example) or pull the weight towards you (for example, in a row). The pause is the portion of the repetition when the weight in at the end of it’s positive motion, just before fully locking the joint. The negative is the portion of the repetition where the weight returns to its original starting point.

Far too often I see beginning and even advanced bodybuilders ignoring the benefits of the negative part of the repetition. For example, in a bench press the lifter will often press hard to get the weight to the top, but then relax and let the weight come back down quickly and uncontrolled and “bounce” of his (or her) ribcage. Setting aside the possible injuries for a moment, in this scenario the lifter has essentially ignored 50% of the repetition.

So the question is: how can you leverage the negative to achieve new muscle growth? To begin with the obvious, if you control the repetition through the negative, you are forcing your muscles to do more work over the course of a set. More work leads to more stress on the muscle. Also, by stressing your muscle through 100% of the rep your workouts become more efficient. For the advanced bodybuilder, negative reps or even negative sets can be a way to blast through a strength or growth plateau.

These are advanced training techniques and I do not recommend them for anyone with less than one year of training. Also, these techniques require a good and attentive training partner, and I recommend using the safety stop bars on the racks and benches if they are available.

How to perform negative reps
Perform an unassisted set with your regular working weight to failure. Perform some reps post-failure by having your training partner assist you in the positive portion of the repetition, then control the weight though the negative portion of the rep. Perform the negative slowly (8-10 seconds) and concentrate on keeping the speed consistent and the weight under control. Perform 3-4 negatives at the end of your working sets (i.e. not warm-up sets).

For some body parts, biceps for example, you can “cheat” the positive portion of the rep if a workout partner is not available. I am not advocating “cheating” as a general workout practice, but in this case controlled cheating on the reps after failure can make your set more difficult and stressing.

How to perform negative sets
Most people are stronger on the negative portion of the repetition, and negative sets are a great way to get through a strength plateau. Load the bar with more weight than you can usually handle. Have your training partner provide assistance on the positive part of the repetition (not too much, just enough help to keep the weight moving). Perform the negative without assistance keeping the weight under control and moving at a slow but consistent speed.

Using a squat as an example, put about 25% more weight on the bar than you would usually work with. From the rack, descend slowly (negative) until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Have your training partner assist you to return to the top position and repeat.

So don’t ignore the negative and your workouts will be harder, more efficient, more stressing and ultimately more rewarding. And in the end you will have more muscle and strength for less time in the gym – which means more time to enjoy the beach this summer.

Train smart everyone!