Something rare I noticed in the gym over the years

[stovepipe]

Over the past 25 years being in and out of the gym I noticed 3 unique people who's style of working out is unlike any other I've seen. They workout as if you hit a slow motion button, but also super strict form, squeezing the muscle and holding it for a few secs, then slowly bringing the weight down. I'm talking each rep is so slow almost everyone in the gym has looking at them like "wtf is he doing". Some people laughed, I approached and asked some questions.

The one thing all 3 of them had in common besides the way they worked out, was they were all more shredded than any other guys I've seen, ever (in the gym)! They didn't look to be on juice, weren't pro bb, just normal guys. My theory is due to the stabilizer muscles having to work just as hard in the negative range of motion as the positive, on top of the strictest form I done ever seen.

Used to know a guy who trained with an Olympic coach. To increase their bench max he would add 20-30% more weight than he can lift on the bar, then just raise the bar off the bench and hold it till your arms were going to give out, then re-rack. Don't remember what his specific routine was, but I did try that and it worked surprisingly well. My arms were shaking and burning so bad, it was painful af. You dont want to risk your arms giving out before you re-rack, so having a spotter is a good idea if anyone tries this. He told me your stabilizer muscles overtime strengthen to the point where that weight no longer is as heavy even though you didn't do a rep and your max increases as a result.

I plan on trying to workout in super slow motion for 6 months as an experiment. Focusing on my negative resistance just as much as my positive, while keeping the weight on the lighter side. Then adding in a normal heavier day once a month. I know this all sounds weird, but in 25 years I've only seen 3 people do this and I've seen 1000's in that time.

 

[ImTheDoubleGreatest!]

The one thing all 3 of them had in common besides the way they worked out, was they were all more shredded than any other guys I've seen, ever (in the gym)! They didn't look to be on juice, weren't pro bb, just normal guys. My theory is due to the stabilizer muscles having to work just as hard in the negative range of motion as the positive, on top of the strictest form I done ever seen.

You want extreme explosiveness on the way up, basically push as hard as you can like you’re maxing. Then on the way down, you go super slow and controlled. That’s the best way. Them moving the weight up slowly is fine simply because of time under tension, but you might as well just do more reps. Going slow upwards doesn’t create power, and strength gain isn’t as much as it normally would be. Slow negatives are great, but you want to really explode on the way up for maximal strength gain.

Used to know a guy who trained with an Olympic coach. To increase their bench max he would add 20-30% more weight than he can lift on the bar, then just raise the bar off the bench and hold it till your arms were going to give out, then re-rack. Don't remember what his specific routine was, but I did try that and it worked surprisingly well. My arms were shaking and burning so bad, it was painful af. You dont want to risk your arms giving out before you re-rack, so having a spotter is a good idea if anyone tries this. He told me your stabilizer muscles overtime strengthen to the point where that weight no longer is as heavy even though you didn't do a rep and your max increases as a result.

These are called static holds. I’ve done them before myself. Basically, it teaches your body to be stronger by making the weight FEEL lighter. For me it worked a little bit, and the weight felt a heck of a lot lighter, but it didn’t necessarily increases my maxes. My maxes just felt lighter on my body than normal. You can’t do this too often though, it destroys your nervous system. I burned the **** out and it took my a while to recover.

 

[EyeBRollin]

You're wasting your time. The key to gaining muscle is to get stronger. Everything else is literally fitness industry bull****. If you aren't getting stronger, you are wasting your time. Anytime you think of a new exercise or variation of exercise, ask yourself "will this make me stronger?" If the answer is anything other than yes, it's not doing much for you.

Bottom line: stop all the analytics and just go lift some heavy ass ****.

 

[Macaframalama]

They workout as if you hit a slow motion button, but also super strict form, squeezing the muscle and holding it for a few secs, then slowly bringing the weight down. I'm talking each rep is so slow almost everyone in the gym has looking at them like "wtf is he doing".

mTor, TUT through over exaggerated eccentrics, concentrics and isometrics. They have been effective for me.

You're wasting your time. The key to gaining muscle is to get stronger. Everything else is literally fitness industry bull****. If you aren't getting stronger, you are wasting your time. Anytime you think of a new exercise or variation of exercise, ask yourself "will this make me stronger?" If the answer is anything other than yes, it's not doing much for you.

Bottom line: stop all the analytics and just go lift some heavy ass ****.

Mr. One-dimensional at it again. ***NEWSFLASH*** Increasing load isn't the only method of progression in regards to weight training and arguably should be the last chosen method in most instances. It would be wise to get every last drop of adaptation out of a particular load, prior to Increasing load. Ever hear of... Increasing the number of reps a weight is being lifted for? Increasing the number of sets you are lifting a weight for? Increasing the amount of work being done in a given time period (Density)? And finally, OP's consideration of increasing the difficulty of the exercise being performed?

"will this make me stronger?"

Yasss!!! They all can. And bigger too.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Mr. One-dimensional at it again. ***NEWSFLASH*** Increasing load isn't the only method of progression

Correct, it's not. However, it is the most effective.

in regards to weight training and arguably should be the last chosen method in most instances. It would be wise to get every last drop of adaptation out of a particular load, prior to Increasing load. Ever hear of... Increasing the number of reps a weight is being lifted for? Increasing the number of sets you are lifting a weight for? Increasing the amount of work being done in a given time period (Density)?

That makes no sense. The "look" people are in the gym for is a direct result of a body reaching a higher level of fitness. Why are you listing every other way to do that other than the obvious? Getting stronger will build mass. Getting stronger will make one look most aesthetic. Sorry bro, there is no way around it. Lift heavier weights. It's a simple concept. You can tinker with drop sets, negatives, and schemes all day but if you want a physique that commands attention you gotta get stronger.

And finally, OP's consideration of increasing the difficulty of the exercise being performed?

Lift heavier weights. Why do you insist on making it more complicated then it is?

 

[Macaframalama]

fitness

Fitness has nothing to do with it. Fitness is the level of proficiency or ability to complete a SPECIFIC activity. Running a marathon vs 100m Sprint, biking, rowing, for ex. Does a marathon runner look fit to you? Perhaps, to run a marathon.

Why do you insist on making it more complicated then it is?

No one, else here seems to have a problem comprehending simple concepts, other than yourself. Funny, you talk the talk, but post no physique photos or PR's.

 

[CBear]

There's no "best way" and if someone thinks their way is the best, they're close-minded.
Try everything. Switch between methods every couple of weeks. This in itself will be beneficial to your body.
& then, find out what works best for you.
For me personally, slow reps with maximum weight + 2 or more drop sets after every exercise has been ideal. Obviously this won't be the best option for the big 3 but those aren't necessarily the lifts you should be doing anyways.

 

[Eternal_water]

To be honest I have to think @EyeBRollin is probably right.
I have tried various things like super slow negatives, fast as possible reps, super high reps, high volume, german volume training (gave me great DOMS to be fair but burnt me out pretty quick), drop sets, super sets, 1.5 reps etc.

One observation always rings true to me: I never see the really muscular guys lifting light/medium weights, they are always lifting very heavy. I also never see skinny guys lifting massive weight.

If skinny guys are lifting light weights, average guys are lifting medium weights and huge/muscular guys are lifting heavy weights then progressive overload must surely be the best way to go.

 

[Eternal_water]

Here is a question for you then @EyeBRollin (well 2 actually)

Do you believe that If you are eating enough protein and getting enough sleep that you can get stronger (and thus grow more muscle) while staying at calorie maintenance and so not gaining fat? (or even a very mild caloric deficit?)

Also do you lift to failure or stop a rep or 2 before?

 

[Eternal_water]

Going with that I made an extra push to increase the weights today.

I set PR's on the squat, seated machine row and barbell bench press. The only thing with that style of training is the reps are low (3-5 reps a set) and you don't feel like you have done as much as when you train with high reps but that is probably good. Im not overtraining.

Hopefully my body will get stronger and I will be able to do more reps at these new weights and grow...

 

[EyeBRollin]

Here is a question for you then @EyeBRollin (well 2 actually)

Do you believe that If you are eating enough protein and getting enough sleep that you can get stronger (and thus grow more muscle) while staying at calorie maintenance and so not gaining fat? (or even a very mild caloric deficit?)

Also do you lift to failure or stop a rep or 2 before?

To be honest I don’t count calories I just go by hunger. My daily template is:

Breakfast
Oatmeal, almonds, fruit

Lunch:
Large salad with protein - chicken, salmon, or rice/beans

Dinner:
Protein, starch, vegetables

If I feel hungrier I’ll have bigger portions for breakfast and dinner the next day or two. I add honey and peanut butter to the oatmeal or eggs / more chicken with dinner.

On workout days I’ll drink a tall glass of chocolate milk or have beer + extra protein with dinner. Lol.


Regarding failure, training to failure is broscience. All it does is make you sore. Lifting heavier weights eventually forces your body to build more muscle. There’s no way around it. The 3-5 rep range just works. There is simply no way a skinny guy will deadlift 400 lbs. Work on deadlifting 400 lbs, the muscle will havee to be there in order to do it.

 

[Macaframalama]

Regarding failure, training to failure is broscience. All it does is make you sore. Lifting heavier weights eventually forces your body to build more muscle.

Dude, you're a grown man the size of a 15 year old boy, with lift PR's to match. You're hardly in any position to call anything broscience. Here's your broscience.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3404827/

 

[EyeBRollin]

Dude, you're a grown man the size of a 15 year old boy, with lift PR's to match.

When you can deadlift 2.5X your bodyweight, you can have an opinion.

 

[Macaframalama]

When you can deadlift 2.5X your bodyweight, you can have an opinion.

Means jack, when the science has been put in front of you, discrediting that opinion. Not to mention, 2.5X bw deadlift at your weight isn't anything to brag about these days. It's respectable for a non competitor at your weight, but we now have several women pulling 500+. I'm not trying to bully or beat this thing in the ground, but there are alot more variables to be considered, before making blanket statements, like certain things are pure broscience.

 

[Eternal_water]

To be honest I don’t count calories I just go by hunger. My daily template is:


Regarding failure, training to failure is broscience. All it does is make you sore. Lifting heavier weights eventually forces your body to build more muscle. There’s no way around it. The 3-5 rep range just works. There is simply no way a skinny guy will deadlift 400 lbs. Work on deadlifting 400 lbs, the muscle will havee to be there in order to do it.

Phew, I don't think I will ever reach that but I am going to go back to focusing on just increasing the weight on the compound exercises.

The last couple of days I increased my squat and deadlift PR to 209.4 lbs (it's a lot for me) and didn't go to failure. My legs are sore now .

 

[soulforge]

To be honest I have to think @EyeBRollin is probably right.
I have tried various things like super slow negatives, fast as possible reps, super high reps, high volume, german volume training (gave me great DOMS to be fair but burnt me out pretty quick), drop sets, super sets, 1.5 reps etc.

One observation always rings true to me: I never see the really muscular guys lifting light/medium weights, they are always lifting very heavy. I also never see skinny guys lifting massive weight.

If skinny guys are lifting light weights, average guys are lifting medium weights and huge/muscular guys are lifting heavy weights then progressive overload must surely be the best way to go.

I generally mix up both... Heavy lifts for strength and size.. lower weights to get deep inside that muscle.. the lower weights, high reps are great for obtaining better definition..

Go with what works for you.. Some folks just get too SCIENTIFIC about chit!

 

[IKO69]

makes sense. they make every rep count

 

[speed dawg]

When you can deadlift 2.5X your bodyweight, you can have an opinion.

This is like saying, "I'm never going to hire a personal trainer who has a better body than me." Well, according to what metric?

You may be naturally strong. That would render your logic 100% false on this subject.

You may be lying. Using a pseudo insult because you can't refute his point.

I don't know the reason you make such a comment, but I know it's not accurate. An exercise theory's effectiveness is judged based on pre-theory and post-theory results.

Muscle has a density metric. Thicker muscle is stronger. Low-reps to failure increases muscle size, high reps to failure increases density. And training to failure absolutely makes muscles grow. Soreness comes from the lactose acid, when is produced when muscles are pushed out of their comfort zone.

You are simply being contrarian.