Conservatism in the Weight Room

    When thinking of strength training, many envision preforming grueling, grinding reps. They'll see a lifter contorting their body into many unimaginable ways trying to move the weight. They are under the impression that they are putting in good work when in reality, they are only serving to set their training further and further back. Grinding and slow reps are the polar opposite of what most athletes and the general public should be doing. They fry the nervous system,  impair your recovery, and can lead to a cascading list of injuries. The only athletes that should be performing these types of reps are, in my opinion, powerlifters whose sole task is to lift maximal weights in competition where grinding reps happen the majority of the time. Watch any powerlifting meet and you will see what I mean.

     Now it is worth mentioning that while I advocated all reps being explosive, at times these death reps do have their merit. They are incredible and undeniable in building mental toughness in individuals. Many today lack that killer drive and grinding reps can help correct that.

    Slower lifts also have their place when not dealing with maximal loads and the intent of the lift is to promote hypertrophy (muscle gain). Longer durations (~20secs - ~50secs; average ~40sec (Poliquin)) under tension provide a very influential stimulus for muscle growth.

    With that said, here are 3 guidelines to remember during your training sessions:

• When it comes to your training, be conservative with your weight selections, especially if the lift is new to you. You have your whole life to make progress, don't be in such a hurry to rush these things. 
• Make sure that your reps are always explosive with good form. Sports require you to be explosive so why train (for the most part) any differently. 
• Always leave 1-2 reps in the tank. Continued failure on lifts only results in injuries, impaired recovery, and just as important, damaged confidence.

No Nonsense Explosiveness,

Kyle Bohannon, CSCS

Owner/Head Trainer

kyle@trainstrive.com

www.trainstrive.com