Negative Reps
With approx. 5 repetitions, strain the muscle until it is completely exhausted. If no more repetitions are possible, the muscle is further stressed by slow, yielding (eccentric) work to the starting position through 2-3 repetitions.
The training partner takes over the part of the overcoming (concentric) work. The method of negative reps causes an increased muscle growth due to the eccentric working of the muscles. There are three possibilities to strain the muscles during strength training.
The overcoming work, where an athlete lifts the weight against gravity, the static work, where the weight remains in a fixed position, and the yielding work, where the weight corresponds to the direction of action of gravity. For trained athletes, the eccentric maximum force is approximately 5% greater than the static maximum force, and 10-15% greater than the concentric maximum force. The strain on the musculature is thus increased and the training stimulus is increased when working eccentrically.
Following the method of forced reps, negative reps use a yielding method of working the muscles. 5 to 6 repetitions with concentric work are done until complete exhaustion, followed by 2 to 4 yielding repetitions. A partner helps with the concentric movement back to the starting position.
Since the load is particularly high with this method, it is a standard method in bodybuilding. Between 4 and 8 sets are completed per unit. As with the method of forced reps, each set consists of 5-6 concentric repetitions until maximum exhaustion is reached.
This is followed by 2 to 4 eccentric repetitions, with the emphasis on slowly bringing the weight down. The speed of movement is slow due to the heavy weight. For exercises that are performed on one side (bicep curl or leg press), the concentric phases can be done with both arms/legs and the eccentric phases isolated with one arm/leg.
For chin-ups, the starting position can be achieved by pressing the body into the starting position with the legs. The aim of this method of negative reps is to achieve an approximate maximum use of muscle power. By using eccentric contraction forms, the musculature is put under increased strain in comparison to the forced reps.
This results in increased muscle growth. Since the negative reps method uses higher loads than the forced reps, the risk of overloading the muscles is correspondingly higher. Note: Bodybuilding is one of the safest sports when performed correctly.
However, bodybuilding gets into disrepute again and again, because in this sport often harmful substances are used. This training method was developed by Mike Mentzer. According to the motto no success without pain (no pain, no gain) the muscle is strained with this method up to the approximate muscle failure.
The muscle is loaded with 5-6 repetitions until it is completely exhausted. This is followed by 2-3 concentric repetitions with partner help and then another 2-3 slow yielding (eccentric) repetitions with partner help. This method is a combination of forced reps and negative reps. For detailed information on this topic, please refer to heavy duty training.
With this method, the partial reps muscle is also loaded with about 5 repetitions until it is completely exhausted. Afterwards, 3 repetitions are performed again. However, the movement is not performed to the full extent.
FOR EXAMPLEWhen bench press, the barbell bar is only returned to the halfway position. Detailed information on this topic can be found under partial reps In the method of the pre exhaustion principle, exercises are chosen in which two muscle groups are involved in the movement. (Example neck pressing: shoulder muscle and triceps brachii.)
By doing an isolation exercise (e.g. butterfly) before the actual exercise (bench press), the main muscle (in our case the shoulder muscle) is pre-fatigued. It is important that there is no break between the isolation exercise and the actual exercise. Detailed information on this topic can be found under pre exhaustion principle This method of cheating (cheating) involves a deviation in the correct execution of the movement.
Through approx. 5 repetitions the muscle is maximally stressed to exhaustion. Afterwards 3 repetitions follow, which can no longer be executed correctly due to fatigue.
Example: In bicep curl, the upper body is slightly bent backwards, in bench press by lifting the buttocks. For detailed information on this topic, see cheatings This method involves performing two exercises immediately after each other. Either the same muscle can be loaded (Agonist Super Series) or two different muscles (Antagonist Super Series).
The supersets can be extended to Tri Sets and Giant Sets. Here, three, four or five exercises are performed immediately after each other. Detailed information on this topic can be found under supersets This method of descending sets is one of the most intensive methods in bodybuilding.
It begins with 2 warm up sets at 50%. This is followed by 4 directly consecutive series of 5 repetitions each until maximum exhaustion is reached. One partner reduces the weight.
It is important that after the 5th repetition no more is possible. Detailed information on this topic can be found under descending sets This method tries to train a muscle in a targeted and isolated manner. Especially in the definition phase this method is used.
The focus is not so much on the heavy weight, but on the correct execution of the movement. This method is rarely integrated into the training plan alone. It usually takes place at the beginning or end of a training session.
You can find detailed information on this topic under isolation principle beginners usually train all muscle groups in one day per training unit. With the split system, on the other hand, the focus is only on a certain number of muscles per training unit. This method has the advantage that several exercises can be completed for one muscle and longer regeneration phases for the muscle can be realized.
