Speed Work

[SoSadBtTrue]

Hey, I want to start incorporating speed work into my routine. I've heard you should do like 10 sets of 2 or 3 reps at about 50 or 60% of your 1RM. Is this correct?

Also...is the whole rep done quickly? Or is it just the eccentric part of the lift. For example, when doing speed squats, do I want to sit down as fast as possible, or do I sit down normally but explode up? It seems to me that if you were to sit down as quickly as possible and then explode up, this would put a lot of stress on your joints and it would lead to being out of control.

Your thoughts? Thanks.

 

[GlockerNoon]

4 sets of 20 reps with no more than 90 seconds rest between them. You will find the weight is around 50-60 % of you Max.

And then you will want to die. have fun and grow, ya know!

 

[bignate73]

Hey, I want to start incorporating speed work into my routine. I've heard you should do like 10 sets of 2 or 3 reps at about 50 or 60% of your 1RM. Is this correct?

Also...is the whole rep done quickly? Or is it just the eccentric part of the lift.
usually its done as you said 10x2 with 50-60% of your 1RM. varying your hand positions from close to wide. you take about 30 seconds between sets and the sets commonly takes about 3 seconds each (explosive), but some have been getting the same result taking the bar down normally, so lowering under control and just working on exploding up. since you tend to pause in a competition bench anyways, why not train for that too?many times speed bench looks like flailing but you can cater it to your own style.
For example, when doing speed squats, do I want to sit down as fast as possible, or do I sit down normally but explode up? It seems to me that if you were to sit down as quickly as possible and then explode up, this would put a lot of stress on your joints and it would lead to being out of control.

usually on speed work for lower body, i use box squats. you could do a speed squat also, but i wouldnt suggest dropping into the rep and exploding up. i would take it down controlled and explode up from a pause.

hope that helps.

 

[WalkingBeast]

Great advice Nate as always! Never heard of doing 4 sets of 20 for speed. Sounds interesting though. The way Ive always heard of it being done, and the way Brute suggested I do it, is 10 sets of 3 at 45% of max. I use full speed on the negative and positive portion (pulling the weight down fast) of the lift and try to complete 3 reps in 3 seconds. 30 seconds rest between sets. Its worked real well for me it seems.

 

[Sammy Sosa]

If you follow westside, they want you to lower the bar quickly too. Found this on elitefts.com

 

[collegiateLifter]

really depends on what element of speed you are reffering to. this of course can seem to overcomplicate things, but sometimes its neccessary.

For instance say its a tough and very technique precise task (like an olympic lift, etc). If you do 4 sets of 20 you will have horribly sloppy form on those later reps. For such reasons the WSB guys do sets of 2 for squats and sets of 3 for bench press

 

[JOKER47]

I follow a slightly modified WSB routine.

When I do my box squats for speed, it's 10 sets of 2, each set done quickly and explosively. 45 secs between sets.

The descent onto the box is done quickly, but controlled, slight pause to relax the hips, then explode off the box.

I do oly pulls for deadlift speed work, and generally do 6-10 sets of singles of either high-pulls or power cleans. Rest time is 45 secs between pulls, or a little longer if needed. Not more than a couple minutes, though.

Joker

 

[bignate73]

For such reasons the WSB guys do sets of 2 for squats and sets of 3 for bench press

they do it that way for 2 reasons:

maintain form
3 reps of bench press should take approximately 3 seconds, as would 1 rep of a maximum effort press
2 reps of box squats would take as long as a max effort squat.

thats the rationale. same unit of time under tension, just different weight and acceleration.

 

[coolcolj]

depends on the person, but the only way to truly tell is to measure bar speed with a fitrodyne or muscle lab, then you can find how many reps you can do without slowling down. Some people slow down after 3 reps, some can keep going up to 5-6 reps.

also some people can go pretty fast with 70%, like me , and some can't go that fast with 40%,

You can lower under control and blast it up or you drop it and reverse it abruptly - different ways for different training effects

and 10 sets of 2 isn't written in stone, use the amount of volume that is right for you and your goals, your program etc

 

[StrongChE]

First of all you need to state your current maxes.

Based on the maxes, the percentage will vary. As CoolColJ said, he could move the weight fast with 70%. As your squat climbs, the percentage drops because of the increase in volume and intensity.

The reason for the 3 reps on the bench is because this is the amount of time it normally takes for a competition press. The 2 reps on squat is approximate to the time for a comp squat. Another reason is break down of form, losing tightness, and shifting of the bar on the back.

Before you begin doing speed work, you must make sure your form is solid. If not, you'll be taxing your attachments more than the muscle.

The 50% figure doesn't include band or chain tension either. Usually resistance is accomodated with these accessories.

However, the percentages are just a starting point. The important element is bar speed. You have to find the percentage range at which you can generate maximum force. If your percent is too high, then the bar will move too slowly. If the percent is too low, you will not generate maximum force. Your current max will give you an idea of the range that is most likely proper for you.

Another important point is that at the end of most of your dynamic sessions, you should add weight to the bar and perform a couple sets at a higher weight while trying to maintain speed.

Acceleration is key. Guys at Westside use the same bar weight on speed bench for over a year while their max goes up.

What is provided here is far from complete. This is just a preview of the dynamic method. Do some more research, and pull articles from Louie Simmons, Dave Tate, etc.

 

[Cuthbert]

The percentages are a guideline. 50-60 percent works well for most people. If you are not moving quickly wiht that weight.. lower it.

Speed is much more important than weight, as long as you are working as fast as you can.

 

[rbrown]

the 50% number assumes you are using chains or bands. 50% is too light in my opinion if you are not using chains or bands--both on bench and squat. You want speed, but you still want it to be doing something. Speed training is not magic. I see people all of the time doing speed work with such a joke weight that they might as well be in the cardio class. The idea is to develop maximal force. Force is maximized when the product of the mass and the acceleration is the greatest. If you can smoke 50%, put some more weight on the bar. Keep putting weight on the bar until you start to significantly slow down.

Most use sets of 3 on bench and sets of 2 on squat--the idea is that the entire set takes about as long as it takes you to do one max effort movement (i.e. about 3 seconds). Because the bench stroke is shorter, you add a rep.

 

[WalkingBeast]

Great advice Nate as always! Never heard of doing 4 sets of 20 for speed. Sounds interesting though. The way Ive always heard of it being done, and the way Brute suggested I do it, is 3 sets of 10 at 45% of max. I use full speed on the negative and positive portion (pulling the weight down fast) of the lift and try to complete 3 reps in 3 seconds. 30 seconds rest between sets. Its worked real well for me it seems.

Oops...Sorry...10 sets of 3! Typo

 

[coolcolj]

Well I'm just one of those people, wether due to nueral makeup or training, that can just move heavy loads relatively quickly. Even loads at around 90-95% of my 1RM still go up fairly fast, although slower than my lighter weights

for example at around 50%-60% of my full olysquat the concentric can be moved in 0.7 to 0.8 secs, whereas at 90-95% the concentric is slower at 1.4 to 1.5secs, but still pretty fast compared to most people for such a long ROM exercise

 

[Keep Left]

thread hijack

why do you want to do speed reps?

Cheers

 

[bignate73]

thread hijack

why do you want to do speed reps?

Cheers

because a fast moving bar is a bar that doesnt get stuck on the way up. train the body to accelerate/explode and you speed the bar through the movement.

 

[WalkingBeast]

Training for bar acceleration has a huge carryover to one rep maxing and repping IMO. Gets the body exposive and conditions the fast twitch fibers supposidely. It seems to have helped me alot.

 

[SoSadBtTrue]

thread hijack

why do you want to do speed reps?

Cheers

Mainly because I'm going to be training mainly for strength soon, and I've heard that the best strength programs (like WSB) incorporate some maximal effort (really heavy stuff) along with speed work.

 

[michaelm]

How often???

how often should one do speed work for bench and/or squat?...and when doing speed work should it be done with no other work for the particular bodypart?

 

[WalkingBeast]

Re: How often???

how often should one do speed work for bench and/or squat?...and when doing speed work should it be done with no other work for the particular bodypart?

I do it once a week after one of my heavy chest routines. Id make sure to have atleast 3 days rest afterwards before hitting chest again.