does this make sense? casual?

[TheOak84]

Good question. All I know from what I've heard is that the negative phase helps to tear down the tissue more. That's where the real damage is caused, thusly resulting in greater hypertrophy development. Maybe that information is flawed, but it makes sense to me.

Though, I do notice that really slow negatives help in activating muscle fibers more effectively and/or increasing strength. That I learned through training DC style for a bit.

i agree with that, but i was wondering if twice as many positives would have the same effect as an equal amount of pos and negs. it kinda makes sense

 

[Becoming]

no two people respond to training the same

that is your answer... everything else is theory.... see how it works for you...

 

[casualbb]

oak, my answer is I have no idea. It's impossible to quantify exactly how much weight would make a concentric have the same muscle-building effect as an eccentric. Twice as much? Three times as much?

All I know is that the weight needs to be supported during the eccentric for noticeable muscle growth.

A couple studies come to mind.

The first one, they compared concentric-only reps and eccentric-only reps to full reps (both con and ecc done each time). They found that concentrics had 5% of the growth of both, and that eccentrics had 80+%.

Another one, and I remember this because it was the only study I've seen that had a HST-like protocol. They hung weight from a rat, and made it climb a cute little ladder. Over the course of a few weeks, the progressively increased the weight. Afterwards, they examined the muscle change in its limbs, and found that the only muscle that grew was the one that had an eccentric.

So the question is how much eccentric do you need? My personal opinion based on some evidence is that you want a moderate eccentric. I think DC's recommendations of 6 full seconds is way overboard. I personally don't think about it other than making sure the eccentric speed is moderate smooth (meaning I know I'm supporting the weight instead of letting it fall). It would probably be a 2-count for most exercises.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

Again, moderation is key.

 

[bignate73]

why would anyone want to hold back their concentric? explosive concentrics are the result of white fibers! holding them back doesnt do a damn thing but work intermediate and slow twitch. unless someone is truly pushing their hardest and it takes 3 seconds. if thats the case, i would venture to say that a 3 second negative and multi reps would not be a possibility.

 

[b fold the truth]

I do my reps as fast as possible...but I don't bounce.

My chest isn't "tiny".

B True

 

[guldukat]

So the question is how much eccentric do you need? My personal opinion based on some evidence is that you want a moderate eccentric. I think DC's recommendations of 6 full seconds is way overboard. I personally don't think about it other than making sure the eccentric speed is moderate smooth (meaning I know I'm supporting the weight instead of letting it fall). It would probably be a 2-count for most exercises.

I agree.

DC's actually of that opinion as well...as I understand it, he suggested a 6 count on negatives because most people he watched would count very fast (like "123456!" over the course of 1.5 seconds, tops ). He's since told people to simply control their negatives and not worry about the timing.