The Importance of Rep Speed in Weight Lifting
One of the most common questions when it comes to weight lifting is, “What is the ideal rep range?” The amount of reps becomes irrelevant if the quality of the reps are poor. One of the main determinants of quality repetitions is rep speed.
On the average trip to the local gym you will see many lifters doing high-speed repetitions. Although high-speed reps can be effective if performed in the proper context, more often than not they are counter-productive.
Doing slow, controlled movements is generally much better for muscle and strength building. The main advantages include:
1. More muscle fiber stimulation – which results in more growth and more power (ironically in a shorter amount of time).
2. Better form—it is much easier to focus on proper form when the reps are slow.
3. Better mind-muscle connection—which, again, results in growth and power.
4. Injury prevention—you will require less weight to stimulate your muscles when going slow. This, combined with better form, will result in less injuries.
So how slow should you go? The most effective length of a repetition varies between 3-6 seconds. This includes both the concentric (power part of the rep where you are pushing or pulling) movement and the eccentric (negative, or return) movement. The most effective ratio of the concentric to the eccentric is 1:2.
As an example, let’s take the bench press. If you choose to do 6 second reps then one repetition would consist of:
- Lowering the weight down to your chest in 4 seconds, followed by
- Pushing the weight up in 2 seconds.
You would obviously have to use a lighter weight for this compared to if you were cranking out 1 second bounce-the-weight-off-your-chest reps. Yes, you will have to stop deluding yourself and leave your ego at home. But if you are serious about packing on muscle and strength, slow is the way to go.
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