the wister
01-26-2005, 05:03 PM
Most people wouldn't really refer to negatives as form, they would just describe them as a type of exercise, but in this case, it is the same thing. While perfect form stresses stabalizing muscles and overall lift quality, negatives will help you push past plateus and really gain strength.
Negatives require you to use excessive amounts of weight as well as a lifting partner.
WARNING You must have a partner while doing negatives and it is highly recommended that they be of a large size than you, or at least your weight. Fundamentally, it is impossible to do negatives without a partner. Literally, impossible.
Two definitions you need to know and as applied to weight lifting:
concentric-the contracting portion of an exercise (the first portion of a pull up as you bring yourself towards the bar/the second portion of a dip as you push yourself up away from the floor)
eccentric-the extension portion of an exercise (the first part of a squat when you lower yourself to the ground/the second part of a cable row, when you let the bar slowly return to the weight stack)
With that said, you can concievably turn any free weight lift into a negative. Basically, you just take you max and add 10-20% more weight. You then focus on the eccentric portion of the lift, taking about 10-20 seconds to complete just this portion. I do 10-15 seconds, but the first person who taught it to me used 20 seconds. During the concentric portion, since the weight is too heavy to normally lift, you have your spotter assist you in returning the weight to the starting point. Your spotter should be doing about/at least 50% of the work during this phase. You should only be able to do about 4-6 reps. If you can handle more, add more weight.
For general example I will use my statistics.
Bench Press
I max 135, so I load 155/165. After a lift off, I position the bar directly over my chest and slowly bend my elbows, counting slowly to 10. My spotter follows with his hands under the bar at all times. Once the bar touches my chest, my spotter jerks the bar back up to starting and I repeat 4 times.
Barbell Curl EZ Curl Bar, Standing
I max around 65-75 (bar being 25) so I usually just throw 10 extra on each side. Grasping the bar with an underhand grip, I have my partner yank it up to my chin. From there, keeping my elbows in place, I slowly lower for a count of 15. At 15, the bar is at arms length with my biceps relaxed. I repeat for a total of 6 reps.
Studies have found that most muscle fatigue occurs during the eccentric portion of the lift, therefore, making it more worth while to emphasize this portion of the movement. Also, my teacher (non-academic) told me that I should only do one set of negatives in addition to the usual sets, and that negatives should be done but once a week.
Let me know of any improvements to be made.
Negatives require you to use excessive amounts of weight as well as a lifting partner.
WARNING You must have a partner while doing negatives and it is highly recommended that they be of a large size than you, or at least your weight. Fundamentally, it is impossible to do negatives without a partner. Literally, impossible.
Two definitions you need to know and as applied to weight lifting:
concentric-the contracting portion of an exercise (the first portion of a pull up as you bring yourself towards the bar/the second portion of a dip as you push yourself up away from the floor)
eccentric-the extension portion of an exercise (the first part of a squat when you lower yourself to the ground/the second part of a cable row, when you let the bar slowly return to the weight stack)
With that said, you can concievably turn any free weight lift into a negative. Basically, you just take you max and add 10-20% more weight. You then focus on the eccentric portion of the lift, taking about 10-20 seconds to complete just this portion. I do 10-15 seconds, but the first person who taught it to me used 20 seconds. During the concentric portion, since the weight is too heavy to normally lift, you have your spotter assist you in returning the weight to the starting point. Your spotter should be doing about/at least 50% of the work during this phase. You should only be able to do about 4-6 reps. If you can handle more, add more weight.
For general example I will use my statistics.
Bench Press
I max 135, so I load 155/165. After a lift off, I position the bar directly over my chest and slowly bend my elbows, counting slowly to 10. My spotter follows with his hands under the bar at all times. Once the bar touches my chest, my spotter jerks the bar back up to starting and I repeat 4 times.
Barbell Curl EZ Curl Bar, Standing
I max around 65-75 (bar being 25) so I usually just throw 10 extra on each side. Grasping the bar with an underhand grip, I have my partner yank it up to my chin. From there, keeping my elbows in place, I slowly lower for a count of 15. At 15, the bar is at arms length with my biceps relaxed. I repeat for a total of 6 reps.
Studies have found that most muscle fatigue occurs during the eccentric portion of the lift, therefore, making it more worth while to emphasize this portion of the movement. Also, my teacher (non-academic) told me that I should only do one set of negatives in addition to the usual sets, and that negatives should be done but once a week.
Let me know of any improvements to be made.