The benefits of being NEGATIVE!

In response to @forresterOD

Q: Are negative reps really superior when it comes to building mass?

Negative training, or Eccentric-focused lifting, is a relatively easy concept. Basically, instead of dropping a weight like a stone after the positive force (*the concentric action, the contractile force), you purposefully control the return portion of the action, focusing on the resistance against gravity.

NB: You don't need to incorporate emphasis on the negative into every set, but the eccentric (negative) and concentric (positive) portion of the rep should ALWAYS be performed in a controlled fashion.

The “uncontraction” as it were, is this “negative movement”. While a positive movement is actually working the muscle, a negative movement also puts the tendons and supportive structures to work. Tendon strength needs to increase exponentially with muscle strength. (*side-note, YES the opposing muscle group will be in the contractile/control phase and as such you will also be working said other group. BUT bear with me for the cause…)

You have to keep in mind that the amount of weight you can lift is going to be determined by your current strength. Your body, however, is capable of MORE strength when putting something down than it is when picking something up.

One thing to remember is that most of the microtrauma (muscle tearing that causes DOMS) and later hypertrophy – muscle building after the repair of these traumas – occurs during the eccentric phase of the movement. Concentrating on doing this on every set would almost certainly lead to over training-due to lack of proper recovery.  So compounding this over and over throughout your workout would most likely cause so much microtrauma that you'd never fully recover.

FYI ::

This technique was based on research showing that most of the strength and size gains accrued from weight training occur during the negative portion of a rep. So does most of the delayed muscular soreness you feel after an intense training session (or after you try an exercise to which you're not accustomed).

The explanation given was that when you lower a weight, you use fewer muscle fibers, but those fibers work harder to control the weight.  As a result, more damage occurs. The body then repairs those fibers, making them thicker as an accommodation to the higher load imposed by negatives, and result in an increased muscular strength and size.

The extreme damage to fibers during negative training came with a cost, however: the need for increased recuperation. When many bodybuilders became aware of this extra fiber damage and consequent needed rest time, they reduced the number of times they trained a muscle group each week.

There is scientific evidence that we are stronger in the negative (or lowering) portion of a weight exercise than in the positive (or lifting) half. Reverse-gravity, or negative, reps are performed by lowering the weight approximately four times slower than usual, utilizing eight to 12 seconds for the descent.

Let’s use the bicep curl as an example – You can start with an actual curl, or you can start at the end-position (*hands up by shoulders).  Lower the weight through the entire downward portion of the rep, taking  5-15sec to do so. Once you’ve reached the bottom of the eccentric phase (*the natural concentric start position) explode right into the concentric phase, 1-3sec to raise the weight back up. Speed is of the utmost importance here, as you “rest” back at the end position prior to the next eccentric lowering.


#tip – for beginners, I recommend using a 1-2sec count to raise & a 5-8sec count in lowering.

What this does is cause your brain to signal ALL of the muscle fibers to fire simultaneously, in order to control the lowering & then POWER the weight back up. You're essentially training fibers that you may not have recruited before.  (*When you do this with heavy weights you also activate motor unit recruitment.)

That said, do your heaviest negative training in the earliest part of your workout. The motor units will remain active for a while and you'll essentially be stronger throughout your training session. You can use negative bodyweight training (*pull ups, push-ups) at the end of workouts as “burners”.  Failure reps are GREAT here.  Nothing works lats & biceps like 30sec chin-up iso-hold (*holding thru the peak position, midway down, until you CAN’T) negative-lowering reps!

Hope that answers your question / Helps!