. How to Perform Your Reps
. Most bodybuilders and strength trainees perform their reps too quickly.
Many take only about one second to raise the weight, and another one
second to return the resistance to its starting position. A / cadence is not
controlled lifting and lowering, but throwing and dropping. Changing to a
slower rep cadence is, for those trainees, probably the single most dramatic
improvement in training safety that can be made.. I am talking exclusively about traditional bodybuilding exercises, i.e.,
bench press, squat, deadlift, pulldown, chin, row, curl, etc., not skill-first,
highly-technical and explosive Olympic-style weightlifting exercises such
as power cleans, cleans, snatches, and jerks. e latter are not necessary for
bodybuilding and strength training because there are plenty of alternative
exercises that are super productive but technically much simpler. Mastering
the Olympic-style lifts is far more difficult than mastering the traditional
bodybuilding exercises.. Olympic lifting can be a fine way to train if the coaching is hands-on and
expert, and the subject is injury-free and physically well-suited to this type
of training. But unless you have access to expert hands-on Olympic lifting
coaching, and are physically well-suited to this type of lifting, leave it alone.
ere are safer ways to train which are technically much less demanding—
i.e., those which are promoted in this book.. Very importantly, even a well-controlled rep cadence will injure you if your
biomechanics are all wrong. Good form is not merely about rep cadence.