Speed of negative faze of exercise?

[davidpro]

Everywhere i read one thing - speed of positive should be explosive and negative should be about 3-6 seconds. How come that every huge guy in my gym, every professional that i see in movies train in the way that their negative faze is about the same as positive, which is usually 1/0.5 seconds?
Can someone explain, why huge guys never follow slow negative? They just don't have to b/c of their genetics or slow negative is not so important?

 

[TinyTim]

I don't do it because Im a self conscious little bitch and it allows me far fewer reps than if I went at a normal pace.

 

[ThunderGod66]

I usually do explosive positives and slow negatives...but I just read an article in Muscular Development that's making me try doing faster negatives.
it says: "The study showed that doing negatives fairly quickly using more weight will activate more muscle than if you use less weight and do the negatives more slowly."

I don't know if that applies to me because I don't use less weight because I do slow negatives...but I'm gonna try it out for a while and see how it goes.

 

[DrDankenstein]

Yeah...I've read this shit too. I've tried to lighten up the weight and do slow negatives...I've also tried to just blast out as many reps as possible using as much weight as I can. I've even done sets of just negatives. But after all these years of experimentation I've realized this...at least for me, it doesnt make any difference, as long as my reps are controlled. My reps are the same length for the positive as for the negative and i flex the muscle on the contraction. My gains have been excellent doing this, and i know this may conflict with the "scientific evidence" available in these books...but fuck it, it works for me.

 

[champion]

people dont do em cause a 4-6 second negative IS BRUTALLY PAINFULL!!! and yes, you will be using lower weight but in the long run you will be able to do more and do a fair # with a CraZY neg........... I do 4-6 seconds on everything cept deadlifts.

 

[wilson6]

Nardone et al. did some work back in 1989 looking at motor recruitment patterns in a low threshold slow twitch and high threshold fast twitch motor unit from the gastrocnemius muscle during concentric, isometric and eccentric contractions typical of a set of calf work.

What they found was that the slow twitch MU was recruited during the concentric and isometric part of the movement, and the FT MU during the eccentric phase, and that the selective activation of the FT MU was MOST pronounced when the eccentric phase was done relatively quickly.

From what I've read and from talking to a hard-core muscle physiologist that has competed in bodybuilding nationally, the eccentric component should be performed relatively quickly but controlled for maximal MU recruitment, thus I would agree with a faster eccentric movement.

The reason the slow movement is so painful is because the muscle is ischemic (no blood flow) and metabolites such as lactate, H+, Pi, and K+ are accumulating. However, that doesn't necessarily mean more muscle growth. I'd opt for more motor unit recruitment, especially Type II's since they are responsible for activating Type II fibers that are the largest and contribute to mass and power vs more pain unless you’re into pain.

For size, both fast explosive concentric movements (speed sets) and slower (but not super slow) movements would mix up recruitment patterns on the concentric end, but I'd keep the eccentric part about the same, quick and controlled. For maximal mass, you'd want all the fibers to respond. Sometimes too much speed work misses some of the slow twitch units and while they are smaller, you'd still want to develop them to add to overall mass.

W6