How Negative Reps Can Help You Break Through Strength Plateaus

“Strength is the mother quality of all physical qualities.” “Strength is a skill, and, as such, it must be practiced.” “Lift heavy, not hard.” “Anything more than 5 reps is bodybuilding. . . . If you want to be strong, you want to keep your reps at 5 and under.” “If you are training for strength, you want to try and avoid the burn altogether. The b

For safe execution and the continual stimulation of muscle activity, there is almost never a place for completely relaxing at the top or bottom of a lift, or of letting the weight drop in an eccentric.

relative effort is a means of measuring the degree of challenge hypertrophy training is applying.

they eliminate the helpful bounce, dead starts greatly challenge the muscles and strengthen them for normal pushups and the like. So, be sure to include plenty of dead starts in your regimen, once you are strong enough to do them. To do a one-arm pushup, relax completely while lying down on the floor; then tense up and go. Relax at the bottom of a

To make an even stronger point, pinch your nose half shut and try it again. You cannot help noticing a powerful diaphragm action and a comfortable, strong feeling of compression.