As time passes and I continue to lift weights, I try to keep on learning. In the past, I believed that the best way to gain strength was to lift forcefully with heavy weights instead of lifting slow. The reason I believed this was because slow lifting tends to require the use of lighter weights which can undermine optimal strength development. I still believe in the use of forceful lifting with heavy weights if your goal is to build maximum strength, however, over the past couple of years, I have also made room for the inclusion of slow reps and lighter weights.
Better Focus On a Specific Muscle
The reason I like to include slower reps and lighter weights is that it allows me to focus the lifting stress more on a specific muscle. While this type of lifting does not build explosive power into a muscle, it does build strength and size. I also believe that the muscle being targeted is activated throughout an entire range of motion which tends to diminish any weak points and sticking points that occur at various points within a lifting motion.
Additional Benefits Of Slower Lifting
If you truly keep the muscle fully activated throughout an entire range of motion with slow lifting and lighter weights, you will reap three other benefits as well:
First, the highly concentrated focus on a specified muscle group will tend to produce a better pump.
Second, while it is true that the slower type of lifting with a high degree of focus on a specified muscle will force you to use lighter weights, you will eventually gain the ability to use more weight with this type of lifting. You will notice that as your weights go up with slower lifting, there will be a transfer of strength when you engage in forceful lifting with heavier weights.
Third, a high degree of focus on a muscle group with lighter weights and slower lifting will tend to have a therapeutic effect on the muscle being worked. You may find that it has a rehabilitative effect on irritated areas in your muscles while also preventing more irritation or injuries from occurring.
Steps For Learning To Focus The Tension on a Muscle
For those of you who want to activate a muscle as much as possible throughout an entire range of motion, I must emphasize that it will be a learning process and I recommend the following procedure:
Start with very light weights that are only 20% to 30% of your single rep max.
Lift slow. When learning how to keep the lifting stress and tension on the target muscle, it should take you 2 to 3 seconds to lift the weight up, and 2 to 3 seconds to lower the weight.
The main objective is to learn to feel the tension and contraction in the specific muscle you are focusing on. You should feel the tension and contraction throughout the entire range of motion. There should be no break or disruption in the sensation of feeling the lifting stress on the target muscle.
It Takes Time and Practice
Learning to fully activate the muscle throughout a full range of motion takes practice. If you don’t get the hang of it by the end of your first workout, don’t give up. It may take several months to gain control over the weight, the motion, and your muscles in order to get the sensation of fully activating your muscles from the start to the finish of a lifting motion.
As you get better at activating a strong contraction with light weights and slow reps, you can gradually add weight until it feels challenging to complete 8 to 15 reps. I suggest stopping two to three reps short of failure and that you perform 2 to 3 of these lighter, slower sets. If you want to also do some forceful lifting with heavier weights, I suggest that you do the lighter lifting with slower reps after the heavy lifting.
You may find that lighter lifting with slower reps can be performed more frequently than heavier lifting with forceful reps. For example, you may want to include heavier weights and forceful reps in only one or two of your workouts per week for each muscle group. In contrast, you may find that you can handle lighter slower lifting three or more times per week.
Caution: Don’t Take a Good Thing Too Far
I want to make it clear that when doing the lighter slower lifting that I do not recommend you go for an extreme burn, at least not on a regular basis. In my own experience, burning the fire out of my muscles does more harm than good. Stimulate, don’t annihilate. You can activate your muscles without destroying them. Use weights that feel challenging but not horribly uncomfortable.
If you have already been lifting for a year or more, give yourself plenty of time (i.e. 6 to 12 weeks) to allow the same weight, the same reps, and the same amount of sets to become easier for each lift. When you become more comfortable with the same weights, reps, and sets, it’s time to increase the weight by 5 to 10 pounds. This strategy is based on a long-term perspective. If you use it, you will find that you can keep on gradually adding weight throughout the year, and from year to year. Best of training to you.
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Related Content
The following video provides an excellent example of what lighter lifting with slower reps looks like:
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Watch the first 20 seconds of the following video for an example of what it should look like when you use slower lifting to focus the lifting stress on a specific muscle. An informative discussion regarding this type of lifting follows afterward.