barbell row
Your nervous system plays a huge role in how strong you are. In regard to your nervous system, it’s basically like this, the more forcefully your nervous system can fire, the more you will be able to lift. One variable that you can focus on to help your nervous system fire more forcefully is rep speed and the ability to accelerate the speed of the lift throughout a lifting motion.
When considering rep speed in the context of acceleration, there are four types of rep speed. The first type of rep speed is when a lift is accelerated with increasing speed throughout the whole range of motion of the lift. The second is partial acceleration which means that part of the rep is done at a fairly constant speed, but usually the last part of the range of motion exhibits acceleration. The third type of rep speed is simply when a relatively constant lifting speed is exhibited throughout the whole lift. The fourth type of rep speed is a rep that exhibits deceleration (slowing down) at some point during the lift.
It is my belief that out the four types of rep speed, being able to accelerate the lifting speed through either part of the lift, or all of the lift, will have the most positive effect on programming your nervous system to fire forcefully. As weight increases for a given exercise, it becomes more and more difficult to accelerate the lift. There will come a point at which additional weight will cause the lift to be done at a fairly constant speed throughout the range of motion, and more added weight will cause deceleration during the lift.
Being able to accelerate the bar (or whatever form of resistance you are using) during a lift means that your body is basically doing what your nervous system is asking it to do. Your nervous system is telling your body parts that are involved in the lift to go, and they are going when they are accelerating. Once the weight of a lift increases to the point where there is no acceleration, your body is on the edge of failing to do what the nervous system is asking it to do. When weights increase enough so that deceleration occurs during a rep, then the body is failing to do what the nervous system is asking. It’s at this point that the nervous system is saying go, but the body parts that are performing the lift are slowing down instead. Under these circumstances your body is acting in contradiction to what the nervous system is telling it to do. When this happens, I believe the nervous system is receiving negative feedback from the body which can be draining on the nervous system.
If you take a video of yourself doing an exercise at a variety of weights, and play it back in slow motion while watching carefully, you will be able to detect the maximum amount of weight that you can use for that lift while still having the ability to accelerate through the lift. You may find that this particular weight is a good weight for challenging your muscles without having a negative effect on your nervous system. If you can further detect the weight at which deceleration first begins, take note of this. Why? Because too much training with weights that cause deceleration during a rep can burn your nervous system out. You will often find that many strength training programs limit heavy lifting to a part of a lifting cycle, or to one workout within a week rather than to lift heavy in every workout. Consider focusing the majority of your training on weights that allow the ability to accelerate throughout the lift, and use the heavier weights that cause deceleration to a lesser extent. Best of training to you.