Arnold and I just completed our sojourn in max strength training. Maybe the most interesting thing was the eccentric training we did at the end. In eccentric training, you go beyond what you can lift and just do the negative of each exercise. We did 120% of 1RM.
So, in the leg press, say you think your 1RM is 545, you would do 655 for 120% 1RM. Obviously, you can't lift that, so you have to have spotters. We did that for 5 sets of three reps.
Initially, it's very mentally challenging, you think the weight is going to come down and crush you, but no, you actually control it. To get maximum benefit, you need to lower the weight slowly.
It is typically the case that you can lower a lot more than you can lift. The difference is a measure of how far you are from exerting your absolute strength potential in your 1RM. If you are very good, you can get up to 90% of your aboslute strength potential, but usually you get 80% or less. Our Muscle Ventures post provides more details.
That sounds really fun. Lifting heavy is my favorite, but I prefer the positive side of the lift. How much weight do you have on that bar in the picture? Good job! It's good to see you really challenge yourself and step outside your comfort zone in the gym.
Posted by: Andy | October 23, 2006 at 23:18
The negative descent is neat because you really wonder if you can do it. Generally speaking, you can. You do get the positive a bit because the spotters only spot you.
Posted by: Bud Gibson | October 24, 2006 at 21:59