After we discuss how long you should rest between each set in this article, we will now address another interesting topic, which is the execution time of the exercises.
Slow or fast movements, which is the best option?
Let's approach the subject in a hypertrophy context, just, so if you want to know the ideal speed at which you should do your bench press to gain muscle mass, you're in the right place.
On the other hand, if your goal is to gain strength or speed, this is not the ideal article.
So, let's get started.
How fast should I do the exercises
Eccentric vs Concentric
The eccentric, or negative, phase is when you lower the bar. bench press up to your chest, or when you lower it to the floor in the dead weight.
It's the easiest phase, after all, you have gravity on your side, and you just have to drop the weight, although it's not a good idea if you want to gain muscle mass.
The concentric, or positive, phase is when you go up in squat or push the dumbbells up in the shoulder press.
Basically, it is the phase where there is the greatest difficulty, and where failure occurs.
Fast concentric
As the title suggests, the concentric phase should be fast, especially in complex movements.
Fast means between one and two seconds, which will not always be possible.
If you are working with a good load, something necessary for hypertrophy, the positive phase will become slower as the series progresses.
You start the first repetition by lifting the weight in 1 second, and the last one probably took 3 seconds to complete.
This is normal.
So what should you do?
You should lift the weight quickly, but with enough control to feel the muscle you are training working.
What you should avoid is doing this movement intentionally slowly, as this will only cause your training volume to decrease.
Slow eccentric?
If there is no great discussion in concentric exercises, in eccentric exercises it is very common to advocate slower movements, to stay under tension for longer.
Compared to the concentric phase, the eccentric phase should be slower, and the last thing you want here is to drop the weight.
You should do the movement in a controlled manner, and you should be able to feel the muscle in question working.
Now, this doesn't mean that 30-second negatives will give you more results.
The time the muscle is under tension is important, but so is the load, and if you significantly lower the load to increase the time under tension, you end up decreasing the magnitude of the tension itself.
Therefore, this phase must be controlled, but not necessarily slow, and something between 2 and 3 seconds will be ideal to not only control the weight, thus stimulating the muscle effectively, but also to feel the muscle working and avoid injuries.
How fast should I do the exercises, the conclusion
The speed at which you perform exercises when your goal is hypertrophy is important, but it's not the most important thing, and you don't need to carry a stopwatch with you.
You should aim to do the concentric movement quickly, but with good technique, and an eccentric phase in a controlled manner, but not excessively slow.
If you can throw the weight in the air during the positive, and hold it for 10 seconds during the negative, it's probably a good idea to increase the weight.
If your positive is slow from the first rep, and you can't hold more than a second on the negative, then you may be using too much weight.
Each complete repetition should last on average between 3 and 6 seconds, and although you can, and even should, experiment with other times, these should be the basis for your training.
Don't forget, you must control your weight, and the weight should not control you, that is, no cheating to be able to lift more weight.
Focus on the movement and the muscle group you work, and give yourself enough time between sets to recover.
