Negative Reps & DOMS

[Lightnin']

So this week to change it up a bit I did negative reps for all bodyparts. Just curious as to why negatives increase DOMS. I did chest on Wednesday with high intensity and I can't believe how sore I am. I haven't been this sore since I started training years ago. Even the connectors in my arm pits are sore. Feels great though, I love being sore. Anyway, I was just curious if negatives tend to cause more muscle trama or if it is just a case of me changing it up. Either way I am adding a week of negative to my training every 6 weeks or so.

[GJN5002]

I don tknow if its necessarily the negatives that gave you the DOMS so much as the change in your routine.

[rev8ball]

So this week to change it up a bit I did negative reps for all bodyparts. Just curious as to why negatives increase DOMS. I did chest on Wednesday with high intensity and I can't believe how sore I am. I haven't been this sore since I started training years ago. Even the connectors in my arm pits are sore. Feels great though, I love being sore. Anyway, I was just curious if negatives tend to cause more muscle trama or if it is just a case of me changing it up. Either way I am adding a week of negative to my training every 6 weeks or so.


Two reasons:

1. As you probably know, if you use a particular regimen for an extended time and then switch it up, you will most likely experience DOMS.

2. Training with negatives forces the muscles to operate differently (mostly mechanically), so it can really elicit some major DOMS. It can help with muscle size, but not so much for strength or power.

For more info on this, check out my review of Rage's Hell Raiser training. The application is the same:

Post #47
http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?t=14062&page=3

[Lightnin']

Thanks Rev. Can you sum it all up for me?

[intoodeep25]

the negative is where the majority of the muscle tearing occurs. people think the positive portion of the rep is the most important. for powerlifting purposes, yes. for bodybuilding, however, not the case. the negative portion of the rep actually tears down much more muscle fibers. so if usually you used to ignore the negative, you were essentially only doing half reps, in a sense. now that you decided to focus on the negatives, you were getting much fuller contractions, much more muscle fibers were being broken down, and much more emphasis on the muscle itself instead of just moving the weight from point A to B. the power of the negative is very important my friend....id explore more of it if i were you...

[intoodeep25]

note: what i was referring to was your normal lifting schedule, when not doing strictly negatives, you should still concentrate just as much on the negative portion of the rep as you do the positive. negative sessions can be beneficial, with a spotter, to get your body to handle more weight, but concentrating on the negative portions all of the time will give you greater gains

[rev8ball]

Thanks Rev. Can you sum it all up for me?

Training with negs is just another tool in the toolbox of training. Though they are more beneficial for mass development vs strength/power development, incorporating them into your regular periodization can help your progress.

Don't start them off the bat, though. A solid history/foundation in weight training is vital to not only progress, but also safety. The connective tissue must be used to that level of stress.

Again, take a look at my article for more details.

Hope that helps. Good luck....

[Lightnin']

Thanks Rev, I've got plenty of training under my belt. ha ha

Just always interested in anothers opinion.