Negatives, drop sets, forced sets, super sets etc.

How effective are these techniques? I can't find enough accurate information online to make a decision. Are these effective ways to exercise or are they just a waste of time?

Thanks

g'em

I think every one of them has its merits, but none of them is the 'ultimate' in lifting breakthroughs.

People get bogged down in the intricacies of planning their lifting when in reality they just need a hefty does of JFL in their workout plan. What these techniques can do though is invigorate a stagnant program, shock your system, give you renewed energy and aplomb. One reason why you see people claiming that these techniques are the bestest thing evaarrrrr is simply because it gives them a chance to get n00by gains all over again when the program they were using was staler than three week old sliced pan.

A change really is as good as a rest, and any of the changes above would probably yield the same or similar results.

That's what I personally believe G'em, so it's fair to say that if your program is old and you are looking for a change, then give them a go otherwise just get a new program and "JFL"

rubadub

If I know I will not be doing any training for a few days I will do lots of negatives, knowing I have time to recover. I can still get DOMs in my arms and chest that last for a few days.

I do them with weighted dips & chinups, but also with standing dumbbell presses, you do them one arm at a time, you can swing the dumbbell up assisted by your free hand and slowly lower.

Pugmister

Just as a side note, I found floor presses quite beneficial in breaking a plateau I had reached in my flat bench.

Ultimately I found at the end of the summer I had reached my max on the big three lifts and not matter what suplementary exercises or how many times I changed up my routine I couldnt push through this barrier. Iv now tried adding a half stone in lean body mass (didnt particularl want to change my body weight to drastically) and am seeing great results on all lifts which in turn has really sparked off that newbie motivation again.

rubadub

I have heard of people warning of going to failure as it stresses the CNS. But I imagine some peoples idea of failure is more than others. e.g. I was watching pumping iron and saw the head on Arnie working out to apparent failure. He looks like he is going to explode 3 reps from the end, whereas I would be more cautious and worried about injury, so my "failure" might be far less than what most are worried about going to. Maybe some do have the willpower to just go more, or can pull on adrenaline stores or something.

I have heard of HIT training and people puking after a set, I have never come close to that.

Another point is that I find it very easy to train negatives, I can do one set and end up with DOMs for a few days after. This is not even to failure, I could have done several more reps with ease. So is this really stressing my CNS a lot, or is it just stressing my muscle more? and is this "OK"?

I do some workouts in the morning and find I would be able to do say 20% less reps on this empty stomach, than when I try it later on. Other days I just might not be in the mood (translation: hungover ) So if I do negatives to stress the muscles to the usual degree I would, is this stressing the CNS more?

Conditioned

rubadub wrote: »

Another point is that I find it very easy to train negatives, I can do one set and end up with DOMs for a few days after. This is not even to failure, I could have done several more reps with ease. quote]

I'm not really sure about the CNS. But I'd imagine its when your continually trying to make new gains that you are going to have trouble with the CNS.

I'd imagine if you were to take a step back either by dropping one of the compound lifts and replacing it with a different version or assistance exercises for a while and then building back up the weight again and trying to break new ground. I suppose thats a long winded way of saying, having training cycles would prevent stressing the CNS to much.

I'm open to correction though and I'm sure someone involved in Powerlifting or weightlifting would have a better knowlege.

With regard to you getting greater DOMS from negative training its "the eccentric phase of a resistance exercise that produces the majority of soreness associated with training."

A quote from Mark Ripptoe and Lon Kilgores book Practical Programming - if I'd said it myself it would probably of been another long winded explanation