This article is not about Olympic lifting … I mean not exclusively… keep reading .
Next REPETITION alters TECHNIQUE… most often for worse
This is something a lot of coaches started to embrace when it comes to weightlifting movements (snatch, clean, jerk and assist exercises). Our Strength Training community probably heard about it multiple times when reading online rants about Crossfit’s big mistake of doing Olympic lifts for multiple reps.
I need to mention here that occasionally I commited this sin and I got …. gains. Unfortunately I cannot say these gains were improving technique so much.
So what’s the solution ? Instead of doing 3 sets x 8reps of power snatch @80% of 1.R.M. do 8 sets of 3 reps @85-90% and see how much better you will feel the movement, paradoxically with bigger weight.
Yes – the more compound movement – the better technique you get through bigger weight, I will write about it in a separate article.
OK, so we know it has a lot to do with olympic weightlifting, and it’s technique is a mystery for most trainers/athletes anyway so no matter what reps, chances are you do it wrong without someone competent watching you and correcting little mistakes done for as short as 0,1 second.
HERE’S THE FACT: EVERY EXERCISE PERFORMED FOR TOO MANY REPS WILL BE AT THE EXPENSE OF THE GOOD TECHNIQUE.
– (Partial) Exception may be fixed movements on the machines, but still some muscles fatigue faster than other muscles and even if its – say – Smith Machine Bench Press – the pathway of your elbows or body’s position on the bench in relation to the bar pathway will change during a prolonged set.
But lets see more common exercises.
BENCH PRESS:
As someone who benched 220% of my bodyweight RAW (= no competition shirt) I can honestly say that it’s technique is definitely not easy to learn .
A recreational gym member, who begins each Monday from bench press will almost inevitably develop shoulder pain due to technique imperfections.
Often it takes me 30-60 minutes to teach this exercise correctly with all the hints and tips, including mentioning some assistance work (wrist, rotator cuff, neck, triceps, etc).
And even people with kind of good form , will do all sorts of errors in the last 2-3 reps.
Worse case scenario is if someone helps them to force the reps, and helps them too much. It becomes a different exercise in best case.
You don’t get better technically by failing to lift correctly.
Now I could mention more common exercises, Squats, Deadlifts, Overhead press, Chin-ups etc , but I guess you got the POINT 🙂
SIMPLE SOLUTIONS
1. compound movements come first in workout, and stick to low reps, even in warm-up sets. I suggest no more than 5, and if you are a fast twitch type, no more than 3 reps. Someone being really slow twitch in certain exercise – well – lets say 7-8 reps is MAX Whatever your goal is, if you are fast twitch – you should not try to cheat this fact. Testing how fast twitch/slow twitch you really is another article coming soon.
2. Less complicated exercises, or the ones where technique is less important (not saying unimportant) – make more reps, usually rep range you scored in your muscle fiber test at 70-80% of 1.R.M.
3. If your muscles are not fatigued after 2 exercises, you either are a professional, either you haven’t trained hard enough in previous exercises , either muscle group is very complex(chest is not complex by the way LOL).
To finish off and push anything like forced reps I would recommend fixed machines, where its hard to mess the technique up.
4. My golden rule: “Rather do one more set than one more rep” , do the maths 🙂
WODYNoLOGy 