My friend and elite trainer Vince McConnell sent me a post by researcher Chris Beardsley in which he presented a study on fast eccentrics: Mori, T., et al. (2014). Stretch-speed dependent myofiber damage and functional deficits in rat skeletal muscle induced by lengthening contraction. Physiological Reports, 2(11), e12213.
The conclusion: “Faster eccentric contraction velocity in maximal efforts causes greater post-workout fatigue, muscle cell membrane damage (mostly in the fast fibers), and muscle swelling.”
So do Speed Sets, which are moderate-weight sets of 1.5-second reps to near failure, cause too much damage—more than standard sets? No…
In fact, they cause less damage due to de-emphasizing the damaging negative stroke while creating unique fiber recruitment as compared to standard 1/3-tempo sets….
If anything, the study shows that unique activation targeting fast-twitch fibers—notice it says that fast velocity caused trauma in “mostly fast fibers.” So it does show that faster reps train primarily fast-twitch…
The reason the excess damage shown in the study doesn’t apply to Speed Sets is revealed when you look closely at the protocol…
Notice the words “maximal efforts.” Speed Sets are not a series of maximal-effort reps at high velocity….
In the study, the rodents were under anesthetic and subjected to “5 sets of 10 electrically-stimulated MAXIMAL eccentric contractions.”
Holy crap, that’s 50 max negatives at a high velocity. Not even close to Speed Sets, which have maybe one fast MAX negative toward the end of a set when you get close to failure…
So even if the end-of-set speed rep is damaging, you’re getting only one or two per muscle—not 50.
If you’re still worried, here’s a quote from Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., from Old Man, Young Muscle…
Findings suggest that performing concentric actions with velocity [as in Speed Sets] may promote the addition of sarcomeres in series even in those with considerable training experience.
In other words, you can get yet another “layer” of growth with Speed Sets…
On the other hand, the study cited by Beardsley is comparable to researchers saying that coffee causes cancer because in six weeks they gave rats the equivalent of 200 cups of coffee a day, which developed tumors. (That’s hypothetical—not a real study.)
And if you’re as old as I am, you may remember the actual studies from the 1970s that showed steroids don’t build muscle. Researchers gave subjects 5 milligrams a few times a week over a one-month period. Of course they didn’t work.
As Vince and I discussed in our back-and-forth, it’s just one more reason to look at studies carefully before you take the findings as applicable to your workout strategy.
Your Efficient Mass-Building Handbook: For complete mass workouts that include Speed Sets, the ideal exercise for each muscle, and the best stretch and contracted add-on moves, get your copy of Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
Recommended
SHREDDED SUMMER
Lose 17 Pounds in 21 Days…
Today’s fitness industry dieting advice is secretly ruining your metabolism, crucifying your most powerful male hormones, and forcing your body to store ugly bodyfat around the clock.
But there’s good news…
After years of plowing through unproven paths and suffering through fitness ups and downs, the hidden passage to achieving your dream body has been discovered …
And it only takes 21 days.
No, it doesn’t include hours of boring cardio, a boring and bland meal plan, or run-of-the-mill fat burners that don’t deliver on their promise…
Here’s how to lose up to 17 pounds in the next 21 days (safely!)