by Bhassler on Sun Jan 26, 2014 10:21 am
Their timing is pretty standard for both bodybuilders and strength athletes-- or if not standard, certainly not unusual. When I hear of an eccentrically based workout, I would think more along the lines of 15 seconds for a negative rep, or possibly longer. The more extreme versions are typically used to break out of a rut, or as a regression if someone is not able to do an exercise (for example, if someone cannot do even one pullup, have them jump into the top position and lower themselves as slowly as they can. Usually about 3 reps is plenty).
Ken, what are your thoughts on the whole "maximal contraction" craze? Things like gripping the bar really hard will by default help with overall muscle activation (alhtough you can learn to grip hard without contracting other things, and vice versa), but something like lying on a bench doing dumbell presses with a weight you can handle for 10 reps hardly requires maximal stability. I lean towards a gradual progression to heavier weights, in which case you can increase the stability (and learn the skill of stabilizing) as you need it, rather than jumping right into maximal contraction for sub-maximal tasks.
What I'm after isn't flexible bodies, but flexible brains.
--Moshe Feldenkrais