Strength Training Repetitions & Speed - Are Slow Reps or Fast Reps Better

There are no right or wrong speeds for reps in training only safety and proper application. There are several types of rep training variables and more styles keep popping up as training creativity becomes trendy. The basics are the rep variables discussed below and should be considered when planning out your winning resistance regimen.

Pulses are well known especially when thinking back to the 80s and the Jane Fonda type workouts. 'Feeling the Burn' is the key to pulses and it works on muscular endurance. Not so much the type of training you would use to coax muscle mass gains but great for a good sweat and burn. Pulses were commonly done in high rep numbers or timed and done repeatedly in cycles or small circuits of exercises.

Many times you can add pulses at the end of a set to 'burn out' the set. Causing failure is great for growth when pulses are added after your regular set of moderate weight. You would then pulse out reps to failure and could do so with the heavier weight and then slowly drop and pulse to failure and drop again then pulse to failure and so on gradually decreasing weight or you can simply drop the weight right away to the lower end and pulse out to failure without the medial drops.

Super Slow training is the opposite. This is when you range out your rep for a specific count. You can do it for 5 up then 5 down for a total of 10 or do 10 seconds for each phase counting to 20 overall. Some like to use stopwatches to time out the reps. This type of training is supposed to help build muscle mass and density. It's just another extreme but it helps us with our goals but giving use ways to vary the training, variation being the key to success with goals. Strength is also a great side effect to super slow reps.

Tabata reps are just crazy, and this is where you go as fast and full out as you can with the exercise, pushing for as many reps as you can get within a timed interval, then you are giving a small time interval to rest and are then set up to repeat this, many times. Numbers can vary but the average I have notices was 20-40 seconds on with 20 seconds off and about 8 times through nonstop. This helps lean you out and stimulation specific twitch fibers.

Just above pulses are the variations of 2 for 2 or 3 to 4 which are the most common weight training rep speeds used with the later being the safer. The aim in this speed range is to keep a full range without joint lock outs or jarring. This rep speeds seems to work for various goals from conditioning to fat loss and muscle gains. Try to test out some of these styles to give your training a change of pace, egging on more positive change in your fitness results.

By Linda Cusmano