NEGATIVE RESISTANCE

Mind/muscle connection; I talk about it all the time. This is the process of feeling the muscle doing the work in a given exercise versus just moving the bar, cable or machine through the motion.

How does one learn this important technique of negative resistance?

One of the best ways to do this I believe is to control and slow down the eccentric part movement while trying to resist. The eccentric portion is the lengthening of the muscle (versus the contraction) or as some like to say, the “negative” portion of the lift.

This is effective for two main reasons. First, if someone is just going through the movement, they let gravity take over for this portion of the lift, so by resisting this, it helps make a much better connection with the muscle. Second, the eccentric portion of the lift actually causes more muscle stimulation so it really gets the most out of the exercise (plus it burns something fierce).