I’m all in favour of accentuating the positive, generally speaking. Being successful in life usually starts with adopting a positive attitude, so I’m definitely not in favour of accentuating the negative. Except, of course, when it comes to lifting weights!

Using the negative for a positive effect!

It’s well known by now that the negative movement in an exercise is very important, perhaps the most important phase of the exercise. Yet still, people usually tend to put most emphasis on the positive phase. In other words, in curling a weight, for example, people usually tend to focus on curling the weight (i.e. raising the bar), and flexing the biceps … and very often they pay little attention to the rest of the movement.

This is not the most effective way to go about things. If you’re used to doing things that way, try this method:

Curl the weight fairly quickly … flex the biceps, of course, but don’t squeeze the life out of them. At the top position, immediately start to lower the bar, but under control. Lower it very s-l-o-w-l-y … taking maybe three or four seconds to do it … and this is the phase of the exercise where you really focus all your intent on it. Feel the weight lowering, under strict control, and maintaining strict form (i.e. not wobbling, or leaning, or allowing your elbows to move backwards), and if you’re using a sensible weight you’ll really feel it by about the seventh rep.

Strict form in the negative phase is very positive!

Don’t let that put you off though! Keep going … muscle your way through that pain barrier and keep going. You’ve probably still got another couple of reps in you, maybe even three or four … maybe even more. Giving in to the momentary urge to quit because it’s starting to hurt is the easy way out. And you came for the pain, remember? You know the pain is your signal that growth is being triggered, right? The pain is your friend!

Don’t cheat yourself out of those precious last few reps, they’re the sweetest of them all, and the pain, troublesome though it is, is very, very temporary. Whereas the effects of going that extra mile are permanent … in the shape of muscle development that sticks around long after that little bit of pain has subsided.

Welcome the pain – it signals growth

Similar with squats – standing up from the deep squat position can be tough, and people tend to think of that as what they’re searching for, being able to raise yourself up ‘out of the hole’, when your whole body feels like just giving up and ditching the bar. But it’s the sinking down, under strict control, of course … that is the golden moment. That’s where you’re going to be up against it, and it will feel like death. Letting yourself sink under that heavy weight, with the feeling you’ll never be able to get back up again … that’s tough. But again, it’s that negative movement that will pay off, big time.

If you haven’t been aware of this, look for it in each and every movement. Seek out the negative phase and focus your main effort on it. Take a ‘leisurely’ three or four seconds to complete the negative part of the exercise, and force yourself to maintain strict form at all times. You may not be able to handle the same weight you normally would (okay, let’s be honest, you won’t!), but even though you’ll be lifting a lighter weight it will feel decidedly heavier. And you’ll wonder why you ever kidded yourself that lifting heavier was your main goal.

Don’t worry, you will lift heavier, in time. Just this way you’ll get there gradually, more safely, and with far greater results in terms of muscle response and development.