Adam Knowlden
06-19-2004, 04:11 PM
DOUBLE NEGATIVES
How to apply double negatives
Double negatives are performed on machines that allow the weight to be centered at all times during the lift. Thus, most cable movements and cable machines will work, along with some free weight movements that allow the weight to be centered. The centering of the weight allows the negative to be distributed to one side of the body evenly. This would be almost impossible with a barbell as the weight is on the ends and the bar would tip over if you tried to place the entire negative on one side of the body.
As for cables, I feel the rope attachment (same rope attachment you use for cable crunches) is the most versatile piece of equipment that can be used for double negative movements. The rope allows the negative weight to be distributed evenly on the body.
How do double negatives work?
Double negatives will super blast your muscles into new dimensions of size! They work because they literally shut down your bodies natural defenses to an overload of weight! They also subject the muscle to twice the amount of overload it could normally handle on the lowering portion of a lift.
For example, let’s say that you can do a 1 rep maximum of shoulder pressing with a 100 lb barbell. That 1-rep max is your 100% maximum power output. Now if you can stop and hold it statically (still/ not moving) in the fully contracted position, you're stronger! And if you can resist on the way down (negative) instead of just holding the weight still, you're even stronger! If the positive 1RM was 100%, then static is approximately 120% and negative is approximately 140%. Why is this? It's a defense mechanism of the body! If it was the other way around we'd be in some serious trouble! We'd be able to pick up a huge load and hold it above our heads, but once we're there we’d realize that we're too weak to hold it there and.….BAM!
It's a safety buffer to ensure that we can't pick up something we can't handle, and in the worst-case scenario we always have the power to give the weight a controlled descent back down. This is the key to why double negative training works! And this is also why you have to be both disciplined to do it safely. When I am performing double negatives, I always lower the weight with a slow 10 to 30 count. The exact time depends on how warmed-up I am, and how I want to vary the descent time. However, the main thing to remember is a slow and controlled descent. As opposed to sloppily and loosely dropping the weight too fast. Also stretch heavily, and perform one higher rep working set the regular way before doing any pure double negative sets. The reason why you must be careful is because by doing double negatives you are effectively tricking your body! Simply put, you override the safety by filling the buffer with extra weight, and forcing your muscles to work harder than other wise possible. The downside of this is exactly that - you override the safety limit! The upside is new muscle growth that will blow your mind! With all that in mind let’s discuss strategy!
Strategies for double negatives
As I mentioned earlier, my time of descent on a double negative can range from 10-30 seconds. I should mention however, instead of seconds I generally count the numbers out loud, slowly. This helps me focus more, and get my mind off the pain. I believe this time can not only prevent injury, but also is the ideal time to spawn muscle growth! For example, let’s take one of my favorite exercises to incorporate when I do double negatives, the rope pull down. To perform this exercise, attach the rope to a lat pull down machine. Begin with one warm up set to get a feel for the movement, and to get the appropriate muscles loose and filled with blood.
Now, comes the hardcore part. Do the rope pull downs with a normal weight that would allow you to get 8, 10, or 12 reps. As you pull down; concentrate all your power, into getting the full range of motion. As you get to the bottom of the range of motion and approach the negative portion of the pull down, begin allowing one side of your back to take the brunt of the negative. Even though you have both hands on the rope, you are allowing one side to take the greater amount of the negative pull, all the way back to the starting portion of the exercise. That is one full rep. Continue in this manner until you have given both sides an equal number of negative reps (This is the reason you should try to select a weight that will allow you to get an even number of reps before beginning the exercise, this may take some experience to estimate).
I like to vary my time for descent according to the amount of weight I use. For example if I was going for 8 reps in the above exercise, I would go for a longer 30 count descent, as opposed to a higher 12 reps, where I may go for a 10 count descent. For all those super insane hardcore lifters reading this….Yes, there are ways to make this principle more intense! The prime example would be to superset double negatives with just emphasized negatives. Let’s say I did a full set of double negatives using the rope pull down exercise example. After failure, I could cheat out reps and emphasize the negative using both sides of my back like a regular negative rep. Again going for a slow count, and fighting the pain with all the strength I could muster! Or, I could take it a step further and continue the double negative technique by stripping the weight and repeating the process! I like to call these strip-set double negatives! They are super hardcore and will light the muscle group you are working on fire!
Try the double negative approach with the following exercises! You’ll get a new definition of the word PAIN!
1. Tricep Dip - This only works at a tricep dip station. The reason is because you can brace your legs on the foot pad and balance your body easier. Try leaning more on one arm on the negative portion, then push up with both arms, then lean more on the other one, until you have completed a whole set! You’ll love these!
2. Machine Curl - Awesome for the biceps! You can also take a reverse grip and hit your forearms and outer bis. Beware! These are stretch mark makers! I recommend rubbing vitamin E lotion on your biceps after your gym session!
3. Standing Calf Machine or Toe Press- This will be more pain than most can endure, but the pay off will be cow-sized calves! If you want big calves go deep into the pain zone on these!
4. Leg Extensions/Leg Curls - You want super cut quads and hams? Try double negative curls and extensions! I have to warn you though; the pain zone will look like a honey moon suite when you get into these babies!
5. Rope Hammer Curl - If you want 3D forearm extensors these are a must!
6. Rope Curl - Simply grab the rope before it hasn’t been tensed by the weight. Now, using some of the slack, twist your wrist so that your palms are facing up. Hold them in this position throughout the whole movement.
7. Rope Tricep pushdowns - Same principle here, except keep your arms locked so the rope doesn’t move the whole time. In other words don’t splay the rope apart when you push or resist the weight. I like to alternate between a wide and close grip for these.
How to apply double negatives
Double negatives are performed on machines that allow the weight to be centered at all times during the lift. Thus, most cable movements and cable machines will work, along with some free weight movements that allow the weight to be centered. The centering of the weight allows the negative to be distributed to one side of the body evenly. This would be almost impossible with a barbell as the weight is on the ends and the bar would tip over if you tried to place the entire negative on one side of the body.
As for cables, I feel the rope attachment (same rope attachment you use for cable crunches) is the most versatile piece of equipment that can be used for double negative movements. The rope allows the negative weight to be distributed evenly on the body.
How do double negatives work?
Double negatives will super blast your muscles into new dimensions of size! They work because they literally shut down your bodies natural defenses to an overload of weight! They also subject the muscle to twice the amount of overload it could normally handle on the lowering portion of a lift.
For example, let’s say that you can do a 1 rep maximum of shoulder pressing with a 100 lb barbell. That 1-rep max is your 100% maximum power output. Now if you can stop and hold it statically (still/ not moving) in the fully contracted position, you're stronger! And if you can resist on the way down (negative) instead of just holding the weight still, you're even stronger! If the positive 1RM was 100%, then static is approximately 120% and negative is approximately 140%. Why is this? It's a defense mechanism of the body! If it was the other way around we'd be in some serious trouble! We'd be able to pick up a huge load and hold it above our heads, but once we're there we’d realize that we're too weak to hold it there and.….BAM!
It's a safety buffer to ensure that we can't pick up something we can't handle, and in the worst-case scenario we always have the power to give the weight a controlled descent back down. This is the key to why double negative training works! And this is also why you have to be both disciplined to do it safely. When I am performing double negatives, I always lower the weight with a slow 10 to 30 count. The exact time depends on how warmed-up I am, and how I want to vary the descent time. However, the main thing to remember is a slow and controlled descent. As opposed to sloppily and loosely dropping the weight too fast. Also stretch heavily, and perform one higher rep working set the regular way before doing any pure double negative sets. The reason why you must be careful is because by doing double negatives you are effectively tricking your body! Simply put, you override the safety by filling the buffer with extra weight, and forcing your muscles to work harder than other wise possible. The downside of this is exactly that - you override the safety limit! The upside is new muscle growth that will blow your mind! With all that in mind let’s discuss strategy!
Strategies for double negatives
As I mentioned earlier, my time of descent on a double negative can range from 10-30 seconds. I should mention however, instead of seconds I generally count the numbers out loud, slowly. This helps me focus more, and get my mind off the pain. I believe this time can not only prevent injury, but also is the ideal time to spawn muscle growth! For example, let’s take one of my favorite exercises to incorporate when I do double negatives, the rope pull down. To perform this exercise, attach the rope to a lat pull down machine. Begin with one warm up set to get a feel for the movement, and to get the appropriate muscles loose and filled with blood.
Now, comes the hardcore part. Do the rope pull downs with a normal weight that would allow you to get 8, 10, or 12 reps. As you pull down; concentrate all your power, into getting the full range of motion. As you get to the bottom of the range of motion and approach the negative portion of the pull down, begin allowing one side of your back to take the brunt of the negative. Even though you have both hands on the rope, you are allowing one side to take the greater amount of the negative pull, all the way back to the starting portion of the exercise. That is one full rep. Continue in this manner until you have given both sides an equal number of negative reps (This is the reason you should try to select a weight that will allow you to get an even number of reps before beginning the exercise, this may take some experience to estimate).
I like to vary my time for descent according to the amount of weight I use. For example if I was going for 8 reps in the above exercise, I would go for a longer 30 count descent, as opposed to a higher 12 reps, where I may go for a 10 count descent. For all those super insane hardcore lifters reading this….Yes, there are ways to make this principle more intense! The prime example would be to superset double negatives with just emphasized negatives. Let’s say I did a full set of double negatives using the rope pull down exercise example. After failure, I could cheat out reps and emphasize the negative using both sides of my back like a regular negative rep. Again going for a slow count, and fighting the pain with all the strength I could muster! Or, I could take it a step further and continue the double negative technique by stripping the weight and repeating the process! I like to call these strip-set double negatives! They are super hardcore and will light the muscle group you are working on fire!
Try the double negative approach with the following exercises! You’ll get a new definition of the word PAIN!
1. Tricep Dip - This only works at a tricep dip station. The reason is because you can brace your legs on the foot pad and balance your body easier. Try leaning more on one arm on the negative portion, then push up with both arms, then lean more on the other one, until you have completed a whole set! You’ll love these!
2. Machine Curl - Awesome for the biceps! You can also take a reverse grip and hit your forearms and outer bis. Beware! These are stretch mark makers! I recommend rubbing vitamin E lotion on your biceps after your gym session!
3. Standing Calf Machine or Toe Press- This will be more pain than most can endure, but the pay off will be cow-sized calves! If you want big calves go deep into the pain zone on these!
4. Leg Extensions/Leg Curls - You want super cut quads and hams? Try double negative curls and extensions! I have to warn you though; the pain zone will look like a honey moon suite when you get into these babies!
5. Rope Hammer Curl - If you want 3D forearm extensors these are a must!
6. Rope Curl - Simply grab the rope before it hasn’t been tensed by the weight. Now, using some of the slack, twist your wrist so that your palms are facing up. Hold them in this position throughout the whole movement.
7. Rope Tricep pushdowns - Same principle here, except keep your arms locked so the rope doesn’t move the whole time. In other words don’t splay the rope apart when you push or resist the weight. I like to alternate between a wide and close grip for these.