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Q: I’ve been bodybuilding for four years and I’m still not sure how fast or slow I should perform my repetitions. I often read that the reps should be slow, controlled and steady, only to turn the page to find another pro who says the reps should be fast and explosive. Who’s right, who’s wrong, and why?

A: Both are right. The speed, smoothness, consistency and control of reps vary according to the exercise, its purpose, the bodypart and the ordinal position of the set in your workout.

THE EXERCISE

Repetition speed will vary, depending upon whether the exercise is performed with cables, free weights or a machine. Since resistance with cables is consistent over the entire range of motion, the most effective use of cables is by means of slower repetitions, with a pace that is consistent through both the contraction and extension phases.

With free weights, the moment of force, or resistance, varies through the arc of the movement: At some points, the weight feels heavier than at others, just the opposite of the sensation associated with cables. You have to apply more power at those higher resistance points than at others, which means you have to accelerate or decelerate your repetition. Free weights are thus more effectively employed by repetitions that are controlled but slightly more explosive.

Biceps ballooning tips from Melvin Anthony, Jr.

Despite being arguably bodybuilding’s greatest showman and, at his best, sporting one of the most dramatic rear double bi shots of all time, Melvin Anthony, Jr. is the stealth pro. He rarely grabs headlines but just as rarely finishes out of a money slot. In an 11-year career, he’s won only three of the 36 shows he’s entered, including this year’s inaugural Phoenix Pro, and yet in 21 of those contests he made the posedown, and that includes three consecutive Mr. Olympia’s (2006-08). In every battle, he’s come well-armed, so we got Mel’s thoughts on biceps training and a typical “good bi” routine.

MEL’S GOOD BI’S LESSON

“I used to lift crazy heavy weight, curling 225 pounds and all that stuff. I still go heavy on barbell curls; I just don’t do things like dumbbell preacher curls in the 90s, like I used to do back in the day. I ain’t going for strength; I ain’t trying to powerlift. That was just for show, ego, more than anything else #151; especially when the girls were walking around. I’d try to stop traffic. Me and my boys used to stop the gym. It was our goal to train so hard that we messed up everybody else’s workout.”
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ASK MR. O: REP SPEED

MEL SWELLS HIS BI’S