2. What Makes A "Good" Repetition- 5 Scales Of Rating Repetitions.

Any repetitions that deviate from good form shouldn't be counted unless it's a competition lift.

Training is training and the goal is always to maintain the technique that we want to repeat.

Don't accept movements you don't want to see replicated.

Above the 3 Scales Is FORM.

All movements are potentially harmful when executed poorly and with the poor load selection.

Pain scale

If there is pain we don't care about how fast the bar is moving or how much load is being used.

Pain is the first priority.

Pain is a warning that the load exceeds the tissue tolerance.

We must lower the tension to continue to train the area without causing more injury.

We can do this by:

1. Using short range movements

2. Working with less than 20RM loads (higher than 20 repetition sets.

3. Using slower tempos.

Effort scale

The is the only scale that most strength coaches are talking about.

How hard was the last repetition?

How many more repetitions could have been executed?

Some people are more slow twitch and will have many reps in the tank when the par is going slow. The inverse is also true, some athletes either make the repetition fast or don't make it at all.

Going too close to failure and beyond technical repetition failure too often creates unnecessary fatigue and injury risk.

Grinding low repetitions with poor form is one of my biggest regrets for my training over the last 20 years.

On the flip-side going to failure over 20RM can help to flush areas with new blood and growth factors.

Tension scale

How much connective tissue tension is there in the movement.

High speed movements / high amortisation / heavy loads / high strain / stretch.

High tension movements are great for adding new connective tissue. Using stretch with these movements causes inflammation and hypertrophy.

EXAMPLEShort range movements for high repetitions with light loads (low intensity) taken to failure can be hard in terms of effort but strain on connective tissue could be a minimal connective tissue tension.

Short range movements for low repetitions with heavy loads (high intensity) in areas that are already injured can still create significant tension and cause pain.

Bar speed

Knowing what bar speed you want and getting that speed from your training is one of the keys to being a great coach.

For most people there is very little value in draining their nervous system energy with slow grinding concentric repetitions. There may be a place for in elite bodybuilding or if a mental challenge is needed but for most people it’s going to take more than it will give.

Are slow 1RM lifts valuable to your athlete?

If they want to compete in powerlifting then it’s valuable to learn to “grind” for most other people fast singles are more valuable and leave the lifter with confidence for more weight next session.

Conclusion:

The art of coaching is here.

Decreasing the intensity, tension and or speed can allow people to enjoy training and regain function.

Using more tension can fuel muscle and connective tissue gains.

This is how short and long range strength comes to life!

Since this article I realised that Joint Dominance also needs to be considered as a 4th scale.

There can be no pain effort or muscle tension but still damage is being done to the joint that is felt later. This is particularly true for knees where the meniscus and ligaments play a huge role in stabilising the joints. Joint dominance is coming up next.