So I was watching Leah’s recent bench press IG video where it appears Jordan had her do an additional rep due to a voluntary bar speed reduction on the last rep. Do I have that correct?
If so, the question for either of you is: should reps be performed as explosively as possible for some kind of training effect? I ask because I have a tendancy to think in my head that I’ve got this RPE 8 set, so I won’t try to maximize bar speed throughout. Sometimes that becomes too apparent on the last rep or two, where bar speed will slow TOO much. If someone were watching, they’d probably assume the set was harder for me than it actually was. Could either of you provide comments on this please?
If I misinterpreted this little video, definitely set me straight! Thanks!
That is indeed what happened. For context, I was doing sets of 6 and was struggling to keep my bar bath consistent on the final reps, even though it was a weight at which we both knew I had the capacity to do it better. So he had me do 7 reps to point out my ability to do 6 reps.
It’s not a matter of me doing these explosively as much as doing them correctly. Many people think “explode” and then they get sloppy. If you’re talking about throwing the bar off your chest, or exploding that way, then yes, do that. And if you are slowing yourself down just because it’s RPE 8,you don’t want to do that.
So it sounds like you need to work on making each rep the best it can be, including bar speed. And that is what I was working on the video.
Euby, thanks for bringing this up. And Leah, thanks for your helpful response. I also noticed that IG video, and it has definitely effected how I approach each set and RPE assignment. I think my expectation that a set would be @8, for instance, was leading me to slow down – basically meeting my expectation that it would be @8. Focusing on execution and trying to keep bar speed high near the end of a set has led me to hit higher weights than expected at the prescribed RPE. The more you know…
