Repetition Speed

“I don’t wake up every morning thinking I’m the fastest man in the world; I wake up every morning thinking I’ve got a lot of work to do to get better.” -Maurice Green

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A simple element that many strength training programs may overlook is repetition speed. We believe that in order to properly track strength progression a coach must
teach athletes to use a consistent repetition cadence.

StrongerAthletes.com maintains that the repetition speed can vary among programs as long as momentum is minimized. At the 2002 Strength & Science Seminar we came across many programs that believed in a 2-second concentric, movements away from the ground, and 4-second eccentric, movements towards the ground, rep cadence. We respect that and think that is a very productive way to train ensuring that the athlete reaches full exhaustion of the working muscles.

StrongerAthletes.com has always trained athletes on a 2-second concentric and eccentric cadence. Again, in both examples, momentum is at a minimum.

We have witnessed other variations such as 5-seconds for the concentric and eccentric and 10 or 3 for both etc... John Thomas, the Penn State Strength Coach, tells StrongerAthletes.com that the trainee does not have to use a set cadence but the important thing is that the athlete is not bouncing the weight at the bottom position which will create momentum.

We believe that the most important thing is that the athlete keep consistent in repetition speed so that progression can be tracked accurately.