Gym on Sidechat | im new-ish to the gym and my friend i go with rushes through sets. like lat pulldowns (i think?) i go kind of slow for each rep and she takes maybe 10 secs for 10 reps. i was taught slower works muscle more but want clarification if im doing it wrong

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Gym 1d

im new-ish to the gym and my friend i go with rushes through sets. like lat pulldowns (i think?) i go kind of slow for each rep and she takes maybe 10 secs for 10 reps. i was taught slower works muscle more but want clarification if im doing it wrong

Anonymous 1d

Slower engages the muscle more, if you’re rushing it you’re not putting much tension on the muscle you’re focusing on, tell your friend to slow down, rushing reps isnt gonna rush progress

Anonymous 1d

Slowing of reps causes muscle growth when it is involuntary near muscular failure. So your friend is clearly not lifting heavy enough if she can do reps quickly and you are not lifting heavy enough if you have to voluntarily keep your reps slow.

Anonymous 1d

Ignore all the misinformation being spread here. Slow eccentrics do nothing for you. You can lower over 2x as much weight as you can press/pull. The concentric is the only part of the rep that matters. A controlled eccentric to standardize form is necessary, but no you are not getting anything out of an intentionally slow eccentric, in fact you’re just wasting more concentrics you could’ve gotten. Very high effort concentrics with good form and heavy load in the 5-9 rep range is king.

Anonymous 1d

If she’s going that fast the weight she’s using is way too light/easy. Also time under tension is huge for muscle growth. Keep doing ur thing

Anonymous 1d

It depends on your goals whether you should go fast or slow. Slower helps to build bulkier and stronger muscles, so it’s typically what supports vanity and even most functionality. But if your friend is training for a rope-climbing-race (or whatever) then she’s doing the right thing. Legs is the same concept but easier to understand. You squat slow to get a thick ass and stronger squat. You squat quickly to improve your running speed.

Anonymous 1d

If you’re a girl and you’re newer to the gym I would be cautious of jumping weight quickly for upper body exercises. Start lower do some slow reps, go up if you need to. I did my guy friends regimen with him with going till failure and heaviest weights and I couldn’t straighten my arms for like 5 days. I would just say go up weight slowly and do the exercise slow and controlled.

Anonymous 1d

At that speed you should increase the weight and/or slow down because it isn’t a challenge for the friend

Anonymous

#4 1d

I’m kinda responding to someone else’s comment that you’re not lifting heavy enough. Controlled movements that isolate the correct muscles will be more beneficial that quick movements that use accessory muscles. And jacking the weight up may make you strain the right muscles and end up having you use accessory muscles also. I would just go slow and steady with the pace you do reps at and the weight.

Anonymous

#6 1d

That’s very true but i believe the whole thing shouldn’t be fast and lowering the weight thatttt much should require more reps or till failure, i could be wrong though. I’d love your input as i am still newer to this

Anonymous

#5 1d

Thanks for being open to learning. There is so much just objectively awful information out there and it’s extremely hard to know what to actually do. If you want to progress as fast as possible, all you need to know is this. When you go in the gym, all you’re trying to achieve is stimulus for growth. To do this, you must achieve high levels of mechanical tension, and to do that, you must achieve high levels of motor unit recruitment. Look into those terms, what they mean/how to achieve them 👍🏻

Anonymous

#6 1d

Well thank you so much for that, I’ll look into them

Anonymous

#6 1d

Last thing I’ll say, light weight high reps is the absolute worst thing you can do, all you get is tons of fatigue and minimal growth stimulus comparably. Fatigue stacks exponentially, stimulus does not. Ladies it’s the same for you. There is no such thing as “toning the muscle” if you want to be toned, lift heavy with good form, get within at least 2 reps of failure, 2-4 hard sets per muscle group 2-3x per week, and be in a calorie deficit to lose body fat

Anonymous

#7 1d

Bro genuinely who is telling you this

Anonymous

#6 1d

That makes plenty of sense, the only part that confused me was how light the OP was insinuating the weight was and how they haven’t decided what type of muscle/physique they are trying to create

Anonymous

#6 1d

I’ve taken a couple exercise physiology classes as part of my functional biology degree and this is pretty fundamental

Anonymous

#5 1d

The narrative of different rep speeds and rep ranges building different types and thicknesses of muscle etc is absurd, if you want to build muscle, get stronger, it's literally that simple. Progressive overload: adding reps/load over time under the EXACT SAME conditions: same machine, form, tempo, etc. That is the ONLY true measure of progressive overload, and no you will not be able to add reps or load to an exercise every single time perpetually, don't try to outrun your adaptations.

Anonymous

#7 1d

Appeal to authority. Those textbooks are outdated by decades. Read some new studies, every single thing you mentioned was debunked years ago. Just because you took some college classes does NOT mean you understand what you’re talking about

Anonymous

#7 1d

#7 what if I want to tone the muscle. How to I turn fat cells into muscle cells? Do I need the carnivore diet?

Anonymous

#3 1d

I know I’m not who you asked but I believe cut down on carbs a bit, increase protein and water. And over time you should see the changes. Full carnivore isn’t very healthy in the long run

Anonymous

#6 1d

I’m not going to sit here and explain several semesters’ worth of instruction to you. Which, yes, of course included utilizing the most up-to-date research. If you’d like to educate yourself, feel free to start at doi: 10.3390/ijms242317079

Anonymous

#5 1d

Yes and no, you absolutely need carbs, that’s your fuel source, I would cut fat first, also you don’t need near as much protien as we’ve been led to believe by protien powder companies lol. I tried low carb once and felt dead day to day. I eat a ton of clean carbs now, feel amazing, great gym progress, body fat not an issue

Anonymous

#7 1d

“Slower reps build bulkier and stronger muscles” is the most idiotic statement I’ve heard in 2025

Anonymous

#3 1d

You ‘tone’ muscle by exercising. It’s not possible to turn fat cells into muscle cells. Body recomposition is based on increasing muscle mass while decreasing fat mass, but there’s no conversion. You definitely do not need the carnivore diet unless prescribed by a medical professional (and even then, I’d recommend getting a second opinion)

Anonymous

#6 1d

Have you seriously never heard of time under tension?

Anonymous

#6 1d

PS it wasn’t an appeal to authority lmfao. You literally asked me who was telling me and I answered your question. Absolutely insane to ask where I learned something and then get mad when I tell you where I learned it.

Anonymous

#7 1d

Now what about micro tears? I heard that’s the primary way to grow muscle. I’ve been trying to give myself a macro tear with twisting jerking motions on every exercise because I want to speed up the process

Anonymous

#3 1d

Lol I thought you were trolling the first time but wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. My bad.

Anonymous

#7 1d

What? All the biggest bodybuilders always talk about pec tears and bicep tears I’m trying to be like them

Anonymous

#6 1d

You're spitting absolute facts but if it genuinely takes her 10 seconds to perform 10 reps you can almost guarantee her form and/or intensity are severely lacking. I'd assume its the intensity with a set taking 10 seconds I doubt she's close to reaching failure

Anonymous

#8 1d

Thanks dawg, I honestly wasn’t even paying attention to op I was just replying to comments lol. Yes I would say a 2 ish second eccentric is a good rule of thumb, concentric obviously as fast as possible while maintaining good form. I like to say controlled aggression.

Anonymous

#3 1d

Quality rage bait

Anonymous

#7 1d

You’re seriously still a believer of TUT meaning anything for growth in 2025? Claiming you’ve read up to date studies? So if I hold a weight for 10 minutes I’ll get the same benefit as a solid set of 5 to 1rir? There is simply nothing that beats a high effort straight set of 5-8 reps with solid form. Nothing. To disagree with that statement is to fundamentally disagree with nearly all recent studies.

Anonymous

#6 21h

I'm actually praying OP takes your advice lmao