2951: Slow Reps vs. Fast Reps — What the Data Actually Says (The Answer Has Nuance)

Doug Egge (0:00)

If you want to pump your body and expand your mind, there's only one place to go. Mind Pump, Mind Pump with your hosts, Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer, and Justin Andrews.

Sal Di Stefano (0:13)

You just found the most downloaded health, fitness, and entertainment podcasts in the history of the world. This is Mind Pump in today's episode. We had live callers call in, we got to coach them live on air, so people called in and said, hey, I need help with my fitness, and we got to coach them. But this was after the intro, today's intro, 61 minutes long. Now in the intro, we talk about rep speed. Does it make a difference? We talk about fitness, nutrition, current events, and family life. It's always fun. If you ever want to be on an episode like this where you call in and we get to help you out, send your question to mplivecaller.com. Now this episode is brought to you by some sponsors. The first one is Element. This is an electrolyte powder you add to your water. Gives you the sodium, magnesium, and potassium you need for great workouts. If you go to their link, drinkelementt.com/mindpump, you'll get a free sample pack of their most popular drink mix flavors with any purchase. This episode is also brought to you by Organifi, makers of great supplements. Today we talked about their vegan protein powder. It's one of the best protein powders I've ever tasted. It's well made, glyphosate free, low heavy metals. It's a great protein powder for anybody, but especially if you're a vegan. Go try them out. Go to organifi.com/mindpump. Use the code mind pump, get 20% off. We also have a brand new workout program, Maps, Abs and Butt. It's a workout program for your whole body, but the emphasis is on your abs and on growing your booty.

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Here comes the show.

Adam Schafer (1:57)

T-shirt time!

Doug Egge (1:59)

And it's t-shirt time!

Adam Schafer (2:01)

Ah, shit, Doug, you know it's my favorite time of the week.

Doug Egge (2:04)

Three winners this week, two for Apple Podcasts, one for Facebook. The Apple Podcast winners are Kailor15 and RebaBecca. And for Facebook, we have Rod Salway. All three of you are winners. Send the name I just read to iTunes at mindpumpmedia.com.

Include your shirt size and your shipping address, and we'll get that shirt right out to you.

Justin Andrews (2:23)

All right, real quick, if you love us like we love you, why not show it by rocking one of our shirts, hats, mugs, or training gear over at mindpumpstore.com. I'm talking right now. Hit pause, head on over to mindpumpstore.com. That's it. Enjoy the rest of the show.

Sal Di Stefano (2:39)

Does how you do your reps matter? Does it really make a difference if you do them slow or fast or really slow?

Does it change anything or does it not matter? Is it just up to your preference? Today, we talk about the data. What does rep speed and how you do your reps tell you about the goals and results you're about to achieve? We're gonna talk about that today. Let's go.

Adam Schafer (2:59)

I think promptness does matter.

Sal Di Stefano (3:01)

Yes, something did prompt this to me. So we'll talk about the data. So studies are getting quoted right now, and I've seen these studies, that say that rep speed within a reason, so they're not going crazy, right? You're not doing like a 40-second rep. I don't think we have too many studies on those, but they'll compare slow reps to fast reps, right? Slower negatives to faster negatives and positives. And they'll show similar hypertrophy, okay? So they build the same amount of muscle. Now, the thing that is frustrating to me, and I'm sure it is to you guys, and to other good trainers, is that people communicate things in ways that are so simplified that we really lose the nuance. So, what I think the consumer hears, or the average person hears, is it doesn't matter, which actually isn't the case. Now, for hypertrophy, it might not matter, although I'll make the case it does matter.

And it matters for a lot of other things. So, let's talk about that a little bit, about rep speeds and why they matter, and why we should pay attention, and not just listen to someone on Instagram say, they all build the same amount of muscle.