Perfect Technique.... Missed Opportunity?

[SemperFi]

I have a semi-serious question for the community. It was a topic of discussion at our BBQ last night and I want to ask our community to weigh in.

I am a bit OCD. If you know anything about clinical OCD there is almost nothing that will stop an individual from doing something that they become fixated on. In this case I have always been fixated on perfect technique and form. In most case I will refuse to add additional load if it disrupts my form.

My question… Am I hindering my development by not doing ‘cheat’ reps towards the end of a set(s)?

Thanks for your consideration in advance. I look forward to opinions and any discussion.

 

[josh]

That’s an awesome question. Im very interested in any answers in this also… im not a perfectionist but I would ask this same question!

 

[SemperFi]

My OCD in this area is so prominent that I find myself getting anxious in the gym when I see individuals compromising good form and technique. I am able to just turn away in most case except when I see someone setting themselves up for a serious injury.

 

[josh]

Well obviously if they are setting themselves up for injury then guidance is what they need, and I would be appreciative if somebody saw me doing something wrong, risking injury, and came over to add their idea, form, knowledge into helping me out! But I’m a mild mannered guy and that’s just me, but I do know people tend to get butt hurt when you try to help

 

[01dragonslayer]

This topic has been debated many times. I personally do not like cheat reps because as you say it takes away from form and you are not truly working the intended muscle or muscle groups. My main concern though is when you include cheat reps into your routine you take away form and there is a much greater potential for injury. We all know as we grow older form is key to any routine just for that fact.

 

[PHD]

I agree I don’t like cheat reps at all because you can injure yourself. I don’t have ocd so hard for me to say for sure what to do. So I’ll say what I would do. I would increase the weight and work through it trying to keep my form as close to perfect as possible. Sometimes it’s easy to get scared to push extra weight because I. The back of our heads we are afraid of failure or more seriously injury. It’s held me back from pushing myself. My coach says to push it and be scared and conquer it. I’ve been doing that more lately. Like today I did deadlifts. I hate dead lifts but know I need them to really grow. But I’ve always held back by not pushing myself well today I did. I do 10 sets. I worked up to a weight that I’ve never done and I did 3 sets with it towards the end. I only got 4-5 reps but it felt good to beat that barrier block. I then dropped my last 2 sets and repoed out 10 reps for both sets.

Not sure if this helps or not.

 

[TG1]

Some cheats I think are ok. But theres a wide range between a good and bad cheat. Personally I think it can help people get passed a mental plateau. Look at some vids of Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates (sometimes). They all did some cheats back in the day.

Check out this article written by John Meadows. Explains alot better then I can.

The Vital Whole Human

Making a difference in the human experience through intelligent science — that’s what drives us and guides every formula we create. The outcome isn’t the finish, only a direction: The Vital Whole Human — forever in pursuit of better, never finished.

www.t-nation.com

Edit: Arnold was well known for his cheat reps and when he used them.

 

[Bigmurph6]

I would say if you’re not pushing yourself to your limits you’re definitely cutting yourself short of what you could reach if you did push farther.
I do agree though that form is extremely important. It prevents injury and will get you to train and lift properly.
I would always say push yourself but always keep in mind to keep your form and push to the limit but don’t push past it until you are ready.

 

[Swest]

I prefer to get to the point of failure then drop the weight to maintain form. I find that I respond better to this than I do when doing cheat reps.

 

[Swest]

In addition to this, if I’m not doing drop sets I’m a bit of a sucker for negative reps (obviously with help to get the weight up to start with).

 

[SemperFi]

Thanks to everyone for their input and ideas based on experience.

I got lean (sub 8%) now I will bulk clean through the winter.

 

[josh]

Thank you @SemperFi for bringing the topic up

 

[SemperFi]

You bet @josh. We never know everything and I dig the vibe at ugm.

I am getting ready to tear it up this winter. I am 52, 5’10 211 and sub 8%. If I can get my ducks in row I am going to use Titan Training with @PHD. This old man is going to surprise the shit out of him how hard I am willing to work. I want him to push me to.my ultimate limit. Anything worth doing is worth over doing.

 

[PHD]

Hell yea Bro

 

[Fitraver]

What’s titan training?

 

[SemperFi]

Anyone have a set of crayons I can use? Its the name he uses for his training services.

 

[Fitraver]

How would I know that lol

 

[SemperFi]

How could you not?