Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

BEYOND BRAWN
9.23 At the end of each work set, when reps become hard to eke out, resist the
tendency to rush or jerk them. It is at the end of a set that your control and
discipline are most severely tested.
9.24 Good exercise form is critically important no matter what training intensity
you use. But the harder you train, the greater the importance. Whenever you
take intensity to the extreme you increase the chance of injury because the
body is working at its limit. At this level of intensity you can easily lose an
exercise’s grove, and potential weak links are seriously exposed. Hold back
a bit when you are training an area you know is not 100%. Better to do a bit
more work at a hard level, and perhaps do it a little more often, than go to a
more intensive level and get an injury. You cannot make any progress if you
are injured. Be sure not to do things that invite injury in you own individual
case.
9.25 How can perfect form be guaranteed on the final rep when the focus is on
effort? It cannot, so if you know you have a weak link, do not push that
weakness to the hilt. Better to hold back on the very final full or partial rep;
or, if when performing a rep and you know it is not going to go, hold it and
fight the negative rather than risk breaking form to get the full rep out. Keep
a little in you and come back next time and try to get the rep properly. Push
too far this time and you may get injured and then be unable to train hard
for a few weeks.
9.26 Single-rep work, if done with a maximum lift, may be dangerous more for
the fact that it is a final rep of a set (albeit a one-rep set) rather than it being
a maximum poundage. Many trainees have gained very well on single-rep
work, but they did not use absolute maximum singles. Since they were not
straining at their absolute maximum with a rep that might not make it, they
were able to maintain good form.
9.27 ough brutally hard training may be the fastest way to gain, at least for
some people, it will only be so if it is done without injury. Training at that
level demands extreme discipline and control. If you feel that you cannot
maintain your form discipline at the end of a set, then do not use brutally
hard training. e danger factor is much more evident in some exercises
than others. An isometric followed by a slow negative to wrap up a set is
much safer in a pullup than it is in a squat or deadlift. Do not take any
chances—do not go all the way in any exercise where you fear you may lose
control.
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