# 3 second positive and 3 second negative means what?



## hashman (Sep 24, 2009)

Hey guys I'm a little lost here-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya0p7h09e3w&feature=channel

He says a three second postive and three second negative. With a two second hold at the top.

1st two or three reps in a row
relax biceps
Notice how he pulls his arms back after the first rest period. I don't know when to do the 2 second pause. Any help is appreciated.


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## Perdido (Sep 24, 2009)

Positive = up, negative = down, pause is at the top after the positive.


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## Gazhole (Sep 25, 2009)

Its just a way of showing you the tempo, cadence, or speed of the reps.

Each rep is broken down into three (or four) parts. Using the bench press as an example:

After you unrack the bar with your arms extended, you lower it to your chest - this is the *Negative* portion of the rep as you are working *with* gravity to stabilize the weight as you lower it.

After the negative portion, when the bar is held just above the chest, this is a *Pause* in the rep as you are not moving the weight in either direction. This is also called the *Isometric* portion.

Next, you push the weight up from your chest back to the fully extended position. This is called the *Positive* portion as your muscle is contracting to work *against* gravity.

There is also a second isometric here, but you can take it or leave it.

So when he says 3 second positive and 3 second negative, with a 2 second pause, what he is really saying is:

Take three seconds to lower the weight, pause for two seconds at the bottom of the rep, then take three seconds to lift the weight again.

Easy peasy.


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