Positive/Negative

A negative workout consists of lowering a heavier than normal weight in order to stress the muscle and allow it to adapt.  It is estimated that we can handle 30% more weight in a negative rep, so why not take advantage of it.  The theory is that when you began to handle heavier weight in a negative format, eventually you will be able to handle more in a positive or concentric repetition also, making you and your muscles bigger and stronger.  The problem is that if you don’t have a partner to help lift the concentric weight off of you, injury could prevail.  So I came up with trying to get the best of both worlds, but it takes a little patience and work.  For most exercises you won’t need anything extra other than normal bar and weights, but for bench, shoulder press, squats, a smith machine or squat rack with safety bars is essential. 
For example, if you were to bench on a smith machine, it would look like this.  If your max is around 3 plates or 315lbs, then after a thorough warmup and a few normal sets, set it up as high as your arms will stretch.  Lift off rack and lower as slow as you can ( 5 seconds if possible) resisting the weight from speeding up, then once you get to your chest rack it on the safety hooks, then quickly get up and strip off one plate on each side, lie back down and press this up as high as you can then load the 3rd plate back on and repeat for at least 5 reps.  If this is too easy then next session you need to add weight that is quick and adjustable. 

On a machine that has a weighted stack this method can be much easier and faster, just by pulling the pin from the bottom of the stack to a lighter weight.  Also can take less time and increase the intensity of the workout.
For curls a good way to perform this is in a squat rack.  On the squat rack holders place the heavier weight (try 2 plates of your choice 25s, 35s, 45s) on the bar, then grip it like you’re performing a shoulder width curl.  Raise the bar off the squat rack position then take a step back.  Try to lower the weight as slow as you can until it stops on the safety bars in the rack, then quickly strip off 1 plate off each side then curl it up, step forward to rack it again high, then place the plates back on then perform at least 5 repetitions. 
What I’ve found is that you should be exhausted by 5 reps, if you are able to do 5 or more then you need to increase the weight to really challenge the muscle.

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