Negative-Only Workout on Hybrid Machine
21 Convention founder Anthony Johnson came over Saturday to go through a negative-only workout on the Hybrid machine and brought his video camera with him.
The workout consisted of negative-only squats, dips, low rows (first video), calf raises, presses and pulldowns (second video). When performing negative-0nly on the Hybrid machine, the rep starts with a brief static contraction during which effort is gradually increased to maximum, followed by a slow, full-range, maximum-effort negative. Due to the extremely high level of intensity, I only have people perform three of these repetitions.
You can read Anthony’s comments on the workout at his blog in the post The Most Brutal Workout Ever.
The machine can also be used for “hyper” reps, which involve both maximum positive and negative movement, and “double negative” reps, which consist of alternating between maximum negatives on opposing movements such as dip/low row or press/pulldown, however we figured negative-only would be the best place to start, since the double-negative and especially the hyper reps can be particularly brutal for someone not used to training in this fashion.
i like the little boy jumping in and out!
Looks like a great bit of kit
It’s quite the brutal piece of equipment. The hyper reps are particularly torturous.
My son was playing in the living room while we were recording the workout, and is kind of hard to keep reigned in once he gets going.
Hi Drew,
That is really an awesome piece of equipment. I know you are only testing it for the designers, but have they given you an idea on what the cost of the machine would be. I would love to have a unit like that at home, but I’m guessing the cost for the average home gym owner is going to be quite prohibitive.
Drew,
Great videos on the hybrid machines! Will the facility you work in adopt these when they are commercially available? I saw the X Factor machines, they also seem pretty brutal to train on according to Dr. Darden.
Also just wanted to say great job on a resource for productive training without “dogma”. Your information in always refreshing. I can’t wait for your book to comes out. Again, thank you for the hard work.
In health
Brandon
Brandon,
I do not know if the facility I’m working in will purchase the machines, although it would be great if they did. The X Force machines look interesting and I hope to try them out eventually, although I have a feeling they’re not going to come close to the intensity of the Hybrids. I’m glad you like the site and hope you enjoy the book when it’s finished.
Michael,
I do not know what the exact cost of the machine will be. They will not be cheap, but they will be more cost and space efficient than purchasing the number of single-station machines required to perform the same exercises, and far more effective.
I might be mis-remembering, but I seem to recall they have a machine with rotary lat movements – is that a different version than the one you have Drew?
The version you’re thinking of is one of Randy’s XnTrx machines. One of those has a rotary lat/lateral raise combo.
Drew,
How do people seem to be responding to these workouts in terms of their recovery? Are you finding they need a longer interval between workouts? I tried one of the “Done in One” workouts that John Little posted on the Bodybyscience website and it hammered me. It’s been 5 days and I’m still way below baseline and feel terrible. I definitely think the deeper inroad is what did it.
Thanks,
David
David,
I haven’t trained enough people for a long enough period of time to provide any solid data, but from what I’ve seen so far it seems people require a little more time between workouts to fully recover. There is a noticeable difference in metabolic demand between the hyper, double-negative and negative-only reps. While all of them are hard, the hyper reps in particular fatigue you rapidly and leave you feeling like you were hit by a truck. It will be interesting to see the rate of inroad on the hyper reps when the force gauge and touch screen displays are in place.
Hi Drew,
I know the hybrid machines have been used only a short time, but could you comment on what you have observed with muscular hypertrophy with the subjects using the machines? I know you comment how deeply they inroad or fatigue the muscles but what about the actual muscular hypertrophy? Are you noticing fuller muscles between workouts?
I am just curious because in the past I have gone through some very intense workouts that very deeply fatigued the muscles but didn’t notice added muscular hypertrophy due to longer times between workouts to feel recovered.
Thanks for your time.
In health
Brandon
Drew,
I tried the “Done in One” workout described by John Little on the Bodybyscience.net site. You talk about feeling like being hit by a truck. More like the guy backed it up and ran over me a few extra times just to make sure it was a thorough job. It was 3 sets, one rep positive and one negative, with the goal of hitting 45-60 seconds each direction. I didn’t really get that tired at the end of the set or the workout but I’m still really fatigued and feel well below baseline 5 days later. By my crude calculations I achieved close to a 70% inroad and Darden and Jones always recommended a 20%. I’m not planning on doing another workout like that.
Thanks,
David
Hi Drew,
(This question concerns another post of yours.)
In your article, “The Minimum Amount Necessary”, you mention that you know a man who performs one exercise a workout every 10 – 14 days. Could you elaborate?
Does he only perform one set (excluding warm – ups) to failure?
What exercise does he perform? — or does he alternate exercises?
The reason I ask this is because I am considering following a similar program of one set of squats to failure, once every 1 or 2 weeks.
Thanks,
Moiz
Awesome. As in the earlier videos, the equipment is awesome. Negative only training, being as effective as it is can be performed with no spotters and the risks involved with negative only training like bad- improper spotting, losing control of weight etc are negated. All this means is as long as the trainee is willing to push himself this machine delivers the best negative training to failure SAFELY. In my view, no other training method can come close to exploiting “negative failure” as much as these.
Karthik
Drew,
As an afficionado of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), would hyperreps training on this type of machine complement the anaerobic training I need to do to be in fighting shape? (e.g. 5 minute rounds of max number of burpees, followed by 1 min of rest) Or, would the brutal conditioning of MMA get in the way of recovery?
Conversely, could this HIT training replace the anaerobic conditioning training one needs for MMA?
High intensity strength training could replace any general conditioning work, however it would still be helpful to perform specific conditioning work matching the intensity, duration and intervals of competition. For example, if you were to compete in an event like the UFC with five minute rounds and one minute rest periods, you should try to match the specific work and rest periods while sparring.
Drew,
Looks like a great piece of equipment. I am actually in the same boat as Rich (train in MMA, 5 days a week, etc.). I would love to use something like this to compliment my training regime (one that gives a sufficent inroad & does not require too much time spent in a conventional gym, which gives me more time for bjj, muay thai, etc.).
Good luck with its testing & development, I am eager to see the developments that take place with it’s usage.
Take care,
Steve G.
Moiz,
This was years ago, but if I recall correctly he performed one set of one exercise every 10 to 14 days. He rotated a multi-joint leg movement, upper body pulling movement, and upper body pushing movement. I do not know for sure, but I think they were leg press, pull down and chest press.
David,
I think such workouts might be overdoing it a bit. While I don’t think it applies to the majority of people who don’t even really know what hard training is, much less train anywhere near hard enough, for someone who does train very intensely it may be possible to reach a point of diminishing returns where the demand on recovery ability becomes disproportionate to the benefit of the workout. For example, if significantly increasing your intensity using some method stimulated a 50% greater strength improvement but required a doubling of recovery time your rate of progress would be reduced.
Drew,
I found the idea and set-up intriguing. It would be interesting to incorporate this type of equipment/training as part of an overall year-long periodization program. However, please don’t take my next comment personally, but the young child in the video was very annoying and distracting. I’m sure the parent of the child does not share my opinion, but I thought I’d share my point of view as an outsider looking in. His behavior is completely acceptable during play time, but seems inappropriate while attempting to educate people, especially to those whom are serious about training.
Good luck! Dave Barry
Brandon,
Initially, the muscle gains were significant. I saw about a 1/4 inch increase in flexed upper arm circumference within a few weeks. Using the machines in the prescribed manner very quickly led to overtraining, however. Based on my experience with the machine, maximum effort hyper or negative reps are tremendously effective, but only in very, very small volumes, and very infrequently.