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Question for the masses, regarding cheating

marshmallow man

marshmallow man

New member
So, I'm in the gym today working out. I notice this guy doing barbell curls, cheating his ass off....hitting the weight with his knees, arching his back, etc.

That said, dude was pretty big. This has me wondering, why am I focusing on strict form? This guy doesn't use strict form and is much bigger than I. My workout partner, says "I'm beginning to rethink this not cheating thing".

This isn't an isolated incident, I see guys like this all the time.

Am I being too strict? Is certain cheating accepted? What gives?
 
strict form is great. when you start tiring, and can't get another strict rep, cheating has a purpose in taking you past failure (especially without a partner).

just walking up and doing cheat reps, not so effective. if the muscle isn't under load, no gains will occur. this is a very hard thing for many people to understand about "cheat curls", but the muscles must always be under tension, and must always be pushed. without that, there's no point.

i think cheats are used for 3-5 reps beyond failure, but not much else. if you can do more than 5, you've taken too much strain off the target muscle.
 
If after you do bicep curls and your legs an back hurt you may want to rethink he whole idea. Some of us are on the longevity program. Meaning I'll be doing this for a good long time, there is no need to cheat...I have time.

Form and proper execution are more effective hands down for hypertrophy.

Just this morning I watched a guy my weight (200lbs) doing BB curls with 200lbs....I chuckled so much so that he could see me chuckling at him while my much more muscular and lean biceps eclipsed his doing hammer curls with 40's for reps of 15's+
 
brian hates all forms of cheating :)

i rarely bother with them either. i'd rather do partials with proper form than cheat.
 
I like cheat curls to finish a set after doing all the strict reps you can. It doesn't mean to swing your back and entire body past vertical. You start with knees bent a little and bent down and use the momentum of straightening your knees and back to keep the weight moving, while keeping the biceps under maximum load the entire time. It should look coordinated and balanced when you do it. Also, make sure you squeeze at the top of every rep and bring the weight down slow and controlled... Works for me at least.
 
marshmallow man said:
So, I'm in the gym today working out. I notice this guy doing barbell curls, cheating his ass off....hitting the weight with his knees, arching his back, etc.

That said, dude was pretty big. This has me wondering, why am I focusing on strict form? This guy doesn't use strict form and is much bigger than I. My workout partner, says "I'm beginning to rethink this not cheating thing".

This isn't an isolated incident, I see guys like this all the time.

Am I being too strict? Is certain cheating accepted? What gives?
Click to expand...

When im in the gym, I dont give a **** about anyone else (cept Marines). There is this Navy guy. Hes 295lbs, and has a horrible case of adverse effects. He is huge, but he has no definition to his muscles. Hes just a wall of muscle and mass. His back is COVERED with acne. I mean its bad. Theres no way he could ever compete with that.

But, he doesnt use good form at all. I see people bigger than me, with more muscle, who cheat a lot. I dont really care. I just think in the back of my head, "Heh, he could be getting a better workout if he used good form"

I love seeing people do compound exercises cheating. Especially the big guys.
 
Some who might have read my posts know that I am a huge supporter, especially when it comes to curls, cheating. This is how I built up my biceps and forearms by doing really heavy cheat curls. Cheating on every single rep start to finish. I do strict curls as well but only later on in my workout. Cheat curls allow you to use way more weight, yes you use your back and legs but it is an explosive move that takes tons of power. And packs on the most bicep muscle out of any lift in my opinion. You can simply see when some1 is doing strict reps they just dont look like they are giving it thier all. Intensity is the name of the game. I think you should try cheating and trust me you will see results. Who cares if every1 thinks your doing it "wrong". They dont really know any better. Its ironic though really as a beginner you hear so much about perfect form. Trust me its overrated. Now go out and do some cheat curls!

There is a good article here that talks about how Arnold built his biceps from cheating.
Im not a huge fan of his and just because he trained one way doesnt make it the best, but he did have great biceps and I completly agree with him here check it out

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Arnold mentioned in MANY of his articles throughout magazines since the 80's that he only used cheating "to make it harder for his biceps". This means using cheating past point of failure where strict form is already being used. He has stated many times, that on cheat curls he would always have a weight he could do 6-7 reps for damn near perfect form then he used cheating to get in a last few last reps, rather it be 3 or 6. There was NO CHEATING FROM START TO FINISH. This was not mentioned anywhere in that article.

I believe that form and technique is of the up most importance, but at times Intensity tends to be the only exception. When intensity is very high, the reps are moderate to high, and the set is coming to a close, then I believe there is nothing wrong with a little slack in form to get those last 2-3 reps in. But notice how I said a "little" slack,... A standing BB curl should never look like a clean.
 
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