Should You Do Cheat Reps to Build More Muscle?

Male Fitness | | Aug 5, 2024 | Ally's Angels

Hey Angels and Alphas,

In the pursuit of muscle growth, many lifters ponder whether letting their technique slip at the end of a set to squeeze out a few more reps—commonly known as cheat reps—is beneficial.

Cheat reps are often touted as a way to push beyond failure and maximize muscle stimulation.

But do they really help you build more muscle, or do they compromise your progress?

Let’s break down the principles of effective muscle-building and see where cheat reps fit in.

The Foundation of Effective Training

To understand the role of cheat reps, we must first consider the foundational principles of effective hypertrophy training. These principles can be viewed as a three-tier hierarchy, each layer critical to maximizing muscle growth.

  1. Technique At the base of this hierarchy is technique. Proper technique ensures that each rep is performed in a way that maximizes muscle stimulation while minimizing unnecessary fatigue and the risk of injury. Good technique involves controlled movements, proper form, and full range of motion, targeting the intended muscle groups effectively.
  2. Relative Effort The second layer is relative effort, often measured as Reps In Reserve (RIR). This concept gauges how close you are to muscle failure. Training with a high level of effort—pushing to or near failure—ensures that the muscle fibers are sufficiently stimulated to grow. However, this effort should always be built upon a foundation of solid technique.
  3. Mind-Muscle Connection The top layer of the hierarchy is the mind-muscle connection, which refers to the conscious focus on the muscle being worked. This focus helps in maximizing muscle tension, pump, and overall engagement during the lift. While important, it is secondary to maintaining proper technique and ensuring high relative effort.

The Role of Cheat Reps

Cheat reps involve sacrificing some aspect of your technique to continue lifting after reaching the point of muscle failure. This might mean using momentum, adjusting your form, or employing other muscles to assist with the lift. The idea is to push the muscle beyond its normal limits, theoretically increasing muscle growth.

However, this approach has significant drawbacks. When technique deteriorates, the quality of each rep decreases. This reduction in quality can lead to less effective muscle stimulation and higher fatigue levels. Essentially, you are trading off the most important aspect of hypertrophy training—proper technique—for a potential increase in relative effort and mind-muscle connection. This trade-off is often not worth it.

Alternatives to Cheat Reps

Instead of letting your technique slip, consider other methods to increase the intensity of your workouts while maintaining proper form:

  1. Rest-Pause Sets Rest-pause sets involve taking a short break (10-15 seconds) after reaching failure, then continuing the set with proper technique. This method allows you to push beyond failure without compromising form.
  2. Drop Sets Drop sets involve reducing the weight after reaching failure and continuing the set with the lighter weight. This technique keeps the muscle under tension for longer and allows for additional reps with good form.
  3. Myo-Reps Myo-reps are similar to rest-pause sets but involve multiple short breaks. After reaching failure, you rest briefly, perform a few more reps, rest again, and repeat. This method maximizes muscle activation and volume without sacrificing technique.
  4. Partial Reps If you want to focus on a specific part of the muscle’s range of motion, incorporate partial reps where you still maintain control and proper form. For instance, if the lower portion of a movement targets the muscle more effectively, perform partial reps in that range.

The bottom line…

While cheat reps might seem like a quick way to push your muscles harder, they often do more harm than good by compromising the most crucial aspect of training: proper technique. Maintaining good form ensures each rep provides maximum muscle stimulation and minimizes fatigue and injury risk.

Instead of resorting to cheat reps, use advanced techniques like rest-pause sets, drop sets, myo-reps, and partial reps to intensify your workouts while keeping your form intact. These methods allow you to push beyond failure and achieve better muscle growth without sacrificing the quality of your training. Remember, the foundation of muscle-building success lies in consistent, high-quality reps executed with proper technique.