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Here's one topic in bodybuilding that gets overlooked: tempo. How quickly or slowly are you supposed to lift the weight? To answer this question or any question, you have to ask: what's your goal? What's your goal in lifting in the first place? Are you lifting to look good, or to perform athletically?
How are your muscles wired? Are you geared for slow strength and neural endurance? Or are you designed for speed and explosiveness? Of course, it's much more complicated than this. Although people can be categorized as either fast or slow, each muscle group has its own individual muscle fiber make-up. As a result, each muscle group responds to do different speeds of lifting. Some muscles respond to explosive lifting, some respond to constant tension. To further complicate things, different exercises require different tempos. Olympic lifts obviously require explosive movement while many bodybuilding exercises require constant tension.
To simplify things for you in the gym, just go with the goal you have in mind. Your goal will dictate your method, genetics be damned. If you want to look good for the beach, then steady constant tension in your lifting is the best thing for you. If you want to perform athletically, then speed is king.
Speed and explosiveness are largely genetic traits. You can teach somebody to slow down a lift, but teaching someone to be fast is difficult. Either you're fast or you’re not. Most people are not. If you discover that you're built for speed however, (i.e. martial arts striker, Olympic weightlifter or track athlete), then maximize that advantage and train accordingly in the gym.
For more insights into strength training and bodybuilding, visit http://strengthandphysique.blogspot.com
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