When performing a single set of bench press to failure at 70% of maximum strength, using a velocity-based approach results in a higher proportion of energy coming from aerobic systems (41%) compared...
Mechanism
Synthesis from 1 study
Lifting faster makes your muscles need energy quicker than they can get it from their short-term stores, so your body uses more oxygen to keep making energy. This doesn’t change how much explosive energy you use overall, but it lets you do more reps before getting tired.
Most probable mechanism
When you push the bar up as fast as you can, your muscles need energy much quicker than when you lift slowly. Your body can't make energy fast enough using its short-term, explosive systems, so it turns up the oxygen supply to make energy more slowly but steadily. This doesn't change how much explosive energy you use overall, but it makes oxygen do a bigger share of the work, letting you do more reps before getting tired.
Maximal concentric velocity increases the rate of muscle contraction and power output, elevating the immediate ATP demand per unit time.
The elevated ATP demand rate exceeds the capacity of immediate anaerobic pathways (phosphocreatine breakdown and glycolysis) to regenerate ATP quickly enough.
Increased oxygen delivery and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation are recruited to meet the sustained ATP demand, increasing the relative contribution of aerobic metabolism.
Total anaerobic energy expenditure remains unchanged because the accumulated oxygen deficit, a proxy for anaerobic contribution, does not differ between conditions.
The increased aerobic contribution sustains ATP production over a longer duration, enabling more repetitions and higher total volume load without increasing time under tension.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
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Bench-Press Performed With a Velocity- and Tempo-Based Approach: Are There Differences in Volume Load, Time Under Tension, and Metabolic Demands?
Contradicting (0)
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