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Nervous System Activation with Twitch Reps

I believe it was an article from Westside that talked about using twitch reps. If I remember correctly, since I can’t seem to find it anymore, that It was used before benching to activate the nervous system by doing just the bottom ¼ fast.

I’m currently doing a Strength/Bodybuilding routine and was going to use them on my Dynamic Days.

I was just wondering what was your opinion of these and if you would use them, how would you prescribe the sets/reps?


I actually invented twitch reps (for real). So I can’t be against it!

The way you do it is that the eccentric, turnaround and concentric need to be as violently fast as possible. And you only use a very short range of motion (like 1/3 of the range),

You can use the twitch reps in various ranges. For bench press I like to do it in the bottom of the lift to work on the stretch reflex and also to inhibit the Golgi tendon organs. For squats the middle part of the range is better. For deadlifts I would use RDLs in either the bottom or middle of the range.

You can also use the top portion with close grip benches to work on triceps firing rate.

I made my fastest improvements in the bench press around 15 years ago while using a complex of bottom-range twitch reps on dips and bench press from pins starting at the middle of the range. Went from 365 to 415 in a few weeks!

In retrospect the twitch reps on dips might be hazardous to some with shoulder issues or poor shoulder mobility, DB presses might be a safer option.

A benefit of twitch reps is to gradually teach you to stay in control of the movement while doing both a fast eccentric and concentric.

If you can keep control of the bar during a fast eccentric, your concentric will be more powerful (you’ll get a boost from the stretch reflex). Doing twitch reps, which are very short in range, make it easier to stay in control during a fast eccentric and fast turnaround. You can gradually increase the length of the range of motion as you become better at them.

Awesome!! Thanks for the information.

As far as loading, What would you suggest? I was going to go with 30% of max when doing it for bench press. Didn’t know if this was too light or too heavy for this type of rep.