Eccentric training is the only time your workout should be "negative."

Negative training involves loading the resistance beyond your maximum and only performing the exercise in the muscle-lengthening (or eccentric) movement. The opposite of an eccentric movement is a concentric movement – and this involves the contracting of your muscles. Since negatives only involve the eccentric movement, you’ll need to enlist the help of a spotter or workout partner for the concentric portion.

For a better explanation and illustration, let’s use the example of doing negative sets on a bench press. It’s generally recommend that negatives should be started at 105% of of your one rep max (i.e., the amount of weight you could press if you were just doing one repetition). Let’s pretend that your one rep max is 100 lbs. In this example, you’d load the bench press with 105 lbs of weight.

Your workout partner would stand behind the bench to provide the required assistance; true negatives can’t be done without a spotter.

When lowering the bench press bar toward your chest, take twice as much time as usual. Really feel the resistance while you lower the bar for a duration of 3 – 6 seconds. Once the bar touches your chest, your workout partner will provide a VERY HEAVY spot to return the bar to the starting position. Lower again, and continue.

Negatives are very tough on your muscle fibers – and you should feel the muscle breakdown fairly quickly; there’s no need to do more than three negative sets. And remember to give you muscles adequate recovery time after your workout.

Only perform negatives on those exercises that can be easily and effectively spotted, like the bench press or barbell bicep curls.

As effective as they are, negative sets shouldn’t be the backbone of your workout routine as they ignore concentric training. Instead, use negative sets as a tool for breaking through plateaus or to spice up your routine.

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