Unconditionally slow" reps equally effective for hypertrophy?

Are all “unconditionally slow” reps equally effective for hypertrophy?⭕️

Just because we know that reps that are close to failure and are “unconditionally slow” (due to high/maximal levels of effort exertion) generally maximize the hypertrophic potential of a training set…

…That doesn’t mean that *all reps* that are unconditionally slow (and close to failure) *always* maximize growth results.

Why ?

Because of CNS fatigue.

CNS fatigue can be defined as the reduction in force production (measured by maximum voluntary activation) that inhibits our ability to recruit all muscle fibers, and therefore reduces our ability to produce the most amount of force within a given set.

Yes, we’re still able to reach task failure and reach an unconditionally slow bar speed, but *this failure* occurs faster, and certainly does not maximize the amount of mechanical tension our fibers are able to experience.. because they’re not active!

Before you ask the question “how can we ALWAYS train in a non-fatigued state ?”

Know that it’s practically impossible (at least if the goal is maximizing hypertrophy), and that sometimes, some over-reaching phases *may* be necessary.

However, we can certainly *reduce* the amount of fatigued training sessions we perform, by carefully monitoring the amount of weekly training volume we choose to train with, its frequency, and the effort we exert on a per session basis.