Are Cheat Reps Actually Cheating?

While strict lifting techniques have always been recommended, many swear “cheat” techniques, which somehow break strict form, can offer muscle growth advantages. In 2024, a study measured muscle growth from cheat reps (i.e., leveraging momentum to complete reps) and strict-form reps. 

In the study, 25 untrained participants performed unilateral dumbbell curls and triceps pushdowns, using strict form with one arm and cheat technique with the other. The exercises were randomly assigned to either arm. They trained twice weekly for eight weeks. (1)

House of Hypertrophy (HoH) compared the study to the latest research on muscle growth techniques:

[Related: Latest Meta-Analysis on Training Frequency for Hypertrophy]

What Defines Cheat Reps?

Biceps curl cheat reps involve swinging the weight using momentum and shoulder flexion. Strict reps are performed with the body stationary, only bending the elbows. Subjects could flare their elbows and use their legs for cheat rep pushdowns, whereas strict reps required an upright torso with elbow flexion. All sets were performed to failure.

The Training Variables

The study involved the following conditions:

• Volume: Four sets of 8-12 reps were performed per session.
• Progression: Weights scaled with progress to maintain the rep range throughout the study. The cheat reps group used heavier weights overall.
• Measurement: Arm thickness was measured before and after the experiment using standardized techniques.

Addressing critiques of the study’s variables, HoH said, “By having the same subjects in both conditions, differences in genetics, nutrition, and outside factors are less likely to confound the findings.”

Is Cheating Effective?

The study found no significant difference in muscle growth between cheat and strict reps, with similar gains for the biceps, brachialis, and triceps. The researchers stated, “The use of external momentum neither helped nor hindered hypertrophy of the target muscles.”

These results suggest cheat reps can be as effective as strict reps, at least for untrained people. However, many caveats, like cheat technique variability, rep tempo, and resistance profiles, must be considered and are limited to a single, short-term study.

Moreover, could cheat reps as an intensity technique after a strict set yield different results? Since the trial only involved untrained subjects, how do the results apply to experienced exercisers? “Things could be different with any one of these variables altered.”

While many argue beginners grow equally from any stimulus, research says otherwise. “Studies on untrained individuals are not useless,” HoH posits. To help expand on the research, exercise educator Jeff Nippard will be involved with a study on cheat reps using experienced lifters. 

The potential pros and cons of cheat reps are summarized below:

Potential Benefits of Cheat Reps

• Greater Tension: Using momentum allows for heavier training loads, which could help experienced lifters progress strength-wise.
• Reach Failure: Cheat reps enable reps to and beyond typical failure, potentially enhancing growth stimulus.

Potential Drawbacks of Cheat Reps

• Safety: Form variability with cheat reps could increase injury risk.
• Progress Tracking: It can be difficult to discern whether performance improvements are due to strength gains or cheat techniques.

“It makes sense for stricter technique to be the default,” HoH concluded. However, using some momentum with good form will unlikely harm gains. “It’s not the end of the world if some degree of deviation and momentum creeps into your sets.”

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Reference

1. Augustin, F., Pinero, A., Enes, A., Mohan, A., Sapuppo, M., Coleman, M., … Schoenfeld, B. (2024). Do cheaters prosper? Effect of externally supplied momentum during resistance training on measures of upper body muscle hypertrophy. Retrieved from https://sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/497

Featured image via Shutterstock/El Nariz

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