Slow lifts: does speed matter?

[crabcakelover]

I have noticed that most people I see in the gym do their slow lifts more quickly than I do. Their descent on the squat, bench press, press, and dead lift is much faster than their ascent. From my unprofessional eye, they have good form (not bouncing DLs etc.) and they are lifting much more weight than me. Granted, they are usually bigger, male and about 25 years younger than me.

I naturally do my slow lifts pretty slowly (I can't do cleans or jerks) with the same slow speed on the descent as on the ascent with no pause between reps. If I try to move faster than is comfortable, I wobble. I don't know if this is because I'm in my mid '50's, because I'm mostly arms and legs and tiny torso, or because I have no fast twitch muscle fibers (seriously).

Should I work on increasing speed or continue to focus on lifting more weight? What is the downside to lifting slowly? I would guess increased fatigue and maybe soreness, but is it actually dangerous? Is there any upside to lifting slowly?

[Tom Campitelli]

This is tough to say without seeing a video. You can definitely move too slowly during the eccentric portion of a lift. You want to move through the negative as quickly as you can without getting loose, or compromising form. Feel free to post a video and then we can discuss with more certainty.