A small loss of bar speed is enough for strength

Two syntheses (Jukic 2022, Hickmott 2022) point the same way. In Hickmott's analysis, velocity-loss thresholds up to 25% gave a greater 1RM than higher thresholds.

In the Pareja-Blanco 2020 trials, 64 trained men each trained the squat or the bench for eight weeks with 0 to 40 or 50% velocity loss. Strength gains did not differ, although the number of reps differed widely. In Galiano 2022, a 5% loss in the squat gave the same 1RM gain as a 20% loss, with about a third of the reps.

A strength set does not need to be ground out to a large slowdown. If you measure bar speed, a low velocity-loss threshold saves reps without costing strength.

Almost all participants were trained men, and the trials cover the squat and bench, not the deadlift. The finding is about strength, not muscle size.