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 By: Josh Dickinson
Being involved within the fitness industry over the last few years as a personal trainer and contest coach, I have seen it all. The great thing about the fitness lifestyle is that to get your ideal physique, there are many roads you can take. There is no right or wrong, absolute best way to train.
Some people follow high intensity while others follow high volume. Then we have the various intensity boosting techniques such as drop sets, super sets, giant sets forced reps etc. No matter which style of training you employ in your day-to-day workouts, there is a common denominator - the repetition!
Current opinion is that to generate the greatest results from your gut busting workouts in the gym, you should always use a full range of motion when performing each repetition. I have always felt that this definition was too generalized a response. I believe we should call it a 'full exercise-specific range of motion', as I believe this gives you a greater appreciation of what is being referred to. I do believe that for complete growth you do need to train the muscle within its complete range of motion from full exercise-specific extension to flexion, but do you need to do this on every set that you do during a workout?
We now know that to generate the greatest muscular response from our training we need to apply the greatest force to the working muscle. Does this mean that by performing full range repetitions that we are actually limiting our potential growth? Yes and no. As I said above, I believe that full range repetitions are needed in every training protocol, just not on every set. In my professional opinion (which I have proven with real world results in the gym) I believe that a session comprising of both full reps and half-reps can generate tremendous growth in next to no time.
To start, what is a partial rep, or more importantly, how do we effectively perform it? A partial rep is defined as only using half the exercise-specific range of motion for a particular exercise. The key though is to always use the strongest portion of the rep. Taking the bench press as an example; this would be lowering the bar halfway down and then powering it back up.
Have you ever noticed that in the final few inches that you can power it back up with more power than in the bottom position? That's because at this stage of the rep, you are stronger.
If you can handle 100kg in the weakest area, you might be able to maximally handle 120kgs in the final stages of the repetition. How does this translate into growth? Well, you are applying a greater force to the working muscle, which will generate in greater overall stimulus. Greater stimulus coupled with an effective nutrition and supplements program will result in faster increases in size and strength!
Recently with my own training I decided to see how effective this style of training would be. It looks good on paper and that's great, but unless it delivers meaningful results, then discussion is over. I am only interested in proven strategies for quick muscular gains.
I decided to put this theory to the test to see for myself what it would deliver. Without any dietary or supplementation changes, I packed on 4.5kg of lean mass in only 6 weeks, and my strength increased at a rate that even startled me. As an experienced athlete, that's just crazy. I now have a few athletes following the same system and they are also starting to experience the same dramatic results.
Believe it or not, I generated my results from only 8 partial sets per week in conjunction with my regular training session.
Seated Barbell Press (1/2 reps) - 2 sets for 6 reps Side Lateral Raise - 2 sets for 6 reps Barbell Shrugs - 2 sets for 6 reps During this workout, the only exercise I dedicated to partial reps was the 2nd exercise - seated barbell press performed in a power-rack. On this exercise, you should be able to add 10-20kgs over your normal working weight for barbell presses and really overload the deltoids
Tuesday - Legs
Half Squats - 2 sets for 6 reps Dumbbell Lunges - 2 sets for 6 reps Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 2 sets for 6 reps Lying Leg Curl - 1 sets for 6 reps During this workout, the only exercise I dedicated to partial reps was the 2nd exercise - half rep squats performed in a power-rack. On this exercise, you should be able to add 20-50kgs over your normal working weight for squats and really overload the Legs.
Wednesday - Chest/Triceps
Barbell Bench Press - 2 sets for 6 reps Barbell Bench Press (1/2 reps) - 2 sets for 6 reps Close Grip Bench Press - 3 sets for 6 reps During this workout, the only exercise I dedicated to partial reps was the 3rd exercise - half rep Bench Presses performed in a power-rack. On this exercise, you should be able to add 10-20kgs over your normal working weight for barbell presses and really overload the chest.
Partial Deadlifts - 2 sets for 6 reps Seated Cable Rows - 2 sets for 6 reps Seated Calf Raise - 2 sets for 8 reps Standing Calf Raise - 2 sets for 8 reps During this workout, the only exercise I dedicated to partial reps was the 2nd exercise - half rep deadlifts performed in a power-rack. On this exercise, you should be able to add 20-50kgs over your normal working weight for deadlifts and really overload the back Friday - Abs/Biceps/Forearms
Rope Crunch - 2 sets for 15 reps EZ Bar Biceps Curl - 3 sets for 6 reps Hammer Curls - 2 sets for 6 reps During this workout, you perform no partial rep exercises and complete all sets with full exercise-specific range of motion.
To obtain the greatest benefit, you want to limit using partial reps to only the biggest exercises - Squats, deadlifts, bench presses and barbell presses. With other exercises such as lying triceps extensions and barbell curls just cannot deliver the same results. They are great mass builders in their own right, but nothing compares to the big four.
So there you have it. By employing this exact training program, I gained 4.5kgs of lean mass in only 6 weeks and my strength increased like nothing else - naturally. Give it a go and see how powerfully it can work for you too. About The Author Josh Dickinson is a Fitness Professional/Contest Coach based in Australia. You can contact him at: info@physique-essentials.com Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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