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PARTIAL TO PARTIALS
Partial reps are just that - a portion of a complete repetition that requires the muscle to work in a shortened range of motion (ROM). Partials can begin from either the bottom or the top of a repetition, moving only a quarter, half or three-quarters of the way through a full ROM. Within this feature, we explore how to execute partials on the squat, bench press and preacher curl.
Partial reps allow you to train around a "sticking point" - that part of the ROM where the weight feels the heaviest - by working the areas of a muscle that haven't been exhausted yet, which can lead to additional muscle growth. For example, after you do eight reps of heavy biceps curls and can't complete another full rep, you could 1) put the weight down and end your set, or 2) continue the set by doing partials over the beginning half of the ROM.
Here's why it works: When you reach failure on a particular repetition, you can't move the weight past the sticking point because of muscle fatigue. But that doesn't mean other areas within the full ROM are equally affected; in fact, you can still bang out reps over smaller portions of the ROM, like at the beginning or even the end of the rep. This way you can work beyond failure, in a sense, taking the muscle to further exhaustion.
Alternatively, partial reps can be used to increase overall strength when you significantly overload the weight and train through only a shortened ROM. This gives you more power and force to move through the weaker parts of a lift, like the bottom part of a bench press. Powerlifters, arguably the strongest guys on the planet, regularly use partial reps to increase their strength in the bench press, squat and deadlift. And a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that when experienced lifters performed only partials in the bench press for 10 weeks, they gained as much strength in the full-ROM bench press as those who trained using full reps.
Of course, we're not saying that you shouldn't complete full-range reps in your training. You absolutely should - that's the basis of symmetrical and balanced muscle growth. However, adding a high-intensity technique like partials to your workout for several weeks at a time can help increase your muscle strength and size, and finally get you off that training plateau.
Partial reps are just that - a portion of a complete repetition that requires the muscle to work in a shortened range of motion (ROM). Partials can begin from either the bottom or the top of a repetition, moving only a quarter, half or three-quarters of the way through a full ROM. Within this feature, we explore how to execute partials on the squat, bench press and preacher curl.
Partial reps allow you to train around a "sticking point" - that part of the ROM where the weight feels the heaviest - by working the areas of a muscle that haven't been exhausted yet, which can lead to additional muscle growth. For example, after you do eight reps of heavy biceps curls and can't complete another full rep, you could 1) put the weight down and end your set, or 2) continue the set by doing partials over the beginning half of the ROM.
Here's why it works: When you reach failure on a particular repetition, you can't move the weight past the sticking point because of muscle fatigue. But that doesn't mean other areas within the full ROM are equally affected; in fact, you can still bang out reps over smaller portions of the ROM, like at the beginning or even the end of the rep. This way you can work beyond failure, in a sense, taking the muscle to further exhaustion.
Alternatively, partial reps can be used to increase overall strength when you significantly overload the weight and train through only a shortened ROM. This gives you more power and force to move through the weaker parts of a lift, like the bottom part of a bench press. Powerlifters, arguably the strongest guys on the planet, regularly use partial reps to increase their strength in the bench press, squat and deadlift. And a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that when experienced lifters performed only partials in the bench press for 10 weeks, they gained as much strength in the full-ROM bench press as those who trained using full reps.
Of course, we're not saying that you shouldn't complete full-range reps in your training. You absolutely should - that's the basis of symmetrical and balanced muscle growth. However, adding a high-intensity technique like partials to your workout for several weeks at a time can help increase your muscle strength and size, and finally get you off that training plateau.
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