Are Partial Reps Bad? By Veeraj Goyaram

Training

Who Said Partial Reps Are Bad?

By Veeraj Goyaram

The Myth Sergio Oliva used partial reps to build his chest

"Half reps equal half results" 

One of the first advice I received when I started training was to always train with a full range of motion (ROM) in order to get the maximum benefit. That's the usual advice we always hear and can be generally viewed as good advice for those starting out. However, nothing is set in stone as partial repetition training can also bring sizeable muscle building benefits. It is important, however, to know when and how to use them. That's what this article aims to teach you.

Half-assed reps vs. partial reps (pardon the english)

Some gym clowns do partial reps for the wrong reasons because the weight is too heavy for them to do even a single full repetition. Therefore, what they do is to rep out whatever range of motion they can with that weight, almost always with the help of a spotter. This half-assed approach is most commonly seen on leg presses, bench presses, squats and shoulder presses. We have all seen people piling up the weight on the bar or machine and then lower the weight only a quarter or halfway down rather than go any deeper. That's the easiest range of motion because the deeper you go the harder it gets.

That's the deepest that some gym clowns will go on the bench press. They'd be better off dropping the weight a bit and do the stuff right.

Give 'em no chance to relax

A great stimulator of muscle hypertrophy in resistance training is the time the muscle spends under tension. A lot of top trainers, like Dennis James and John Meadows advocate subjecting the working muscle to greater time under tension (TUT) using partials reps. On certain exercises partial reps allow you to maintain constant tension on the muscle. These are exercises that would normally involve a "lockout"position, which is a position at which there is less tension on the muscle.

On shoulder presses, for example, I stop a few centimetres short of lockout, meaning that I don't go all the way to the top. The top part of the pressing movement involves my triceps a lot and therefore doing partials, "bottom partials" as I would call them, allows me to keep my deltoids under constant tension while reducing triceps involvement. This creates a greater pump which contributes to muscle hypertrophy. Now, try to imagine doing the same bottom partial trick on bench presses, dumbbell (not cable) flyes and squats. 

Examples from old school

Mr. Olympia Larry Scott performed shoulder presses only in the middle 3/5th of the movement because, according to him, the top portion is mostly triceps and the bottom portion is mostly traps. Read more here.

Larry Scott Partial Presses

Mr. Olympia Sergio Oliva performed bottom partials in the bench press as shown in the video below. He actually built his chest using this technique and its not something he was doing, as some would argue, to just maintain his chest size as he had already reached his maximum growth.

How to use partials?

• Pure partial rep sets: Every rep of the exercise is performed with partial reps or you can do a full rep once to lockout after performing a few partial reps (as in the Sergio Oliva video above). Let's say I'm bench pressing. I'd do five bottom partial reps followed by one full rep. I then repeat with 5 partials followed by an excruciating full last rep. I get 12 reps.

• At the end of a set: I like performing full range of motion barbell curls until my biceps are exhausted and can't perform any more full repetition. I can still crank out a few more reps by moving a few inches from the bottom of the lift (your strongest part of the lift).

I hope you liked the article. Don't forget to share and discuss on our forums

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My Bio: I am a Mauritian originally from Roche Bois, Port Louis and now based in Cape Town, South Africa where I am busy with my postgraduate studies in molecular biology of exercise. My research, supervised by Prof. Edward Ojuka and Dr. Tertius Kohn, looks at the influence of nutrition and exercise in gene expression in muscle, research which is relevant and applicable to exercising individuals, sports persons and diabetic individuals. The knowledge that I share with you stems from my 18 years of experience in bodybuilding and 8 years (and counting) of university education in the field. I have also published work in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism (2012, 2014), International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (2013) and co-authored two book chapters on exercise and diabetes. I also presented my research work at the 2012 International Sports and Exercise Nutrition Conference (UK). I am grateful to each and everyone at the UCT Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. "Knowledge without sharing is worth nothing"

_________________________________________________________________________

©,2013, Veeraj Goyaram, Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any reprinting in any type of media is prohibited.

Disclaimer: The Content on this site is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health or fitness problem, condition or disease; or a recommendation for a specific test, doctor, care provider, procedure, treatment plan, product, or course of action. BODYBUILDING MAURITIUS is not a medical or healthcare provider and your use of this site does not create a doctor / patient relationship. We disclaim all responsibility for the professional qualifications and licensing of, and services provided by, any physician or other health providers posting on or otherwise referred to on this Site and/or any Third Party Site. Never disregard the medical advice of your physician or health professional, or delay in seeking such advice, because of something you read on this Site. We offer this Site AS IS and without any warranties.  Correspondence: vicgoyaram@gmail.com

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Can you expand your Ribcage with pullovers? With input from Doug Brignole.

Q&A

Can you expand your Ribcage with pullovers?

Freddy Ortiz was known for his impressive ribcage

 Question:

From Bodybuilding Mauritius member Ludovic Chanson (France)

Q: What do you think about expanding your rib cage ?

It seems like Arnold and Vince believe you can, while Arnold himself said that other people believe you cannot.

What's your point of view ?

Answer by Veeraj Goyaram:

Ribcage expansion is indeed a big debate. The current belief is that at a young age the ribcage can grow not because of an extension of the cartilage which attaches the costal bones (ribs) to the sternum (breast bone). From my current understanding, this expansion stops by the early 20s when these cartilage becomes fixed. Someone older can still expect to expand his ribcage, although to a lesser degree. Pullovers are believed to be useful in that regard, especially when done following squats (superset fashion or after squat sets). I don't know if this is true. As I said, it is a still a debatable topic.

Arnold performing cross-bench dumbbell pullovers

Another element in creating the illusion of a bigger ribcage is the ability to hold a stomach vacuum. In the picture below, in spite of my current high bodyfat percentage I can still hold a vacuum although to a lesser extent than when I am leaner. Various vacuum exercise variations have helped me. I learned about these exercises in the yoga classes that I took way before I started bodybuilding. 

I am pleased to bring you the input of well-known exercise biomechanics expert, Mr. Doug Brignole, on this topic. As some of you already know, I trust Doug's information very much and I am a big fan of his. In the paragraphs to come, Doug will give us his opinion on the effectiveness of the cross-bench dumbbell pullover as a "ribcage-expander" exercise as well as his advice on performing the vacuum.

Valued input from Mr. Doug Brignole

1986 AAU Mr. America and Mr. Universe

1979 Teen Natural Mr. America, Teen Mr. California

1982 AAU Mr. California overall

Biomechanics of exercise expert 

How to do the vacuum

I've been doing a vacuum since I was in my teens. It's unfortunate that bodybuilders don't do it so much anymore. It would be nice if it were a "required" pose.

The best way to learn how to do a vacuum, is by first understanding the breath. It's impossible to do a vacuum after one has inhaled. The only way to do it after an exhale. The next thing I would recommend is to begin by lying down on the floor, facing upwards. This will allow gravity to assist in the pulling "down" of the abdomen - at least until the feeling is learned.

So lie down on the floor, exhaled, and then pull the stomach inward, while holding the breath. Then relax and breath, and repeat. Once it's grasped while in this position, it will be easier to do it while standing.

Doug at the 1979 Teen Mr. America

Can breathing squats and pullovers expand the rib cage?

When I first started training at the age of 14, I did breathing squats followed by dumbbell pullovers (across the bench). My goal was to increase the size of my ribcage, as per the recommendations in the magazines of the time. However, I don't really think it did that. My ribcage has never been especially large, and I did not see it change much, despite the fact that I did that combination regularly. I'm not convinced that the size of the ribcage can be influenced by pullovers; I'm more incline to believe that it cannot be influenced. Pullovers do seem to help the serratus anterior, more so than the lats. It's not a very good Lat exercise.

The effectiveness and safety of pullovers

The problem with pullovers is that it's not an entirely natural movement for the shoulders. And to make matters worse, the mechanics of the standard pullover is that the resistance increases - and reaches its maximum - precisely when one's arms are extended above one's head (arms alongside the head). That is where the greatest risk to the shoulder joint occurs.

A better way to work the serratus anterior is with a staight arm pulldown (which follows a similar path to the pullover). This allows you to stop the movement before the arms reach the point where they are alongside one's head. And it provides more resistance at the point where the arms are in front of the torso (i.e., the typical "conclusion" point of the pullover). And you can take the handle past that point, all the way down to the point where it touches the thighs. This provides better Lat stimulation, as well as serratus anterior stimulation, without jeopardizing the shoulder joint.

Sorry for the detour - back to the ribcage. While I don't regret having done pullovers when I was young, I don't think they contributed much to my ribcage, and I would never do them today. The flexibility and resilience of a youthful shoulder joint could tolerate a fair amount of that type of unnatural stress. But I think it would cause problems for anyone over the age of 30.

Doug can still master the vacuum at age 51

Old school is still alive. Doug hits the vacuum onstage at age 51

Some more pics of the fabulous physique of Doug Brignole

"Be Inspired" 

Where to find Doug's work?

Doug writes for IRONMAN magazine. He has his own blog on the IRONMAN website (Click to visit) where he regularly provides his expert analysis of the effectiveness of many exercises. Doug also co-authored with Dr. Adrian Tan a book titled "Million Dollar Muscle: A Historical and Sociological Perspective of the Fitness Industry". The best way to receive his updates is to follow him on facebook and his website http://www.dougbrignole.com.

Click to buy on Amazon.com.

Thank you a lot Doug Brignole for your input and your massive contribution to bodybuilding

YOU INSPIRE US A LOT!

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Email me on vicgoyaram@gmail.com

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My Bio: I am a Mauritian originally from Roche Bois, Port Louis and now based in Cape Town, South Africa where I am busy with my postgraduate studies in molecular biology of exercise. My research, supervised by Prof. Edward Ojuka, looks at the influence of nutrition and exercise in gene expression in muscle, research which is relevant and applicable to exercising individuals, sports persons and diabetic individuals. The knowledge that I share with you stems from my 18 years of experience in bodybuilding and 8 years (and counting) of university education in the field. I have also published work in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism (2013), International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (2013) and co-authored two book chapters on exercise and diabetes. I also presented my research work at the 2012 International Sports and Exercise Nutrition Conference (UK). I am grateful to each and everyone at the UCT Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. "Knowledge without sharing is worth nothing"

------------------------------------------
Join us for discussions on our facebook group
Free advice & daily bodybuilding talk
Your #1 Bodybuilding destination in Mauritius 

BODYBUILDING MAURITIUS

_________________________________________________________________________

©,2013, Veeraj Goyaram, Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any reprinting in any type of media is prohibited.

Disclaimer: The Content on this site is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health or fitness problem, condition or disease; or a recommendation for a specific test, doctor, care provider, procedure, treatment plan, product, or course of action. BODYBUILDING MAURITIUS is not a medical or healthcare provider and your use of this site does not create a doctor / patient relationship. We disclaim all responsibility for the professional qualifications and licensing of, and services provided by, any physician or other health providers posting on or otherwise referred to on this Site and/or any Third Party Site. Never disregard the medical advice of your physician or health professional, or delay in seeking such advice, because of something you read on this Site. We offer this Site AS IS and without any warranties.  Correspondence: vicgoyaram@gmail.com

_______________________________________________________________________________

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