Well, I was going to write an e-book about my new training style and charge the world for it -at least a few bucks, anyways. But I’m so busy with my consulting business that I don’t have the time. Plus, I’d rather just get the information into as many people’s hands as possible, as quickly as possible. So I’ll just tell you what to do here on this blog.
Beginning in 2005, I began experimenting with a new style of resistance exercise. Instead of performing the normal “full” range of motion for each exercise, I perform the first third of this range in which the main muscle being exercise is at its longest length.
Let’s use the barbell bench press as an example. I lift the barbell off the rack and lower it to my chest. Then I lift it back up about 1/3 of the way before lowering it back to my chest. Then I repeat for anywhere from 10-25 reps.
Now let’s consider barbell squats. I begin by bending my knees and descending into a squat position. Once my thighs are parallel to the floor, I begin to lift the barbell back up again. As above, I only lift it up about 1/3 of the way before descending again.
I perform anywhere from 15-20 sets per muscle group using this technique. I hit each muscle group 1-2 times per week.
That’s it.
How does it work? My experience has been that it works very well. If I go back to doing full-range reps for a week or so and then go back to my new “ROB” training style -”thirds”, if you like- my muscles appear much fuller and leaner within 24-48 hours. This type of training really does seem to make the muscles “pop” more. I swear they take on a different shape with this style of training. I really like it.
I’ve talk to one scientist about my new training style, and he says that it is possible that it might produce a greater hypertrophic (muscle-building) stimulus because I am performing my reps in a position where the muscles are longer. May this is why it seems to work. Perhaps there are other mechanisms involved. Noone can know for sure.
Try it out, and let me know what you think!
and rest between sets
what weight to use
By: shak on October 23, 2011
at 2:08 AM
Hi, Shak. I tend to rest 20-30 seconds between sets. I lift as much weight as I can for anywhere from 10-25 reps. In over 25 years of training, I still haven’t found the perfect number of reps (if there is one).
The most important factor is that you restrict your range of motion to the appropriate portion of the normal (full) range of motion. The easiest way to do this is to imagine breaking up the normal range of motion into thirds. Whichever third requires that the muscle be at its longest length is the one you want to restrict your reps to. For instance, when you do lying leg curls, lift the weight from the start position (legs straight) until you are one third of the way up (legs slightly bent). For chin-ups or lat pulldowns, you would pull the weight down from the start position until you are one third of the way down.
By: Rob Thoburn on October 23, 2011
at 5:10 PM
Rob, I like the idea–especially b/c you are training the most difficult part of the exercises, where everyone’s sticking points are–getting it off your chest and the lowest (scariest) part of your squat.
I think it could get you thru a plateau pretty nicely too.
Good stuff Rob, thanks.
By: Matt Wilson on October 24, 2011
at 3:59 PM
Thanks, Matt. I suspect there must be someone else out there who has tried partial reps like this before. But perhaps not for as long as I have. I began experimenting with it in 2005 on a whim. I saw an immediate improvement in muscle size and definition, and even vascularity. Of course, the effects of any stimulus will wane over time. Still, after returning to it time and time again after briefly using full-range reps, I’m pretty convinced that it has a highly desirable training effect as far as muscle development is concerned. People have even come up to me in the gym -men and women- and said “You seem to be doing everything “wrong”, but it’s working. And then they start doing it themselves.”
By “wrong”, they are referring to the fact that I’m not doing the full range of motion they are so used to be told is necessary.
By: Rob Thoburn on October 25, 2011
at 8:12 PM