quarter reps

[TDetroit]

the other night at the gym, there was a guy doing db presses. between each rep, he pushed up just a bit.

I had to ask. so when he was done, I said, "what's that?" he said, "quarter reps, I do them between full reps. it's awesome, you should try it. I do it on everything"

so today, I was doing squats. on my last set of of 10 at 235, I tried it out.

HOLY CRAP! what a burn. I was on fire by number 8. 2 to go. I did them. it shortened my workout a lot. I'll be burning for a while.

do you folks like these?

[Marius_Ursus]

So you're saying he pushed a full rep, returned to start, pushed a quarter rep, returned to start, and then pushed a full rep again?

[Whiskeyjack]

the other night at the gym, there was a guy doing db presses. between each rep, he pushed up just a bit.

I had to ask. so when he was done, I said, "what's that?" he said, "quarter reps, I do them between full reps. it's awesome, you should try it. I do it on everything"

so today, I was doing squats. on my last set of of 10 at 235, I tried it out.

HOLY CRAP! what a burn. I was on fire by number 8. 2 to go. I did them. it shortened my workout a lot. I'll be burning for a while.

do you folks like these?

I've done quarter rep military press lockouts (weak point for me) and they burned. I don't know if they did much, however.

I've also done quarter rep at the bottom - again the burn but that's it. Still, the "muscle confusion principle"...

[dindysport]

I've seen guys do this but I would assume this would not be something that you would do every time you worked out...maybe a monthly thing or something...

[BrotherWolf]

I don't know but .. wouldn't you be better off doing an extra 4-5 full ROM reps and would still burn like hell ??

just wondering..

[JC480]

You're getting a burn because you're using your muscles in a way they haven't been used before. If you continue with these 1/4 ROM lifts, the burn will subside as you adapt to the work.

However, non-full ROM lifts on certain exercises can cause extreme stress on affected joints/tendons and can lead to injuries. 1/4 squats would be a good example of this.

[OutOfStep]

I do 1 and 1/4 reps on squats and bench once in a while. The squats are horrible. I love them! They work awesome because you're emphasizing the hardest part of the lift.

[OutOfStep]

You're getting a burn because you're using your muscles in a way they haven't been used before. If you continue with these 1/4 ROM lifts, the burn will subside as you adapt to the work.

However, non-full ROM lifts on certain exercises can cause extreme stress on affected joints/tendons and can lead to injuries. 1/4 squats would be a good example of this.

It's not 1/4 reps. It's 1 and 1/4 reps. For example, on squats you go atg, come out of the hole 1/4 of the way up, back down and up. That's 1 rep. That's what the OP is talking about except the guy was benching.

[gbg]

the other night at the gym, there was a guy doing db presses. between each rep, he pushed up just a bit.

I had to ask. so when he was done, I said, "what's that?" he said, "quarter reps, I do them between full reps. it's awesome, you should try it. I do it on everything"

so today, I was doing squats. on my last set of of 10 at 235, I tried it out.

HOLY CRAP! what a burn. I was on fire by number 8. 2 to go. I did them. it shortened my workout a lot. I'll be burning for a while.

do you folks like these?

Yes, do then sometimes w/squats burn baby burn! I also hold it on the rise,

[mule2625]

we used to use a method like this in powerlifting it was called a lockout, it was more of a central nervous system exercise but it is very stimulating to the muscle as well what I used to do is a bench press with 20-40% over my full range ability and do them for 10x2 and then go full range you feel allot stronger

[TDetroit]

I like what everyone is saying.

the 1/4 is at the toughest part of the lift. so it's like doing 2x as many lifts at that point in the motion.

Muscle confusion. that makes sense too. the muscles probably are thinking, "ho hum, lift againg", and then, "wait, you can't stop and go back down, we are supposed to go up, we aren't reagy" - hence the screaming

What I got a kick out of is the second chance. when you come down on a squat or a bench, you are pretty confident you got it all, but what if you didn't? this gives you a chance to work through the form one more time, and get it right, before you do the full lift.

[GreenWave1]

That is an interesting technique. I'm going to work it in for some of my stubborn areas (chest!).

[BergMuscle]

Adding this the list of things to do to break plateaus, create muscle confusion, or just plain try something new for the h*ll of it.

[NuclearArms]

Thought I'd bump up a real good technique thread.


I like them at the end of a set

[AlanBee]

I do these - the extra 1/4 when your muscles are already under max tension really give them an extra kick.
I do 1 & 1/4 Decline Dumbbell Chest Press.
Just be sure to lower the weight a bit

I also use the same technique for some bodyweight exercises for when I'm away and can't get to a gym. Bodyweight Squats, dips, pushups, etc.