Sometimes being beyond full is a good thing.

I’m not talking about that oh-so-good chocolate cake on cheat day.  But it was good.

Thank you all for the great feedback on last’s week’s inaugural Work It Out.

This series is focusing on how to change-up what you’re doing in the gym to make sure you keep progressing.  Rather than always change the exercise, we’re looking at how you can simply change how you perform the exercise.  Over the next few weeks I’ll be doing a series on some ways to vary how you perform reps.  

Again with the Disclaimer: I am not a certified anything.  I just work out a lot.  Don’t sue me if you hurt yourself or don’t look like Gillian Michaels after performing these moves.

Fulls and Partials

These are really great for moving past “sticking” points where the weight feels heaviest.  You can move past the sticky point because that part of the muscle group is exhausted, but that doesn’t mean all areas of that muscle group are exhausted.  Partials allow you to essentially work beyond failure by working in smaller ranges of motion.

Perform 10 full reps of a movement, followed by 10 half reps.  Do 1st and 3rd sets on the bottom half, and the 2nd and 4th on the top half.

How do you use this technique?

Standing Leg Curls

The standing leg curl is a great exercise for strengthening the hamstring muscles at the back of the thigh.  Start with a lighter weight, as this machine can put some strain on the knees.  Adjust the pads so that they are in a comfortable position around the ankle – you don’t want the pads too high up the calf.

Grasp the support handles, then lift the pad upward as far as it will go toward the butt.  Lift and lower the leg in a controlled manner to complete one full rep.

Note: You can perform this exercise on a lying leg curl machine too.

Decline Dumbbell Curls

These are one of my favorites because lying on a decline challenges your brachialis more.  The brachialis lies underneath your biceps and attaches the lower portion of the humerus bone in your upper arm to your ulna, a bone in your forearm.

To start, grab a dumbbell in each hand.  Lie on an incline bench set to about 60 degrees.  Your shoulders should be near the top of the incline, and your legs can be straddled to either side.  Fully extend your arms, allowing them to hang in front of you so that they are perpendicular to the floor.  Face your palms forward with your elbows in by your side. Raise the dumbbells, contracting your biceps until your arms are fully flexed.  Take care that only your forearms move. The upper arms should remain stationary at all times.  To complete a full rep, lower the dumbbells until your arms are fully extended.

Note: You can perform using an e-z bar or a barbell too.

Caution: It is easy to “overtrain” with these modifications.  You are pushing your body extremely hard to bust through a plateau.  These moves are not recommended as a long-term regimen.  Avoid doing more than 2-3 of these per muscle group on any given workout.

Check out last week’s 24s, and then get more fitness ideas, tips, and tricks on my Fitness page!  As always, be sure to get your 20g of protein to help the muscles recover.

***

Know what’s really fun?  Doing fulls and partials on hack squats.  *dripping sarcasm*

Did anyone try last week’s 24s?  What did you think?

Have you ever done fulls and partials?  What exercises do you apply them to?

Insanity.

We’ve all heard Einstein’s definition, and many of us keep this in mind in our day-to-day life.  Why not apply it to your workout too?

When you stop progressing, moves become “easy,” DOMS doesn’t make an appearance… it’s a sure sign you have hit a plateau.  It’s time to stop the insanity and do something different.

My first instinct is to change the exercise, but sometimes you can just change how you perform the exercise.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll be doing a series on some ways to vary how you perform reps.  

Disclaimer: I am not a certified anything.  I just wor kout a lot.  Don’t sue me if you hurt yourself or don’t look like Jamie Eason after performing these moves.

24’s

The primary challenge with 24’s is endurance.  One set is 24 reps!

Here’s the break down:

• Perform 8 reps of an exercise that go from the bottom of the movement to the halfway point.
• Immediately perform 8 more reps that start half way up and go to the top of the movement.
• Lastly, do 8 reps with a full range of motion.

For example, if you were to do bicep curls with this technique you would do 8 reps in the lower range of motion (arms straight to 90 degrees), immediately followed by 8 reps in the upper range of motion (arms 90 degrees to flexed), and lastly 8 reps through the full range of motion.

How do you use this technique?

You can apply it to virtually any weight-bearing exercise.  Bicep curls are sort of obvious, so here are a couple you might not think to do that I find especially effective:

Lying Leg Curls

Lying Leg Curls using the 24’s technique will burn your hams out better than any other exercise I can think of!

Tip: Be sure that the pads rest on the back of your ankles with your legs are stretched out straight.  Grasp the handles under the bench for support.  Be sure that your pelvic area remains flat on the bench as you curl your legs up.

Two Arm Side Lateral Raises

This one is simple: simultaneously lift your arms out to the side until they are parallel to the floor.

Tip: Keep your core tight and don’t lock your elbows.

Caution: It is easy to “overtrain” with these modifications.  You are pushing your body extremely hard to bust through a plateau.  These moves are not recommended as a long-term regimen.  Avoid doing more than 2-3 of these per muscle group on any given workout.

Check out more fitness ideas, tips, and tricks on my Fitness page!  As always, be sure to get your 20g of protein to help the muscles recover.

***

I did 24’s on the military press the other day and nearly died.  In a good way.

Do you vary your workouts?  How so?

What is your favorite body part to work?  Keep it clean! 😉