# Full or 3 quarter reps? Views please!



## NickM (Nov 25, 2008)

I have always trained full range of motion and to be honest on chest I feel my triceps overpower my chest (bench). It feels like the top of my bench is mainly tricep work. I have since trained with BritBB and have started doing 3 quarter rep presses on chest and shoulders, some times even half reps. For bench press I now push from my chest to the point my triceps would cut in and then repeat. I feel this keeps the pressure on my chest and the same on shoulders during shoulder press. I hget a lot of strange looks at the gym and a lot of know it all's constantly saying full range of motion is always required. Wouls be interesting to get your views guys?


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## ZAXXXXX (Oct 3, 2008)

I have never felt barbell bench press worked my chest as much as my triceps so I just use Dumbbell's instead and get more isolation.


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## TH0R (Aug 15, 2007)

I've seen many guys doing this recently, at first I though WTF but the more you think

about it, they could be onto something.

I did ask one of the lads who was doing it and he explained it kept stress on the chest

at all times throughout the exercise, meaning the triceps couldn't come in and help out more

Interested in what the more experienced guys think about this


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## NickM (Nov 25, 2008)

dutch_scott said:


> i use them on everything even chins, i believe resting on the joints in pressing hurts u more in the long run, except powerlifters and strongmen are forced to lock out, its rules,
> 
> bodybuilding is about stimulating damage and gains, and the "x rep" the stretch rebound portion ie. the part on bench where the bar touches your chest and is pushed back , is the most beneficial point, the top, the least.
> 
> ...


Yer definatley put better than I did. Ive shown this to a lot of people and trained that way with them, they experience a great work out and a good ache for the next two days. Then they run around excited telling people about it, only to get dissed by everyone and be pier pressured in to going to back to full reps by the next time I see them


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## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

Barbell bench isnt a good chest exercise (waits for flames....) the first portion is mainly anterior delt then there is some chest and finally a large dose of triceps.

Dumbells are much better, but flyes are still the best way to isolate the chest if done correctly enough that they dont damage your rotator cuff.

SD


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

SportDr said:


> Barbell bench isnt a good chest exercise (waits for flames....) the first portion is mainly anterior delt then there is some chest and finally a large dose of triceps.
> 
> Dumbells are much better, but flyes are still the best way to isolate the chest if done correctly enough that they dont damage your rotator cuff.
> 
> SD


Disagree totally about the first portion being mainly front delt Doc.


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## TH0R (Aug 15, 2007)

SportDr said:


> Barbell bench isnt a good chest exercise (waits for flames....) the first portion is mainly anterior delt then there is some chest and finally a large dose of triceps.
> 
> Dumbells are much better, but flyes are still the best way to isolate the chest if done correctly enough that they dont damage your rotator cuff.
> 
> SD


Surely not better than the pec-dec


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## Bulldozer (Nov 24, 2006)

SportDr said:


> Barbell bench isnt a good chest exercise (waits for flames....) the first portion is mainly anterior delt then there is some chest and finally a large dose of triceps.


I agree.

Bottom line is bench press (or any varient) is NOT a chest exercise.

Its a multi joint compound exercise, that hits chest, delts, arms, lats, core etc.

How much it hits each individual bodypart depends on body mechanics/leverages and technique used.

Partials are great to break throw sticking points i find also :thumbup1:


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## ElfinTan (May 23, 2008)

Funny I was just talking about this the other day. Earlier this year within the space of a week I trained with two VERY succesful female BB's. One is a retired IFBB pro physique competitor and the other is one of the worlds current successful trained figure athletes. Both had a very different appraoch with regards to ROM. One likes to keep the movement as minimal as possible and keep constant tension while the other has an almost exagerated ROM. Going off their success each approach has worked for them individually!


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## Incredible Bulk (Sep 19, 2007)

i have always used a full range of movement and even though i know that the last portion is tricep heavy, i still go the full rep.

some movements i feel just work better using the full range of motion that they are intended for, incorporating a large amount of anxillary muscles for overall development.

In short, i have bench on a chest day but i use it to develop more than just my chest.

fair play to those who use 3/4 reps, its another spin on what works best for you


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## u2mr2 (Sep 17, 2007)

This sounds interesting will have to try it out.

What are people's views on lowering the bar so that it doesn't touch the chest but stops say 2or 3 inches above. Is that bad form? I see this a lot in the gym where I train.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

u2mr2 said:


> This sounds interesting will have to try it out.
> 
> What are people's views on lowering the bar so that it doesn't touch the chest but stops say 2or 3 inches above. Is that bad form? I see this a lot in the gym where I train.


You are biomechanically strongest at the top parts of the movement, so some people "cheat" by not going to the point of the movement where you are biomechanically weakest - i.e. not touching the chest.

I train with boards between 1.5" and 6" on my chest to train the top part of the movement, which is more a triceps dominated movement.


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## ba baracuss (Apr 26, 2004)

u2mr2 said:


> This sounds interesting will have to try it out.
> 
> What are people's views on lowering the bar so that it doesn't touch the chest but stops say 2or 3 inches above. Is that bad form? I see this a lot in the gym where I train.


I do this, and I don't lock out either.

It's not 'cheating' as I'm not powerlifting - I'm just trying to work the chest as best I can, and I feel the chest is a pig to stimulate effectively because of biomechanics.

I used to get a nice pump from the smith but since I hurt my rotator cuff using it I'm now learning how to get similar stimulation using free weights.

Not lifting too much weight is key IMO as if you max out it's going to bring in more delt and tricep.


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## mindmuscle (Jun 30, 2007)

Interesting really. I've seen a few do 3/4 reps and so have experimented with it myself and found it worked well and resulted in a good pump. But as already said it just doesn't feel right, it feels as if you're cheating and I always find myself reverting back to full rom.

There seems to be a few advantages to 3/4's:

- Less stress on the joints as you're not locking out.

- Keeping the stress on the muscle throughout the set.

... resulting in better pumps and a higher intensity

BUT I still find it difficult to convince myself to do it. You will also obviously have a lot of traditional trainers telling you your form is all wrong.

But what about disadvantages?? For example with bicep or hamstring curls, if your not straightening/extending your limb at the bottom of the rep would you be shortening your bicep/hamstring?? 3/4 may be more suitable for some exercises than others??

At the end of the day I'd say it's what works for you. If you do 3/4 and you feel a good pump and in turn getting good gains then why not. It doesn't matter if some are telling you your technique isn't right, it's an individual sports and its what works best for you as an individual. Some things work well for some and not for others.


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## SOUTHMAN (Sep 14, 2008)

i do full reps of flat bb bench, my chest always get a pump, always is sore and i always get DOM's the next day. The top part does bring the tries in more but tbh i need the tricep work!

3/4 reps are obviously a good technique for the more advanced lifter


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## NickM (Nov 25, 2008)

i lift for fewer reps with three quarter range movment as there is no break or rest period at the top of the rep....for me it keeps the stress on the muscle and i allow my reps to get smaller as my strength disapears instead of forced reps. once the bar is all but static on my power set a spotter helps me re-stack the bar....no forced reps needed


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## big (Sep 14, 2004)

Full reps only, please. Otherwise Alan Carr will come along to your gym and poke fun at you for being girly 

The exception is what Tall said - conjugated periodisation. But even then, he's not suggesting benching to 3" (for instance) off of his chest is a bench press... it's a 2/3/4/5 board press.

And yes, bench isn't the best chest builder out there... it's more of a full (upper) body movement. But don't see that as a bad thing.... I've never seen a 200kg+ bencher with a small chest


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## ba baracuss (Apr 26, 2004)

I only do this for barbell bench press.

Dumbells are gay in my opinion, and flyes are gayer still.

Cheating at any other movement is pointless IMO, but since the chest is such a bitch to stimulate it's daft not to use what works for you and feel that you must use a full ROM blindly because someone thinks you're 'cheating'.

Most of us are bodybuilding, not powerlifting, so we should do whatever illicits the best growth, end of story.


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## MXD (Jan 23, 2008)

ba baracuss said:


> I only do this for barbell bench press.
> 
> Dumbells are gay in my opinion, and flyes are gayer still.
> 
> ...


I agree. full rom = more time under tention more micro trauma and greater hypertrophy


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## Chris1 (Jul 23, 2008)

Actually i read an article in Flex with Jay Cutler and he mentioned he only does the part of the part of the exercise that isolates the muscle he is working. The rest is pointless.

I use full range of motion, although I am not as experienced as some of you guys. Just seems the right thing to do, I though Benching was supposed to be a compound exericse, ie, to exercise multiple muscle groups rather than isolate? Or have I missed the point again??


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## dmcc (Nov 25, 2007)

No, you are right - compound exercise.


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## MXD (Jan 23, 2008)

Where they are they can offord to focus.. for the rest of us the extra stimulation is good imo.


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## adzk469 (Mar 19, 2007)

ba baracuss said:


> I only do this for barbell bench press.
> 
> *Dumbells are gay in my opinion*, and flyes are gayer still.
> 
> ...


Any reason behind this statement? In fact I have seen many get better chest development from dbs as the bb movement encourages more ego lifting.


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## Chris1 (Jul 23, 2008)

I actually always did prefer DB's, they just don't have enough weight on here so I switched to Olympic Bar. I always found with DB I couldn't lift as much but it felt SOoooooo much better.


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## donggle (Aug 28, 2007)

i've ahd problems with my upper chest (doesn't everyone?) so i started doing 3/4 reps. my triceps always seemed to be overpowering my chest. since i've started 3/4 on the bench i've got massive improvements. i think it's worth it if your tri's interfere as much as mine did.


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## ba baracuss (Apr 26, 2004)

adzk469 said:


> Any reason behind this statement? In fact I have seen many get better chest development from dbs as the bb movement encourages more ego lifting.


People seem to think that dumbells are safer than barbells for bench pressing movements but I don't agree. Tall on here for example has knackered his rotator cuff using them on incline press.

I think the strain they put on the RC isn't good whereas with a barbell you have something that you control much better using both hands and there is less concern about balancing a weight one-handed, meaning you can concentrate on getting a good squeeze.

Everyone is built differently but I'm quite bored of seeing people bigging up dumbells and slating barbells when really it's down to what suits the individual.

Just my opinion though.

Back to the 3/4 discussion - I've seen a few people on here lately who have got bicep tears from benching. I would bet that they have gone deep with the bar touching their chest which puts a lot of strain on the insertion point in the shoulder.


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## donggle (Aug 28, 2007)

chilisi said:


> is that on bench and dumbells youve improved?
> 
> i tried 3/4 on my last set of incline db press wednesday and the weight seemed lighter and im sure my chest felt alot more pumped


incline bench mate, i only incline, very rarely you'll see me doing flat, even then it's just a warmup or end of workout exercise. the 3/4 movement is from touching the chest to nearly the top. i keep the lower part of the movement, it provides the most stimulation to my chest in the stretch.

on db incline press i get the db's really low to get a full stretch, then take them most of the way up, i always keep a slight bend in my elbows.


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## Nytol (Jul 16, 2005)

SportDr said:


> Barbell bench isnt a good chest exercise (waits for flames....) the first portion is mainly anterior delt then there is some chest and finally a large dose of triceps.
> 
> Dumbells are much better, but flyes are still the best way to isolate the chest if done correctly enough that they dont damage your rotator cuff.
> 
> SD


I disagree, Bench Press has never done my pecs any harm, and there is no way my anterior delt's are pressing that weight off my chest.

I always use a full ROM, as I am as much interested in strength as size, but what ever floats your boat and gives you what you need.


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## MXD (Jan 23, 2008)

estfna said:


> incline bench mate, i only incline, very rarely you'll see me doing flat, even then it's just a warmup or end of workout exercise. the 3/4 movement is from touching the chest to nearly the top. i keep the lower part of the movement, it provides the most stimulation to my chest in the stretch.
> 
> on db incline press i get the db's really low to get a full stretch, then take them most of the way up, i always keep a slight bend in my elbows.


What angle do you inclne on?


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## donggle (Aug 28, 2007)

MXD said:


> What angle do you inclne on?


incline bench press is a set angle on a specific incline bench, but i'd say it's around 40 degree's maybe slightly less. but i probably do it a bit shallower because i bring my shoulders right back. it gives me more stretch and is the only thing that really works with a barbell for me (saying that i've never really tried decline).

again with incline db press i couldn't say, probably between 30 and 40 degrees. the exact angle isn't available on the notches so i improvise with a small 1.25kg plate between the notches.


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## noturbo (Oct 27, 2006)

I can't lock out while benching as i've broken my elbow too many times and it feels like its going to crack at the top of the movement and causes alot of discomfort so I stop a little before lockout and go down to my chest. I feel much more stimulation this way anyway so even if my elbow wasn't buggered I would still do it this way


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

ba baracuss said:


> People seem to think that dumbells are safer than barbells for bench pressing movements but I don't agree. *Tall on here for example has knackered his rotator cuff using them on incline press.*
> 
> I think the strain they put on the RC isn't good whereas with a barbell you have something that you control much better using both hands and there is less concern about balancing a weight one-handed, meaning you can concentrate on getting a good squeeze.
> 
> ...


Just to clarify - my issues were from DEEP Incline DB Bench. I took the weight too far back.

There were other factors which contributed though.

Something you may find: Your DB bench strength will go up with your BB bench, but not the other way around.

However I know a number of people who rate DBs much higher than BBs as mass builders - you use more fibres to control the DB.


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## ragahav (Jun 11, 2008)

After reading comments above and what I have come to know from reading on my own I believe that in bodybuilding there is never a universally good thing or for that matter a bad thing (off course I am not counting bad form and different kind of ridiculous cheat movements). It's always the case that some things work for some ppl and some things for others and some for majority of ppl. I think majority will experience that full ROM is that way to go and as for ppl like Jay Cutler, I think that their level is different and they have built a solid foundation to experiment and cheat. I speak for myself, and that is I prefer the old school hard on exact form method. Ya I do try to extract one or two extra rep by cheat method but only on the last two set. I have been on 5*5 training system since August this year and I have been trying several things like these. Now that I have read this I am gonna try this method as a cheat for my Monday chest workout.....  ...

So if it works for me then ..yee

as for chest press not a good exercise for chest...I say ya it's right because it's not a chest exercise ..it's a compound exercise which works shoulder and back also ..depending on form and technique ppl experience may vary .....


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