I'm a big fan of partial movements.

They're very useful for building targeted strength in very specific ranges of motion, e.g. if you have trouble locking out on bench press, you can specifically do training in that range to strengthen it.

They also allow you to use a LOT more weight, which helps to greatly improve connective tissue strength. I also find them to be quite fun BECAUSE you can use far more weight than you normally could for full-range exercises.

I generally prefer to do partial training completely on it's own rather than trying to work it in with a regular full-range session, though. It seems to work better in terms of finding your groove with the exercise.

Another option you can try is to do one set of heavy partials then unload the bar to a much lighter weight and do full-range reps.After using heavy weight, the nervous system and the muscles are more "activated" to heavier loads and the "normal" weight will feel lighter than it normally would.

We're going to apply partial training to Front Squats...it's one of the forgotten exercises (or should I say "purposefully neglected" exercises" - I'm guilty of it, too) because it's such a tough one to do.

It's also EXTREMELY productive to do. It not only allows you to focus your training on the quads more than the glutes and hams when squatting (due to the "front" position of the barbell), it really works the entire abdominal wall and shoulders hard.

The abdominal wall has to take the brunt of supporting the weight, whereas when you're doing back squats, the stronger muscles of the back (and the skeletal support of the spinal column) bear most of the burden.

So if you've been doing back squats for a long time but have been neglecting front squats, this can be a very humbling exercise. You might be able to squat 300 lbs but only be able to front squat 135 lbs (with good form) when you start.

Lockouts are relatively easy to setup and perform. To do this exercise, set the rails in the power rack a little below the top and just work the top few inches of the range of motion of the front squat.

I prefer the crossed-arm racking style for front squats, but you can also use the "clean" racking style as well, if you have the tricep flexibility (I don't).

When you're setting up for this, your feet should be a little outside shoulder-width with your toes pointed out. Tighten up your core into a solid brick...like somebody was about to punch you in the gut...don't suck it in.

Tighten up your shoulders and upper body and hold your breath from the moment you push the bar off the rails. When using very heavy weight, you NEED your body to be locked into the movement, with no "leakage" of power.

Develop tension against the bar then SQUEEZE it off the rails. Don't pop it off the rails. Similar to a heavy deadlift where you pull bend into the bar before lifting it off the ground, you need to push bend into the bar before you push it off the rails. For reference, I've got 405 lbs on the bar here.

Perform a rep, then hold at the top for a few seconds. Lower back down to the rails, reset your body position then go again.

 

Quarter-Range Front Squats

This is a quarter-range front squat movement, similar in concept and benefits to the lockout range shown above, only done through a somewhat greater range of motion..

Just set the safety rails in the rack to the quarter range position (you can play around with different heights to see what gives you the best trade-off between range of motion and the amount of weight you can use - I'm using 315 lbs in the demo here).

Ideally, you want it to be above the point where core strength becomes the limiting factor in the lift...our goal here is to train the legs and upper body to support and move greater loads than you could over the full range of motion.

I'm using the crossed-arm grip on the bar instead of the "clean" style racking as I find it more comfortable on my elbows and shoulders, especially with heavier weight like this.

 

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