Lower Body Day
I had plans to get a higher volume workout in and maybe even hit a little upper body but for some reason, everything took me a lot longer today. I got three exercises in and it was time to go.
100 Leg Press Challenge
Still keeping the 15 pounds on. Paused at about 75 reps in then cranked out the last 15. It took just over 3 minutes.
I’ve noticed that my leg press range of motion is enormous compared to the men in my gym leg pressing at the same time as I was this morning.
I’m sure their quads are still getting hit and they’re still getting the strength/hypertrophy benefits, but when you’re only moving a load about two inches back and forth, doesn’t that affect how much weight you can use? Would they be going that heavy if they had to bring their thighs closer to their chests?
This brings up a lot of questions for me regarding strength, growth, range of motion, and lifting techniques. How strong are you really if you’re not moving the weight very far? And how strong are you really if you contort your body in a way that makes the load easier to move?
Well, for some, probably pretty damn strong still. I remember a video of Ronnie Coleman doing dumbbell overhead presses with a gazillion pounds and it looked like a mid-range partial. No lockout at the top, nowhere near what many would consider the bottom.
So then the next question is: Is a full ROM somewhat overrated? This is what I thought about while working through 100 unbroken reps. Let me know your insights if you’ve got em.
More Leg Press 4 sets of 15, 10, 5, 5
Very light today: 90 pounds for the first set, then 140 for the rest. (Achy knees.)
Smith Machine RDL 4 sets of 20, 12, 12, 12
Unloaded, 20 pounds, 20 pounds, 50 pounds
Just wanted to really feel the upper hams and glutes. Each rep was super controlled with occasional pauses. No tempo prescription because I sped up the reps once I started feeling the right muscles burn.
Hip Abduction (butt lifter) Machine
4 sets of 15 full ROM reps, then 10 mid-range partials
