I have a problem most people would be familiar with, what i’m talking about is the muscles of the body being extremely weak or even failing to activate properly when the limbs are at the extreme end of any flexed position. For instance I am considerably weaker at the beginning of a quad extension or a deep squat when my knee is completely flexed, I am also very weak at the bottom of a skull crusher or bench press when my elbows are completely flexed. This doesn’t seem to happen at the other end of the range of movement, for instance if i allow by elbow to completely extend when doing heavy barbell curls i have no problem curling the weight up, similarly if my knee is completely extended at the beginning of a hamstring curl, once again no problem. I am at my weakest when the joint in question is completely flexed and i need to work the muscle by extending the joint.
I know some solutions have been covered to some extent on T-Nation. but i would like to know what you guys have found most useful in dealing with this weakness. Does anyone have an entire program dedicated to increasing strength in this area? I know one simple alternative is to drop the weight right down to a level where I can do the exercise at full range, but honestly that would mean such a dramatic reduction in weight that the rest of the movement would be a waste of time. Also I can’t use bands either as they are impractical in my gym. I’d appreciate both an explanation as to why my muscles don’t fire properly at those angles, and a solution of how to fix the problem. Thanks dudes.
Zenyth,
I’m assuming that you’re aware of “optimal muscle length”. This is described as the position when the muscle is best able to generate force. When a muscle is very stretched or very contracted it is unable to generate maximum force. I believe that “optimal” muscle length is about 120% of resting length. So, when you’re at the flexed position of a bicep curl, skull crusher, or leg curl it could just be that you aren’t at the optimal length. You COULD cut down the weight to go through the full range of motion. In fact, if you can’t go through the full range of motion you SHOULD to cut the weight down.
As for the bench and squat, I think that many will agree that coming out of the whole or coming off the chest is the most difficult part of the lift. Assuming you’re not training for powerlifting you could use partial reps or isometric holds in your weakest postions to bring them up to par. Isometric strengh is very position dependent and you can hold at your weakest position to increase strength at that angle. Of course, bands are good too, but you said you can’t do that option. Personally, I can’t think of why a gym would disallow them in the squat rack.
Some Great info. there in Kinetix’s post as usual.
Just wanted to add. You could also use 1 1/2 reps on squats, bench, well just about anything. Use a weight that will hit the limit strength of your weak point, ( out of the hole) and on your reps go for full ROM and then a half rep or bit further to tax the stronger portion of the lift. Then repeat.
Hope that helps,
Phill