Do you feel stuck in a weight loss rut? Do you want to maximize fat loss without sacrificing muscle gains? Are you confused about whether partial reps are worth it or just a waste of time?

Today, Philip (@witsandweights) shares excellent questions from Jonathan and Matt in the Fanlist voice message inbox. They were curious about optimizing training and nutrition for fat loss and muscle growth. You’ll discover whether incorporating partial reps can effectively build more muscle mass and how to do so intelligently in your training routine. Additionally, Philip dives into the ideal amount and type of cardio to maximize fat loss without compromising your hard-earned gains. Plus, you’ll learn proven strategies for overcoming weight loss plateaus while preserving lean muscle tissue. 

If you’d like to have your question answered on a future episode and receive a shout-out, you can either leave a voice message in the Fanlist inbox or send a text message.

Today, you’ll learn all about:

2:28 What should I do to break through a weight loss plateau after losing 40 lbs since January?  I'm 5'8", currently 220 lbs, lifting 4-5x/week and jogging 3-4x/week. Should I ditch cardio to have more time/energy for lifting? How much more weight is realistic to lose by August without losing muscle?

18:22 What's your opinion on partial reps? Are they beneficial for muscle growth or a waste of time?

31:43 Outro

Episode resources:

• Submit a voice message for the next Q&A

Episode summary:

Striking the perfect balance between fat loss and muscle gain is an intricate dance that fitness enthusiasts strive to master. The latest episode of Wits and Weights podcast offers an in-depth exploration of this topic. The podcast begins by dissecting the optimal combination of cardio and strength training, emphasizing the need for a well-rounded routine that promotes not only a leaner physique but also cardiovascular health. The conversation then pivots to NEAT—non-exercise activity thermogenesis—and its critical role in daily calorie expenditure, highlighting the often-overlooked activities that can contribute significantly to weight loss.

Jonathan's weight loss journey is presented as a case study, providing listeners with a real-life example of the challenges and triumphs associated with balancing fat loss and muscle maintenance. The episode stresses the importance of adjusting strategies as one progresses in their fitness journey, noting that what works at the start may not be as effective as the body adapts and changes. Moreover, the podcast touches upon the nuanced approach required when entering different phases of fitness, such as when to take a diet break or pivot to a muscle-building focus.

The conversation takes a deep dive into the art of partial reps in weight training, addressing listener Matt's query about their efficacy for muscle growth. Partial reps, characterized by a shorter range of motion than full reps, are examined for their ability to handle heavier loads, target weak points, and maintain constant muscle tension. Despite these benefits, the episode acknowledges that partial reps should complement, rather than replace, full range of motion exercises for overall muscle development.

As the discussion unfolds, practical advice is dispensed on how to intelligently incorporate partial reps into one's regime. The importance of maintaining proper form, avoiding ego lifting, and ensuring progressive overload, even with partial reps, is underscored. The episode then rounds off with a conversation about heart health and body image, connecting physical fitness with the broader context of health and societal perceptions.

Listeners are encouraged to follow the podcast for ongoing fitness wisdom and are reminded that the journey to a stronger self is ongoing and requires a commitment to adaptation and learning. The podcast episode, rich in actionable advice and grounded in fitness principles, is a valuable resource for anyone looking to enhance their physique and overall well-being.

In conclusion, the episode serves as a reminder that the journey to a leaner, stronger self is a complex one, fraught with potential pitfalls but also ripe with opportunity for growth and self-discovery. By adhering to principle-based fitness strategies and remaining adaptable to the body's changing needs, individuals can achieve their fitness goals without sacrificing health or succumbing to burnout. Whether you're just starting out or looking to break through a plateau, Wits and Weights provides the knowledge and inspiration to forge ahead on the path to physical self-mastery.

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Transcript

Philip Pape  00:00

Is cardio killing your gains installing fat loss? Could partial reps be the key to packing on more muscle? In this q&a episode we answer listener voice messages about optimizing fat loss without sacrificing your hard earned muscle. The ideal cardio strategy for your goals, the truth about partial reps and proven tactics to break through plateaus while sculpting your dream physique. Welcome to the wit's end weights podcast. I'm your host, Philip pape, and this twice a week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self mastery by getting stronger. Optimizing your nutrition and upgrading your body composition will uncover science backed strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle and mindset with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry so you can look and feel your absolute best. Let's dive right in. Within weights community Welcome to another solo episode of The Whitson weights podcast in our last episode 173 Why mindset alone won't solve your food and hormone struggles with Tanya Shaw, we explore the limitations of the mind over matter mentality and how combining mindset with an understanding of body science is key to not just achieving but loving your health results. You even learn how thoughts and emotions affected our body's functions, especially hormones, and some simple techniques to help you actually shift your mindset to better support your health goals. Today for Episode 174, we have a q&a. The title is partial reps for more muscle, too much cardio for fat loss, lose weight, not muscle. And we've got a couple of great questions submitted to our fan list voice message inbox. From Jonathan and Matt about optimizing your training and nutrition for fat loss and muscle growth. You'll discover whether partial reps can be an effective tool for building more muscle mass, and how to incorporate them intelligently into your training. We'll also dive into the ideal amount and type of cardio for maximizing fat loss without sacrificing your hard earned gains. Plus, you'll learn proven strategies for breaking through weight loss plateaus while preserving lean muscle tissue. Now if you'd like me to answer a question on a future episode and give you a shout out, you can either leave a voice message on our fanless inbox or send a text message. Both links are in the show notes. Again, you can just leave a voice message. It's through fan list, the click the link is in the show notes or sent a text message straight to the show. That's a one way text message with your privacy protected. And we are now going to jump right into the q&a. And I'm going to play for you the audio of the two questions. So our first question comes from Jonathan in Las Vegas. Let's take a listen.

Jonathan  02:38

Hi, my name is Jonathan and I come from Las Vegas. I just found your show within the last week. Lots of great tips so far. Anyway, I started losing weight back in January as New Year's resolution because I'm going to be 40 in August. I'm five, eight, I started off at 260 pounds. And now in May, I'm down to 220. I lift weights about four to five times a week. I try jogging about three or four times a week. I'm counting my calories. They're working great so far. But now I'm hitting a plateau. If I increase the running, I just don't have enough time. And then I'm too tired to lift on those days. I don't know if I should ditch the cardio altogether, because I heard that it can be done without it. I really don't know. But I just need to figure out how to make the most of my time. And I also heard if I'm losing too fast, I could lose muscle, which I don't want. So I just need a way to maybe try to lose 20 more pounds by August, or I don't know what would be realistic. Anyways, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Awesome.

Philip Pape  03:53

Well, first of all, Jonathan, massive congratulations on that progress. So far doing this on your own. You're asking all the right questions and providing me just the right amount of context to understand what some of the things that could be going on to give you at least some, you know, principle based guidance here that I think anyone listening can benefit from. But you started in January as a New Year's resolution. Here's an example where you use the resolution to commit and you stayed committed, and you did the right things over time. And we're consistent to get to this point, which is awesome, right? Because people criticize New Year's resolutions all the time. And it's usually simply because people try to do too much all at once, and then they fail. And then we you know, we blame resolutions in your case, you used it as a driver as a motivator. And then you started to take action, and you're doing a bunch of the right things. And there's some other things that could probably be tweaked here and there and remember that as you go through a long process like this with a decent amount of fat to lose, you can always apply the exact same strategies throughout the entire process. You can definitely the same principles but the strategies will have to change based on your biofeedback and your results and your app. adaptation and all of that. So we're going to drill down into each of these things that I, hopefully I remember them all from the question. But again, 40 pounds in about four to five months, that is about two pounds a week, if I have that, right, that's like, maybe not quite 1% of your body weight a week, but we always talk about 1% per week being the limit above which you tend to start losing muscle mass. Now for bigger guys, like you, you have a little more flexibility and fat to work with, you have some fat storage, that actually helps you, right, and we can look, reframe that as a positive thing, because it's extra calories that your body can draw on. Because you're not very lean to begin with. And so it gives you the ability to go more aggressive at the beginning, and still potentially even build some muscle while you're losing fat. So, you know, that's, that's awesome, right? It's a testament to the consistency and hard work with everything you're doing. And I know it probably hasn't been easy either. But you're doing awesome. And you're you're almost where you want to be, at least for this visit this first phase. Now you talked about hitting a weight plateau, which plateau is a kind of a dirty word sometimes, right? We use it to mean like things aren't moving anymore. And so now I need to crank up the movement, or I need to crank down the calories to push to the plateau. When in reality, oftentimes, even if you feel like you're doing all the right things, there's a piece of that, that we don't fully understand until we have all the data. And it might be that you're building muscle and losing fat at the same time, it might be that you're getting more stressed or less sleep. And it might simply be because as you've lost all his weight, this 40 pounds, you've experienced metabolic adaptation, you've experienced it in a few ways. First is the traditional reason because you are your hormones are responding to the lack of energy, and down regulating everything making you more efficient, right, and you saw you burn fewer calories, but you've also lost a ton of weight. And so you simply are moving around less mass, and that requires fewer calories. So I suspect that your expenditure has dropped drop drop drop that whole time, you say that your calorie tracking, but you didn't mention whether you're tracking your metabolic rate or your expenditure. Because, you know, whatever intake you started with, right, let's say you calculated that you burn at the beginning 3500 calories, and you wanted to go into 1000 calorie deficit to lose two pounds a week, you know, 1000 calories a day to lose two pounds a week. And so you said I'm going to eat 2500 calories. Well as your body adapts, and that 3500 expenditure drops. If you keep eating 2500 calories, the weight loss rate will slow down, right the deficit will get smaller. So you have to keep that intake up with your deficit. Now, you've had decent progress, which tells me that you have been keeping up with that, or, or your metabolism hasn't dropped that much. And I've seen this with clients who are on the bigger size where especially male clients who are detained are really lift heavy, you know, consistently they train well. And sometimes I'll find that once they're training well, and walking and doing all those things, and eating a bunch of protein, their metabolism might actually level off and increase right, which is crazy to think about, but it happens. So unless I have that history of yours, I don't know. And one you've probably heard me talk about macro factor on the show. I don't know if you're already using it. But if you're not go right now and download macro factor, enter my code Whitsun weights all one word, get the free two week trial from that, start using it backdate or retroactively enter your last, like 20 or 30 days of calories per day that you ate, and your scale weight so that it can update its algorithm more quickly. And then you'll know what is my expenditure, so that I can break through that quote unquote, plateau going forward. So once you've got that set up, now we have some numbers to work with. And some accuracy we can target. Now you said your five, eight, your 220 pounds. All right. So I'm five, nine, and I'm 180. And some people call me you know, a skinny guy that needs to gain weight, but just put it in perspective, like the dudes that I work with people who lift you know, muscle mass body composition, you're probably not that far from a really good body composition and leanness than you think even, you know, you said you have a lot of room to lose, do you want to lose 20 more pounds? Maybe, right? We don't know for sure that 200 is a magic number, you could get down to two or five to 10. And realize, hey, this is actually a great place to be and I don't want to continue, like really trying to push it because of what it takes. Or you can be like nah, I want to get down to you know, 190 and that's that's my goal, because I want to get to a certain level of leanness or a certain look. And then you'll go into muscle building phase. So that is up to you and your goals. Jonathan, I would say on average somebody who's 225 Eight, yeah, they're probably a little bit higher in the body fat percentage, you know, territory, and getting down to say 200 or 190. We'll put them closer to that 15% ish, you know, 15 to 20% you're probably a decent amount above 20%. But as you get leaner Are, we had to take a little bit more moderate approach because you don't have that excess fat, we don't want to stall out, we don't want to just be too low with the energy and the carbs for your lifting sessions, and all of that stuff, right, it's just it gets a little bit more tricky. And we have to be a little more conservative. So first, I would make sure that your nutrition is dialed in. You didn't give me any details on that. But you did say you're counting calories. So again, get macro factor. So not only seeing your calories, but you get evidence based targets for your macro goals, based on your target weight goal. So let's say your target weight is 190 or 200, I think you said it's 200. All right, you want to be the in about 200 grams of protein, another 30% or so calories from fat and the rest of the carbs. If your macros are anywhere off of that it could affect your performance, it could affect your muscle mass loss, or preservation and things like that your energy and so on. So we're, you know, for guy like you, I'm thinking around 200 grams of protein per day, about 30% from fat. And that's going to depend on how many calories you're eating, and then the rest from carbs. For the rate of loss, you've been hitting about point 8.9% your body weight, you could conceivably go up to that same rate for the remaining 20 pounds. So at 220. That's, let's say on the upper end, two pounds a week 1000 calorie deficit a day. And that would get you the 20 pounds in 10 weeks. So I would say in terms of realistic, yeah, totally realistic. And because you're still still bigger, so have a little weight to lose. I think the flexibility is there, as long as you're not feeling like it's depriving you so much that you're starting to get food obsessed. For example, if you want a more moderate approach, and you're happy with like 10 to 15 pounds, I would say that was more reasonable and super sustainable, right. And that would put you at, like 500 to 750 calorie deficit a day. In terms of cardio, alright, you mentioned you jog like three or four times a week, I don't know how much walking or steps you get. Besides that, I definitely wouldn't ditch it completely. If it's a routine for you. I think it's great. You know, for heart health, it can be helpful with recovery in assists, it can assist a little bit with fat loss. But if you feel like it's burning you out, it's impairing your performance, you don't have enough time, it's just too much, you can definitely reduce it. And I don't think it's going to make a huge difference. As long as your overall movement and activity is not dropping that much. Like in terms of your step count. So if you go from like, you know, 20,000, subsidy down to 8000 subsidy that can make a difference. But if you go from like 15 to 12, it may not make a big difference. And in fact, you might notice it actually reduces some of the stress on your body, and helps you continue that fat loss and feel a little better. Keep in mind also, if you lower the rate of loss to be a little more conservative, you wouldn't need that extra activity necessarily, because you're kind of making up for it in the food department, you know, you're eating more food, or I shouldn't say you're eating more food, you're you might be eating the same amount of food, but you don't need to burn as much energy because the deficit is smaller, if that makes sense. And then I would say like your priority should be your strength training, right? That's the key to maintaining your muscle while you lean down, focusing on those heavy lifts, the compound lifts pushing for progressive overload. I don't know what your split looks like, I'm assuming it's solid. But I would you know, if I were your coach I would take a look at that makes sure the lifting sessions themselves aren't too long and too much during the week. You might think it's sacrilegious for me to say this, but if you're doing too much in the lifting department for volume, that might have to come down to allow you to recover while the cardio and the walking stays the same. You know, it's you never know it depends on how you feel. And this is where tracking your biofeedback, your hunger, your digestion, your sleep, your energy recovery, your mood. And then tying that to the changes that you make is going to be very helpful. Now aside from lifting and like formal cardio, we talk about neat non exercise Activity Thermogenesis which is like all the walking, the fidgeting, the cleaning, doing chores, and that's where again, I look for what is your step count right now, that plus cardio if the total stays in that 10 to 14k range that's really really solid. It really saw even if it is just from walking, instead of from jogging, for example, because the jogging really could be hindering a little bit of the recovery, maybe maybe you might be adapted to it. And if you have good form, it may not be that much of an issue. All right. So to recap, I know threw a lot at you, you know tighten up nutrition, make sure you're tracking with macro factor, make sure the protein is up there, go for the as aggressive a calorie deficit that's sustainable for you, but not too aggressive. reallocate some of the energy from cardio if needed, so you can crush it in the weight room and get those you know, not just the gains, but the preserving your muscle. You know, look at your meat in terms of your step count and get it into that like 10 12k range, and then go at the right rate of loss and adjust your calories and macros each week. If you use a macro factor that's automatic, where you shouldn't be hitting plateaus at that point. Now, as of the time of this episode, 20 pounds by August is about 10 weeks away. So that's two pounds a week. And that's, I'll say aggressive, but within the norm within the range of realistic, and again may not be ideal if you're feeling a bit rundown. So you got to think about those. And by the way, you can follow up with me directly, you can either send a text, or reach out to me on Instagram at Whitson weights. Jonathan, if you want to follow up with some more details, let me know you heard this and what you're doing, we can even give an update to the community. I think that's all I wanted to cover for that. Oh, yeah. The other thing is, if you get down to like 205, to 10, even if you don't get all the way to the 200, and it's August, September timeframe, you're probably in a great position then, to go to maintenance for a while, if not into a very lean muscle building phase all through the fall and winter months, the perfect time to be eating more food, right, you can jack up the calories back up that by the 750 or 1000 calories you are missing out on. Right, it might be at a lower rate than you started because you're so much lighter, but it'll still be a lot more calories, help your metabolism recover. And just just feel great in the gym and everywhere else for a while. And take this nice long diet break is effectively what it is I break a guy like us trying to lose like 60 pounds. Normally, I would recommend breaks and refeeds be built in anyway. So that's the only other piece I didn't mention is I know you want to get to this number by August. But one other approaches, you can just go at a slow roll fit in some diet breaks and maintenance for like a week or two and really extend it out but not ever feel like you're really dieting that hard. That's the other approach. If you missed my episode on how fast should I lose weight for fat loss that came out recently. Check that one out because I described the different scenarios for you. And it might give you some more ideas as well. Anyone else listening. So consistency, man, trusting that process showing up like you're doing you're gonna get the result. I'm very excited for you. This is what it's all about. Enjoying that journey, keep up and keep that momentum up and you'll come out the other side, you know, a leaner, meaner version of yourself.

Philip Pape  17:03

Hey, this is Philip and I hope you're enjoying this episode of Whitson weights. I started with some weights to help ambitious individuals in their 30s 40s and beyond, who want to build muscle lose fat and finally look like they lift. I noticed that when people transform their physique, they not only look and feel better, but they also experience incredible changes in their health, confidence and overall quality of life. If you're listening to this podcast, I assume you want the same thing to build your ultimate physique and unlock your full potential. Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your progress to the next level. That's why I created wits and weights physique University, a semi private group coaching experience designed to help you achieve your best physique ever. With a personalized done for you nutrition plan, custom designed courses, new workout programs each month, live coaching calls and a supportive community, you'll have access to everything you need to succeed. If you're ready to shatter your plateaus and transform your body and life, head over to Whitsun weights.com/physique or click the link in the show notes to enroll today. Again, that's Whitson weights.com/physique. I can't wait to welcome you to the community and help you become the strongest leanest and healthiest version of yourself. Now back to the show. Alright, so that was the first question. Second question comes from Matt. He asks about partial reps, and whether they're actually useful for building muscle, and I'm gonna play his audio in a second. But I will say this is a super common question these days, both partial and long length partials. And there's a lot of debate around it in the fitness industry. So let's just take a listen to Matt's audio and then we'll break it down.

Matt  18:45

My question is about partial reps. I've heard a lot of conflicting, conflicting things about partials. Some people say they're great for muscle growth, stimulate muscle growth. Some people say they're not. What's your opinion on partials? Should I avoid them? Don't waste time, or are they beneficial after all? Thanks, podcast is awesome. My name is Matt Roberts. Thanks, Bunny.

Philip Pape  19:10

Alright, so I wanted to play his audio for two reasons. One, the accent from across the pond. We love that here. And the other is, you know, the shout out about how awesome the podcast is, which can never stroke my ego enough. But in all seriousness, Matt, very good question. I don't know that I've covered partial reps in any great detail on the show, other than some discussions with I think Brian Borstein. So go back and find his interview. And I wouldn't did i i think he's the only guy I've ever talked about it with. Not even a nd Baker. I'm not sure we even got into partial reps. But anyway, again, appreciate the kind words in the great question. It's a polarizing topic. Some people swear by them. I know trainers who are like, yeah, all they do is partials these days, like long length partials and it's working great for me. Other people say now they're useless. As with most things, the truth is in the middle. So let's define first what we mean by partial reps, such as some people case people are like, What the heck are you talking about? A partial rep is what it sounds like. It's a repetition that uses a shorter range of motion than a full rep. Now I'm gonna trigger some people here because squats, the right way to squat, when you do a normal full range squat is below parallel. And there are a lot of people that don't squat to depth, they will squat an inch above parallel or even much higher than that. And to me, that is a partial squat, even if you think you're going all the way down. So that's one thing I want to get out of the way. I know that's what you're not asking about, Matt, I'm sure you're like, super dialed in with all your form, and you know exactly how to execute partial versus full reps. But just in case, I'm putting it out there, that like a half or a quarter squat, that is a partial rep where you don't go all the way into full depth. Another example would be benchpress lockouts, where you're not coming down all the way to your chest. And by the way, partial reps can go both directions. So like if you had some pins set up, and you set up the bar for benchpress, really low, close to your chest, on pins, and then you did pin presses, those are partials as well, right, because you're not, you're starting at the bottom and you're not going, you're not going all the way down to the chest. So there's different ways to look at it, you can look at it from both sides of the range of motion, the top half of a bicep curl, but also the bottom half of the bicep curl, right? That's long, that's the lengthen partial. So that's what a partial rep is. And the argument for them is they allow you to handle heavier loads. That's one argument like, oh, well, I'm shortening the range of motion. So I can go heavier, right. And I can target weak points and lift. For example, if you think of a rack pole, that's like a partial deadlift, that's what it is to partial range of motion deadlift. And you can go a lot heavier on a rack pole, than you could on a deadlift, and target just part of the musculature, which has some validity as an accessory as a support as a variant, right. Another argument is that they maintain constant tension on the muscle. Now, this is the idea that if you're simply kind of speeding up the movement, and sticking within a small range, like imagine bicep curls from the top, and you bring them down just a few inches, you come up and down, up and down, and you're constantly maintaining that tension. Another good example, you ever done lying tricep extensions. And one way I like to do them is I, I at the top, I don't lock out vertically, I actually lock out with some load hanging out, right, the moment arm hanging behind me a bit and keeping tension on there. That's kind of a bodybuilding thing. And so partial reps allow you to do that in different creative ways as well. It's same thing with like the lengthen partials, right, if you think of lengthen partial squats, you're going all the way down to the bottom, you're pushing up, but you're not getting past that lockout point. And then you're going back down again, that can create a lot of tension during that time, you're never really relaxing, you're never getting that load off of you at the lockout, it also can help you get in some extra volume after you get to failure with full reps. So again, lengthen partials. For example, if you've exhausted the muscle with the full range, now you can do some more and lengthen range. And some people see that as a nice way to get in some more volume, where otherwise you will be completely fatigued. And again, there is some validity there as well. All of these things could theoretically lead to more muscle growth, if they're done in an intelligent way to supplement in my opinion, to supplement mostly full rom movements, but there's definitely a place for them. Now, the drawback is that they don't train the full range of motion, right. And full ROM is generally considered superior for overall muscle development for your movement patterns for your strength gains, and then even functionality. And again, I hate to use the word functional. But when we talk about squats, doing the full squat, engaging all the musculature as the human body was designed, right, same thing with pressing, same thing with pulling, getting the full raw movements in there, at a minimum, I think is essential for people. That doesn't mean you can't do variation. So for example, you don't have to deadlift you could do say Romanian deadlifts, right, you might have some limitations, you might have some fatigue that causes you to avoid certain movements, whatever. But I'm talking about full rom versus partial. So full rom ensures that you're strengthening the muscle through the complete contraction and the stretch, not just one portion of it. And we know that is associated with positive hypertrophy outcomes, right muscle development outcomes, as well as strength. If you have a training plan, I would say you know, increasing your weight, your volume reps, whatever progressive overload, right? We call it through full rom lifts. That should be the foundation that should be the foundation I think I even put a quick quiz out recently called compound lifts as the foundation of your training or whatever, and I'm talking about full rom lifts. But I do think partials can serve as a useful tool. So for example, some exercises would be done with a modified ROM for safety or to target the prime movers more effectively. I mentioned rappels right? Block deadlifts or what do you call them like nuts stiff legged deadlifts. But I'm losing my mind here. But instead of full deadlifts, you have the you have the bar raised. So it's either raised on some blocks, or pads or up on pins, right? It's raised above where it's higher than the ground, instead of full full deadlifts. So effectively, that's what a rack pole is. But a rack pulls in a much higher version of that with a rack pole, you could be right below the knee, or maybe right above the knee, and that that range, board presses or floor presses. And in fact, board presses are the one where you can get a little a device that goes on the bar that prevents the bar from coming all the way down. That can be really good. If you have wonky shoulders, like I've noticed, doing both paused bench presses and pin presses where my shoulder doesn't fully extend. So I'm not getting the full range is helpful. But remember, it depends on what you're trying to train. If you're not trying to train the shoulders with your benchpress and you're really focused on the pecs, then you could do these partials you could even just do inclines for that matter, right and do different movements altogether. And then do shoulder specific movements for your shoulder. So you could definitely get creative. And in this case, the partial ROM is intentional. It's not like getting lazy, like a you partial squatters out there that you need to go to fold up. And I don't mean to call you lazy, you may not be aware, this is where form checks and having a coach and being in a community and all that can help Whitson weights physique University come join us. It could also be the result of ego lifting guys guys out there ego lifting, where you start to do cheater raps, partial reps, the whole deal. I see this a lot with isolation movements, especially. However, I also see them with things like the overhead press, okay, the overhead press, you've got to get your head out of the way, you've got to have that vertical bar path. And then at the top, you've got to have that full shrug at the top. If you're not doing a full shrug, we're talking, push that button, don't just tap it, push that button up into the ceiling, then it's a partial ROM, it's not a full rom press. So some of you may be thinking you're doing full rom movements, and you're getting partials. And you're hearing this episode, like, Oh, I've got some opportunity there. I don't know if that's you met. But I wanted to pull that out. Because this answer I'm giving you is going to be much more comprehensive than maybe you thought. And that's what we do here on Whitson weights. All right. partials can also be strategically used to blast through sticking points. So let's say you're struggling with your benchpress lockout. That's where you could throw in some heavy partial reps in the top half of the movement, using accommodating resistance, right chains, bands, a slingshot, a lot of guys in my lifting community know what I'm talking about. That's a way to assist part of the movement. And so you're effectively making it a partial rom because you're not fully loading the entire ROM. And in fact, bands in general, in different movements can help with that. Like if you want to do deadlifts with a band, for example, you're you're adding more load to part of the ROM. And so that's form of a partial, if you allow me that definition. Let's see another scenario, I think partials can be helpful is if you want to accumulate extra, what we call metabolic stress at the end of a set, right extra fatigue. So let's say you hit failure on I don't know, dumbbell lateral raises, right? 12 reps. Once you and you can't get up and you know, you can't bring all you can't bring your arm all the way up. Well, you do partial reps and you can still get that burn and that stimulus that pumping the shoulder by getting those extra partials. They're kind of like cheater reps. But you've already done the work you intended. Now you're just like torching those medial delts. And getting this extra constant tension. Think of the extreme of this being one single rep where you're just holding it there, and it starts to burn, right? You get what I'm saying? You know, and the idea here is you still have to go pretty heavy at that point because you're doing a partial. So as a general guideline, Matt, I'd say partial reps can be a tool in the toolbox, but not the main, the main course of the main tool, right and here's I'm going to recap everything I just said because I went on a whole bunch of what I thought were very exciting tangents that I hope you found interesting, but I'm going to recap for you. Number one stick to fall ROM for the majority of your training, we're talking probably 80 to 90% of your training, especially the main compound lifts, used partial sparingly on isolation and accessory movements like lat raises tricep pushdowns, leg extensions, curls, etc. Number three, sprinkle them in toward the end of a workout if you want to as an intensity technique, or if you want to eke out some extra volume on a lagging body part number four, make sure you're controlling the eccentric, that you're pausing in the contracted position and you're keeping that constant tension. Okay, even even when you're doing partial, you want to make it a deliberate, objectively measurable range of motion so that you can actually progress that rom number five, don't ego lift, don't sacrifice form just to lift more weights with partials. And number six track your partial rep sets. and aim to progress over time like you would with full rank, just what I mentioned. Make it objective. All right, Matt, hopefully that helps provide what I think is a pretty comprehensive and balanced take on partial reps. If you use them intelligently, you use them. You know, in moderation, I'll say I think they can be a valuable addition to, like both physique and strength focus programs, I think they can help. But they're like the icing on the cake right there the gravy as they say. So when in doubt, prioritize full rom progressive overload. And that's really gonna move the needle long term. You don't have to do partials, but that can be a lot of fun. Okay, so that was two questions answered in great detail. We covered a lot of ground, plateaus, fat loss, muscle retention, cardio, neat partials. Remember that this is principles that we talk about here, there's no one size fits all. The reason my answers tend to be on the longer side, rather than just rapid fire is because there are a lot of events, there are a lot of things to think about for what works best for you, your lifestyle, there's trial and error, there's, there's experimentation that you need to do, and then be consistent for a while with the thing you're testing out to get the result or not. And that feedback feeds back to the next experiment. So you know, for Jonathan, right, my advice is, more or less, stay the course and trust the process, but start to dial in some things. Dial in his tracking, use macro factor, balance out his activity for recovery, and all of that, and he's trending in the right direction. So he's winning, he's winning, right? That's an inspiration to all of us. And then for Matt, and anyone else, wondering about partial reps, use them widely. They can help you smash your sticking points, get a killer pump, and they shouldn't comprise the bulk of your training, right? You're not going to go wrong. Prioritizing heavy compound lifts with good form. And sprinkling in the partials, you know, is sort of cherry on top. So if you've got a question you want me to answer in a future episode like this, you can either leave a voice message on our fan list inbox, or send a text message. Both of those links are in the show notes. And Whitson waits busy University continues to be open for enrollment as well. If you're looking for personalized guidance for some of these types of questions, where we can dig in with your actual numbers, your plan your life and figure out how it works. I'm always going to mention that here that the link is available in the show notes if you want to check it out. And if you're not sure, you can always reach out to me Instagram at Whitson weights, send a text message, email me whatever all the ways. Alright, in our next episode 175. The big is beautiful movement, obesity and heart health with Dr. Tiffany DiPietro. We discuss some of the myths surrounding heart disease, like the idea that it's only a man's disease or you must have symptoms to have a problem. Tiffany is going to share her best practices for nutrition and exercise to maintain a healthy heart and effective ways to prevent cardiovascular issues. And then we step into the minefield of the big is beautiful movement by asking the question Can big also be healthy. Make sure please right now hit follow hit follow hit follow in your podcast app to get notified when that episode comes out. And you will be supporting the show by doing that. As always, stay strong. And I'll talk to you next time here on the wits end weights podcast.

Philip Pape  33:14

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