Range of Motion Manipulation for Skill Acquisition

Variations to Promote Greater Skill Acquisition

Once we have started to master our basic movement patterns for powerlifting, we can begin to introduce subtle degrees of variation to these patterns. These variations often emphasize a certain position in the range of motion of the movement that is difficult for the lifter. With the squat and bench press, both movements that utilize a stretch reflex, the entrance and exit out of the bottom end range of motion is a great place to spend some extra focus on with exercise variations. Being able to control the descent into the bottom ensures proper bar path, balance, and tension to create a stable platform with which to drive the bar back up into lockout. One of my favorite movements that helps develop mastery of this bottom range of motion position is the 1.25 variation.

1.25 Squats

            The 1.25 squat allows the lifter to practice their entry into the hole of the squat and maintain tension and position to drive up out of the hole, then go back down and reenter the hole perfectly again, and then ride the rebound and drive back out. This helps correct a few different issues that may be plaguing their squat.

a.      Unstable ankles/knees/hips coming into the hole

b.      Rebounding too hard and not controlling the bar path back up

c.      Relaxed upper back that caves after hitting depth

d.      Difficulty in consistently hitting depth

Amy Performing a 1.25 squat as back off work

For the 1.25 squat I prefer to use it as a back off variation after the main working sets have already been performed. This ensures I do not load the variation too heavy and can use it to effectively hammer the position and grease the groove of the squat. For starting percentages, I will typically start a lifter around 65-70% of their 1RM for 1-3 reps over 3-4 sets. The 1.25 movement also fits amazingly into leg accessories such as split squats, lunges, leg press, leg ext/curl, and hack/pendulum squats.

1.25 Bench

            For range of motion manipulation on the bench press I will typically wait until after the barbell work is finished and I’m moving on to the accessories. It’s not that a 1.25 bench press with a barbell is ineffective but rather I can manage fatigue better by manipulating the range of motion with accessory work as opposed to the main competition skill work. The bench accessories I really love to add 1.25 reps to are the db bench, Tricep ext/Bicep Curls, and pushups. The bench press requires significant muscle mass on the upper body and utilizing a quarter rep allows for extra time spent in bottom ROM for these muscles which is an opportunity for greater hypertrophy via greater muscle lengthening in the exercise. It works as a rep multiplier as well adding twice as many exposures to the end ROM for your exercises. So you get twice the stimulus of a regular repetition and what feels like double the rep count.

For bench variations using a 1.25 rep I typically cut in half the normal number of reps I would do for an exercise and then add an extra set. So, if Db bench is normally a 4x12 then I will do a 5x6 1.25 db bench to start out, or if I normally do 3x25 pushups I will do 4 sets of 13 1.25 pushups. This way I can build progression over the course of a few weeks as my body gets used to the extra Bottom end ROM exposure from the 1.25 Reps.

Roxy Performing 1.25 Db Bench for upper body Accessory Work

More Bottom Strength = Moar Gainz

            Emphasizing control, tension, and proficiency of our descents into the bottom end ROM has enormous carryover to our main competition SBD movements. Muscles that are able to handle a full range of motion with stability and proficiency are going to be that much more resilient against injury as well as stimulate a greater hypertrophic response. By making use of end range of motion variations such as the 1.25 we can facilitate greater lift proficiency in our back offs and significantly improve our ability to perform our compound movements. Give these movements a place in your regular training program and you’ll gain a fantastic competitive edge while improving muscular range of motion, hypertrophy, and strength!