Partials are good for explosive power, sprinters, high jumpers and people following a more plyometeric sort of training with a specific goal. I wouldn't do them for part of my training, but they can add power to parts of your squat. I agree to get the bottom end of your power you have to train deep and parallel,, however, even just getting the feel of the bar and starting to move the bar to 45 degrees initially and dropping deeper and deeper is a good way of stretching the fascias as you get deeper.
Don't get me wrong, I'm very much part of the "it ain't a squat if it ain't deep" brigade, but partials, if training for a specific goal do have their place. Furthermore, I think I'd rather get a feel for 200+ kg doing an 80% rep - gauge how I'm feeling, then go deep.
I don't doubt you're a fan of going deep, you don't get to the total you have by going easy on yourself.
I do however, almost completely disagree with your first paragraph
Partial squats are of zero use to sprinters*, trained in an explosive fashion or otherwise. Sprinting is primarily a posterior chain movement, and training the squat above parallel reduces load on the hamstring and glute in favour of the quad (see table here
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online...g_performance_repair/get_your_butt_in_gear_ii ). Sprinters get far more value from full squats, because of the full range of muscles activated, and deadlift variations (regular deadlift, deficit deads, RDL/SLDL).
But then let's assume the partial squat has some sports specificity, for example for sports that utilise the vertical jump. The argument here is that the ROM of the vertical jump is similar to a partial squat, therefore it allows for maximum carryover. This is the logical conclusion, but isn't actually completely true.
I'm not sure of the source of this, but anyway...:
"Along these same lines many people will ask, ?Since during a vertical jump one only descends into a [partial] squat position, then why should they do loaded squats with a full range of motion going past parallel?? Again, realize the purpose of strength training is to improve the general strength of the muscles involved. The fact is that a full deep squat is better at strengthening all the muscles involved in the vertical jump, despite the fact that one is capable of using much more weight in a [partial] squat. A full squat fully activates the muscles of the quadriceps and also strongly engages the hamstrings, glutes, and even
calves. Not only does this build strength, but it also keeps the lower body in
developmental balance and helps prevent knee injuries and muscle strains. A [partial] squat doesn?t strengthen the muscles of the posterior chain nearly as well and also puts a lot of stress on the tendons of the knee. However, there is a time when the [partial] squat can be effective. That is after a base of strength has been developed. The partial squat can then be used for short periods for further enhance strength development. If I could throw out one piece of advice to every young athlete in the world it would be,
?Do squats and do them full and deep!?"
Full squats de-load the knee, making them far safer, by shifting the some of the forces onto the posterior chain.
From Charles Poliquin:
"Forget about the more specific quarter squats and half squats. Many strength coaches falsely believe that quarter squats have more transfer to improving the vertical jump, because the load is greater and the range of motion resembles the motion to preload for jumping. Actually the opposite is true, A high vertical jump is highly correlated to a full range squat not to a quarter squat. Why? Because full range squats strengthen the VMO, while quarter squats and half squats do not do it. A strong VMO prevents the knees from buckling inwards during pre-loads and landings."
...and this is echoed in many other places. So even with a greater degree of sports specificity, their usefulness is limited (e.g. higher loads on the quads) and even then, disputed in favour of just doing full squats or other exercises.
The point here is that in certain circumstances it's beneficial to increase the strength of the leg muscles. The best way of doing this is with the standard assortment of back squats/box squats for overall development, front squats for quad emphasis and RDL/SLDL/regular deads for hamstrings. It's important not to neglect leg drive.
Incidentally, for sports that require speed in some way, you need to be training for absolute strength AND rate of force generation, but separately. As for generally training for explosiveness and rate of force generation, there are far better exercises than partial squats, and it could be argued that doing full squats explosively is better anyway.
From reading around, partials seem to be most common where people (including coaches) just want to see bigger numbers without a good reason, or who seem to tolerate partials as long as the weights are progressing. That's not aimed at anyone here, just an observation of certain american sports coaches more than anything else.
I think I'm misunderstanding your point about fascia stretching. Why would stretching your fascia be useful when squatting? Do you mean for general flexibility? Either way, I think there are better methods for flexibility and fascia stretching out there.
As for testing a heavy weight with an 80% rep, maybe that's a matter of personal preference, but I don't see the point as the loading is so different, AND there should always be a way to safely dump the weight or get a spot if something goes wrong. There is little difference between a 1RM 200kg squat and a 1RM 150kg squat provided you've trained properly and you're ready for it.
This is more for others reading this who aren't sure about partial squats above parallel. Bottom line, you probably shouldn't be doing them.
Pros:
- can use heavier loads than full squats
- loads the quads more
- may have more functional carry over
Cons:
- unbalanced loading of the leg muscles
- places extra strain on the knee
- very debatable carry over in terms of sports specificity
- does not compare favourably to full squats in most regards
- inferior posterior chain development and hip drive
"counter pros"
- supra maximal loads have limited application, only for strength training and only as part of a balanced program. Even then, you won't find too many powerlifters etc. using them
- just do front squats
*compared to just doing full squats
Partials are great, i do them for strength. However, I don't just do the top partial, I will also do a bottom of the rep partial. On occasion I will do the partial against a bar, stopping it go higher than I want.
Have played with negative partials and also only positive partials (gotta love cages for things like this
How would these fit into a routine? I have some idea for deadlifts and bench, but no clue for squats. Is this with supramaximal loads at the top and submaximal loads at the bottom? Would you be doing them for dealing with sticking points or just generally? I've not done any partials in my powerlifting training yet though, but when progression slows down I'll be looking to incorporate them.
