Breaking A Sticking Point
Sticking points can be some of the most annoying parts of strength training! You bring a bench press down through the eccentric, you feel strong and feel a great turnaround position off the chest, only to be crushed halfway through the concentric portion of the rep! It felt light, what gives?!?!
The first goal is to figure out what caused the sticking point. Did you lean forward too much on a back squat and get the weight out of position, did you miss the groove on a bench press and the elbows came out of the line with the barbell, are your triceps weak on the bench press or are your shoulders pathetic off the chest with the bench? Many reasons can cause the sticking point and these things must all be taken into account when planning to bust through that plateau.
Lets stay with the bench press and the squat as far as kicking the shit out of those sticking points. Find the degree at which the point occurs, study that angle and then head into the power rack. The power rack, set pins up on the power rack and work off those pins from the range of the sticking point. Anthony Ditillo claims the pin presses and squats off the pins almost single handedly got him to rid his body of any sticking points and it also expediting the process of the body learning the groove in these two lifts!!! Science has also shown that there is a 15-20 degree carryover from the area where the pins are placed. Remember this as you work toward fixing that sticking point. Don’t ever forget about that dusty old power rack sitting in the corner of your barbell club, it can single handedly change your career on the platform!