Curious to see if anybody else does the power throws or uses bands/chains.
I occasionally use chains, mostly when doing bench, close grip bench, and shoulder press on smith machine. I like the increased resistance at the upper end of the rep.
I use partials at the beginning of sets each time I increase weight, increasing the range each rep for 2 or 3 reps to full range...if full range is possible at the weight I'm shooting for. I also think partials are a great way to squeeze a little extra out of the final reps where failure has already occurred with the full range.
For me , partials are a great way to test how far I can push my joints (I often pyramid up to my max over 4 - 6 weight increases, unlike some who warm up then hit their highest weight out of the gate and pyramid or break down). Downside to that: I've already expended a lot of energy when I hit my heavier weights, but at my age, I have to protect my joints (actually, everyone should always protect their joints). I can't tell you how many times I see young kids come in and start "bouncing" tremendous weight off their chests, often without even a warm up. A partial gives me the opportunity to scale back for the deep rep at a weight if it doesn't feel right. Also keeps me in touch with my form. My ultimate goal is to keep pushing limits until mind over matter succumbs to matter over mind.
I want to do so safely.
I also will sometimes strip the rack after pyramiding up. I'm always changing how I workout. I'll give a muscle 8 - 16 workouts on a technique and then change to something else. Don't want to get used to one thing, but I suspect you know that well. Regardless, I
always use partials as a test, and often as a technique.
Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on strength training.
