The Army Training System - AskTOP

PARTNER-RESISTED EXERCISEIn partner-resisted exercises (PREs)a person exercises against a partner’sopposing resistance. The longer thepartners work together, the moreeffective they should become in providingthe proper resistance for eachexercise. They must communicate witheach other to ensure that neither toomuch nor too little resistance is applied.The resister must apply enoughresistance to bring the exerciser tomuscle failure in 8 to 12 repetitions.More resistance usual] y can and shouldbe applied during the eccentric (negative)phase of contraction (in otherwords, the second half of each repetitionas the exerciser returns to thestarting position). The speed of movementfor PREs should always be slowand controlled. As a general rule, thenegative part of each exercise shouldtake at least as long to complete asthe positive part. Proper exerciseform and regularity in performanceare key ingredients whenusing PREs for improving strength.Following are descriptions andillustrations of several PREs. Theyshould be done in the order givento ensure that the exercising soldieris working his muscle groupsfrom the largest to the smallest.More than one exercise per musclegroup may be used. The PT leadercan select exercises which meet theunit’s specific goals while consideringindividual limitations:A 36-to 48-inch stick or bar oneinch in diameter may be used forsome of the exercises. This givesthe resister a better grip and/orleverage and also provides a feelsimilar to that of free weights andexercise machines.3-13