Understanding and Overcoming the Sticking Point in Resistance Exercise

Abstract

In the context of resistance training the so-called “sticking point” is commonly understood as the position in a lift in which a disproportionately large increase in the difficulty to continue the lift is experienced. If the lift is taken to the point of momentary muscular failure, the sticking point is usually where the failure occurs. Hence the sticking point is associated with an increased chance of exercise form deterioration or breakdown. Understanding the mechanisms that lead to the occurrence of sticking points as well as different training strategies that can be used to overcome them is important to strength practitioners (trainees and coaches alike) and instrumental for the avoidance of injury and continued progress. In this article we survey and consolidate the body of existing research on the topic: we discuss different definitions of the sticking point adopted in the literature and propose a more precise definition, describe different muscular and biomechanical aspects that give rise to sticking points, and review the effectiveness of different training modalities used to address them.

An Investigation of the Mechanics and Sticking Region of a One-Repetition Maximum Close-Grip Bench Press versus the Traditional Bench Press

“…Several studies that have investigated the bench press have located the SR using this operational definition [ 1 , 4 , 18 , 19 ]. Understanding the SR of maximal lifts is important for strength and conditioning coaches for the avoidance of injury and continued progress in strength adaptations for their athletes [ 20 ]. Gomo and Van Den Tillaar [ 1 ] found that the peak velocity, and local minimum velocity, occurred at a higher position above the chest for a maximal bench press performed with a narrow grip (0.39 ± 0.04 m) by male powerlifters.…”

Muscle Activity in Upper-Body Single-Joint Resistance Exercises with Elastic Resistance Bands vs. Free Weights

“…However, this is affected by the “sticking point” of the exercise in question. The sticking point is commonly known as the point in the range-of-motion (ROM) where one experiences a disproportionally large increase in the difficulty to complete the movement ( van den Tillaar and Ettema, 2009 ), and is the performance bottleneck in a resistance exercise ( Kompf and Arandjelovic, 2016 ). In movements where the sticking point occurs in the early phase of the concentric ROM with conventional resistance one might assume that the sticking point occurs later in the movement phase with elastic bands, due to the gradually increasing external resistance, but to our knowledge this has not been experimentally verified.…”

The range of motion of the back squat exercise affects absolute volume load without changing the rating of perceived exertion

“…From the mechanical point of view, the back squat exercise has an ascending characteristic in the strength production, which means that as the concentric phase progresses, greater loads are possible to be lifted 23,24 . Thus, the greatest load that can be lifted in the exercise is determined by the point of least strength, which is known as the "sticking point" and is defined by the point of greatest mechanical disadvantage in the entire ROM of the exercise (~ 90º of knee flexion for BS); after this point, lifting can be completed without major difficulties 25 . The RPE scale is a method used in training sciences mainly to measure the perceived exertion intensity in a given exercise 15,16,19 .…”