[deadlift] + [press] -- partials
Deadlifts and presses both benefit from “partials” — barbell exercises that mimic their parent movements in most respects but intentionally decrease the range of motion and increase the weight. Although both lifts respond well to this technique, they do so for different reasons.
Deadlifts are incredibly taxing because the lift begins from a mechanically disadvantageous position without the benefit of a stretch reflex. Recovery eventually becomes a problem, and progress stalls. One solution is to split the full movement into two pieces — halting deadlifts and rack pulls. Halting deadlifts are just like normal deadlifts, but the rep stops when the bar gets just above the patella. Rack pulls place the bar on safety pins in a position just below the tibial tuberosity. The bar is then pulled to normal deadlift lockout. The two complement each other and leave no part of the pull untrained.
Presses stall for the opposite reasons that deadlifts do — they are not hard enough. Since they are limited by balance, not absolute strength, it is often difficult for the trainee to apply enough stress to disrupt homeostasis. Pin presses — partial presses done with the bar set on safety pins somewhere between the nose and the top of the hairline — allow lifters to overload the top of the press and get used to balancing a very heavy weight overhead at lockout.
Rack pulls and pin presses both demand persistence. The bar is in an unusual position, and it often takes a second or two for it to break off the pins. Because the bar sometimes does not move even when the lifter is pushing very hard on it, it is easy to quit. Several weeks of heavy partials teach grit that transfers over to activities outside the weight room.