full range of motion Vs. Targe rep range

Conan21 · Sep 2, 2004

What are you guys opinions on these two forms of reps.

I was reading something that arnold wrote about partial reps being superior for growth. In pumping iron alot of those guys are doing partial reps with compound movements to only target the desired muscle group.

for example, on incline they will only do the bottom 3/4 of the movement, same with shoulder presses.

what are you guys' opinion on this

Big A · Sep 2, 2004

Conan21 said:
What are you guys opinions on these two forms of reps.

I was reading something that arnold wrote about partial reps being superior for growth. In pumping iron alot of those guys are doing partial reps with compound movements to only target the desired muscle group.

for example, on incline they will only do the bottom 3/4 of the movement, same with shoulder presses.

what are you guys' opinion on this

I've always done full range on every exercise.
I am not as strong as other guys my size but I am the most flexible by far and my muscle shape 'pops' more.

LATS · Sep 2, 2004

full range of motion is very overrated.. why does one assume that a full range is needed? in most exercises, their is always a weak link.. in back exercises, the biceps.. in pressing movements it is the triceps.. to engage thses groups is taking a way the weight and effectivness of the muscles intended.. i have seen many top pros and top national level competitors train and one thing is clear.. loose form and target range of motion is the most dominant factors.. sergio oliva once stated that he prefered to move the bar in the bench press about 2/3 of the way up.. he stated it allowed him to overload the pecs with more weight that if he performed full range of motion that involved the triceps.. he stated that he could do 315 for up to 30 reps in the partial range for numerous sets.. compared to only 17 or so reps with a full range of motion... what do you think is overloading the pecs best?? i would experiment for your self and see what happens.. it cant hurt.. i persoanlly use both styles.. but, i am using the partials more and more..

IronMike · Sep 2, 2004

...

It's one of those things where I think "if it works for you, good".

I have always used a full range of motion too, and most these days do. In my former long-time gym where we had a lot of older, but very good, bbuilders, many of those would do the same partial reps you talk about - done fairly fast and repping out as many as they can with maybe 1/2-3/4 range of motion. It worked for them, you only had to look.

I can say that some of these guys did have injuries from time to time, but that could be completely unrelated. The force on the joints etc when repping real fast in partials is going to be a little greater. I wouldn't recommend "throwing" the weights around like some of them do, but hey - a lot of them can rightly say they know a bit more than me too, or have physiques to show it works for them.

I use a full range of motion, sometimes using partials on a final set esp with no partner if I'm trying to get a bit past failure. IronMike

xcelbeyond · Sep 2, 2004

Did you read this? http://www.professionalmuscle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7550

Vander_V · Sep 2, 2004

IM A FULL RANGER . FOR SURE

xcelbeyond · Sep 2, 2004

I'm like LATS - finding myself using partial (or I should say - not full range) movements. When I look back at most of my injuries it was at full extension - like at bottom of skullcrunchers or bottom of flat bench.

I don't agree with increasing speed as this is also just asking for problems. I still like to do the weight "under control" - not neccesarily "counting" but feeling it in the muscle I'm working.

TooPowerful4u · Sep 2, 2004

Little bit of both for me, although i do more like a 7/8ths range of motion haha. On the last few reps i lock it out, and last rep i lock and squeeze the fuck out of the pecs til they ache and shake. Thats how i do most pressing movements.

If you know arm anatomy. . . Tricep movements you HAVE to lock out or ur just not getting a peak contraction on the muscle (with proper wrist position, very important). Biceps you dont wanna go to full extension with heavy weight becuase its the VERY bottom of the movement has a ton of stress on the tendon and not a lot on the muscle, the muscle doesnt take a lot of the stress until theres a slight bend in the joint.

Im gonna go with the majority here and say.. see what works for you, give it all a try, i personally use a mixture, and keep what u like.