Partial vs Full: The Bros Were Right About Range Of Motion (Partially)
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Date: 2021-01-03
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Comments and reviews: 10
Reiner
There are arguments in favor of using partials that make scientific sense:
When doing a compound movement where the target muscle is mostly active at certain points, i. e. while bench pressing, lockout is mostly triceps, so doing partials not all the way up there is actually more stimulus directed at the pecs while less is directed at the triceps. Squads are another perfect example: we know that the quads are mostly enganged when squatting deep, so not locking out again is better. Not going deep however like in the study metioned in the video, no surprise, resulted in even less quad stimulation because the partial reps were done in the wrong part of the movement.
Also, partial reps can be done AFTER no more full reps are possible, meaning more muscle fibers get exhausted and volume is increased as well. So when partials are done right, chances are that no more weight can be used. And calculating workload for a compound exercise is NOT EQUAL to workload done by a specific muscle for that compound movement because as the rom changes, that specific muscle might be much less, or much more engaged. I. e. only doing the upper third of the bench press does not mean that the pecs get 1/3rd of the workload, it should be much less because the triceps are the main movers at that rom. In fact one could argue that partials can at least maintain volume forbone muscle group, while decreasing volume for others which would come in handy for reducing volume on some muscle groups for one exercise, so that volume can be used on the next day for another muscle group that otherwise would not be as well rested. Which depends on the given training program of course and if that effect is needed.
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There are arguments in favor of using partials that make scientific sense:
When doing a compound movement where the target muscle is mostly active at certain points, i. e. while bench pressing, lockout is mostly triceps, so doing partials not all the way up there is actually more stimulus directed at the pecs while less is directed at the triceps. Squads are another perfect example: we know that the quads are mostly enganged when squatting deep, so not locking out again is better. Not going deep however like in the study metioned in the video, no surprise, resulted in even less quad stimulation because the partial reps were done in the wrong part of the movement.
Also, partial reps can be done AFTER no more full reps are possible, meaning more muscle fibers get exhausted and volume is increased as well. So when partials are done right, chances are that no more weight can be used. And calculating workload for a compound exercise is NOT EQUAL to workload done by a specific muscle for that compound movement because as the rom changes, that specific muscle might be much less, or much more engaged. I. e. only doing the upper third of the bench press does not mean that the pecs get 1/3rd of the workload, it should be much less because the triceps are the main movers at that rom. In fact one could argue that partials can at least maintain volume forbone muscle group, while decreasing volume for others which would come in handy for reducing volume on some muscle groups for one exercise, so that volume can be used on the next day for another muscle group that otherwise would not be as well rested. Which depends on the given training program of course and if that effect is needed.
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Lu
Like Ronnie's front squats, I'll go down to parallel or below with either the front or back squat, but instead of fully locking my knees out at the top, I stop just before. And considering my legs are my most developed body part, I would say this technique has contributed to this success to some degree. Not completely, but I haven't applied this technique to other body parts (it just wasn't something I consciously did with squats-it was just what felt right. From the standpoint of feeling the muscle working my legs have a better mind-muscle connection. Again, probably partly due to the technique, probably partly genetics.
Maybe there is something to be said about what parts of the movements are cut out-and keep the hardest part, as the MASS journal stated.
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Like Ronnie's front squats, I'll go down to parallel or below with either the front or back squat, but instead of fully locking my knees out at the top, I stop just before. And considering my legs are my most developed body part, I would say this technique has contributed to this success to some degree. Not completely, but I haven't applied this technique to other body parts (it just wasn't something I consciously did with squats-it was just what felt right. From the standpoint of feeling the muscle working my legs have a better mind-muscle connection. Again, probably partly due to the technique, probably partly genetics.
Maybe there is something to be said about what parts of the movements are cut out-and keep the hardest part, as the MASS journal stated.
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Alex
Say you can curl 35 pounds max. If you pick up a 36 pound dumbbell you're going to have to cheat on that rep and you won't feel/contract the muscle as well. so therefore doing a partial instead but allowing yourself to do more reps and feel the actual muscle/contraction will be more beneficial.
Fulls > Partial reps unless the weight is too heavy for you then a partial will be more beneficial because it will allow you to still complete a rep and feel the actual contraction which is more beneficial to muscle growth over failing or stopping.
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Say you can curl 35 pounds max. If you pick up a 36 pound dumbbell you're going to have to cheat on that rep and you won't feel/contract the muscle as well. so therefore doing a partial instead but allowing yourself to do more reps and feel the actual muscle/contraction will be more beneficial.
Fulls > Partial reps unless the weight is too heavy for you then a partial will be more beneficial because it will allow you to still complete a rep and feel the actual contraction which is more beneficial to muscle growth over failing or stopping.
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Functional
From experience I feel that although I fatigue faster with partial reps because there is no momentary rest at the top of the movement I feel that little bit of rest at the top allows blood to circulate better to the working muscles allowing me to perform more total reps and/or lift more weight.
I am not sure but I could see a benefit to performing a few partial reps at the end of a set when you are no longer able to complete full ROM. However, I don't think this is usually necessary and should be used infrequently if at all.
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From experience I feel that although I fatigue faster with partial reps because there is no momentary rest at the top of the movement I feel that little bit of rest at the top allows blood to circulate better to the working muscles allowing me to perform more total reps and/or lift more weight.
I am not sure but I could see a benefit to performing a few partial reps at the end of a set when you are no longer able to complete full ROM. However, I don't think this is usually necessary and should be used infrequently if at all.
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ashton
Jeff so you think the results would be different if the research into partials focused more on the more challenging part of the range of motion, for example in the squat study a third group who did the opposite half of the lift, the bottom half. I feel like Full ROM is definitely better than the worse easier half of the range of motion, but not sure there is enough evidence to compare partials in the harder part of the range of motion. What are your thoughts on this?
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Jeff so you think the results would be different if the research into partials focused more on the more challenging part of the range of motion, for example in the squat study a third group who did the opposite half of the lift, the bottom half. I feel like Full ROM is definitely better than the worse easier half of the range of motion, but not sure there is enough evidence to compare partials in the harder part of the range of motion. What are your thoughts on this?
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DARD
I do a full range on every exercise that my 50-yr-old tendons/joints allow me to. I don't come all the way down at the bottom of a bicep curl (elbows) and I stop and inch or so before my chest while I'm benching with a bar (shoulders); with DB bench presses, I go full range because I have a lot more freedom with arm rotation. Otherwise, I squat to just below parallel, conventional DL and lock-out with an overhead shrug at the top of a press.
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I do a full range on every exercise that my 50-yr-old tendons/joints allow me to. I don't come all the way down at the bottom of a bicep curl (elbows) and I stop and inch or so before my chest while I'm benching with a bar (shoulders); with DB bench presses, I go full range because I have a lot more freedom with arm rotation. Otherwise, I squat to just below parallel, conventional DL and lock-out with an overhead shrug at the top of a press.
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Archer
I've long debated this with myself. Whether just increasing load compensates for lack of ROM.
As a personal sample, I find limiting range of motion on leg press fails to engage upper quad fibers (this is totally based on my mind muscle connection, not a lab test.
So I'd say, in some instances no, eg leg press or even a lat pull down.
The real trade off is injury risk when considering ROM/loading, not hypertrophy.
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I've long debated this with myself. Whether just increasing load compensates for lack of ROM.
As a personal sample, I find limiting range of motion on leg press fails to engage upper quad fibers (this is totally based on my mind muscle connection, not a lab test.
So I'd say, in some instances no, eg leg press or even a lat pull down.
The real trade off is injury risk when considering ROM/loading, not hypertrophy.
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Benjamin
I used to be in the science side but after training powerlifting for a few years now, I've found that partial reps or exercises that use a smaller range of motion have their uses. So in powerlifting, bench press is a major one that comes to mind. As I progress in strength, I may reveal certain weakpoints in my lift. Using exercises like the spoto press or board presses help strengthen those points.
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I used to be in the science side but after training powerlifting for a few years now, I've found that partial reps or exercises that use a smaller range of motion have their uses. So in powerlifting, bench press is a major one that comes to mind. As I progress in strength, I may reveal certain weakpoints in my lift. Using exercises like the spoto press or board presses help strengthen those points.
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ThereAre
Great video! It has me thinking though, where do pulse reps fit into all this? I have heard a lot of people, you included, recommending varying amounts of pulse reps for hip extensions/other glute excersises. Does this evidence mean pulse reps are not ideal/not efficient since they are defined by a smaller r. o. m? Perhaps it depends on the excersise? I'd love to hear more about this!
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Great video! It has me thinking though, where do pulse reps fit into all this? I have heard a lot of people, you included, recommending varying amounts of pulse reps for hip extensions/other glute excersises. Does this evidence mean pulse reps are not ideal/not efficient since they are defined by a smaller r. o. m? Perhaps it depends on the excersise? I'd love to hear more about this!
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John
Thanks for addressing that Skullcrusher study and putting it into context (other RoM studies, isolation vs compound, cable/machine vs free weight) I like the approach of looking for the nuggets of truth in every side of the conversation, especially because we tend to disregard common sense or bro-science immediately instead of trying to see why they think what they do. Nice video!
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Thanks for addressing that Skullcrusher study and putting it into context (other RoM studies, isolation vs compound, cable/machine vs free weight) I like the approach of looking for the nuggets of truth in every side of the conversation, especially because we tend to disregard common sense or bro-science immediately instead of trying to see why they think what they do. Nice video!
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