We’ve all heard it before: “Always use full range of motion.” We know it’s the right thing to do when weight lifting, but have we ever stopped and asked ourselves if we are enforcing it? Sure, we may think we’re using full range of motion with each exercise, but I want you to be honest with yourself and re-evaluate your form the next time you’re training in the gym. It’s easy to judge someone doing quarter reps when squatting and think to ourselves “I have much better form than that,” but “better” may not be good enough. Many of us may, in fact, be lifting with solid form, but I encourage you to test your boundaries and explore the potential benefits of increasing your range of motion during each exercise. Over the past month, I have done just that, and have already noticed the benefits.
Before I highlight some of the advantages, I would like to make a disclaimer that we all have different anatomical structures and joint mobility limitations so just do the best that you can and be sure to start with lighter weights to avoid injuries.
Advantages of Full ROM (Range of Motion)
- Increased strength and hypertrophy were also found in the full ROM group in a different study analyzing upper limb muscular development using barbell preacher curls.
- Fat loss even improved in a longer range of motion training group compared to shorter range of motion.
Overall, the benefits speak for themselves, both from an anecdotal observation as well as a scientific evidence perspective. Next time you’re training, be cognizant of your range of motion and consider adjusting the weight to truly allow yourself to maximize range of motion. In turn, you will maximize muscle growth, strength, and flexibility.
Sources:
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23629583
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22027847
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7968431
4. https://bretcontreras.com/partial-vs-full-reps-or-both/
5. http://www.personaltraineroxford.com/blog/full-range-of-motion-vs-partial-range-of-motion-which-is-better-when-it-comes-to-muscle-size-and-str/
6. https://www.facebook.com/michael.israetel/posts/10105394700379013
7. https://breakingmuscle.com/strength-conditioning/science-says-full-range-of-motion-is-best
Before I highlight some of the advantages, I would like to make a disclaimer that we all have different anatomical structures and joint mobility limitations so just do the best that you can and be sure to start with lighter weights to avoid injuries.
Advantages of Full ROM (Range of Motion)
- Lifting a weight through a full range of motion places tension on the entire length of the muscle from origin to insertion. This is important for maximizing strength and hypertrophy. If you only lift through a partial range of motion, you’ll develop weak points during certain portions of each exercise. On the other hand, lifting through an entire range of motion allows for optimal strength throughout the exercise and leads to enhanced functional fitness. Additionally, the increased distance traveled leads to more tension on the muscle fibers.
- Due to the increased distance traveled with each rep, this in turn leads to more overall volume with each set. For example, 10 reps completed with full ROM will take longer to complete than 10 partial reps. This increases time under tension as well as overall training volume which is closely correlated with increased muscle growth and strength.
- The increased ROM also is beneficial for muscle and joint flexibility. By lifting through a deeper range, we are therefore stretching the muscles as well. Since many of us tend to neglect stretching, it certainly would be advantageous to get some stretching benefits within our actual training.
- Stretching under load has actually been found to not only induce muscle hypertrophy (increase in muscle size), but also muscle hyperplasia, which is the increase in the number of muscle fibers.
- Increased range of motion leads to increased recruitment of motor units which is vital for optimal strength and muscular development.
- The increased time under tension for each set leads to more metabolic stress. This includes a variety of factors which all contribute to hypertrophy such as:
- Occlusion of veins
- Hypoxic muscular environment
- Build-up of metabolic byproducts
- Cell swelling (pump)
- Important to note, mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscle damage are the three mechanisms of hypertrophy. - Lifting through a full range of motion, places the muscles under a combination of passive and active tension because they're being stretched while being activated. As previously mentioned, full ROM exercises stimulate muscle activity over the entire muscle’s length. They also stretch the muscle under high tension.
- Since lifting a weight through the full ROM tends to be more difficult, you can use lighter weights. Rather than “ego-lifting” and doing partial reps with bad form, it is not only safer, but more effective to go lighter and do the full ROM. This is better for joint longevity as well. If you’re able to lift the weight through the entire ROM with proper form, then you know that you’re capable of handling that weight. You still should challenge yourself and aim to progressively increase weights over time, but it’s reassuring to know that if you’re able to lift a weight with full ROM for 6-12+ reps, then you certainly earned those reps.
- Increased strength and hypertrophy were also found in the full ROM group in a different study analyzing upper limb muscular development using barbell preacher curls.
- Fat loss even improved in a longer range of motion training group compared to shorter range of motion.
Overall, the benefits speak for themselves, both from an anecdotal observation as well as a scientific evidence perspective. Next time you’re training, be cognizant of your range of motion and consider adjusting the weight to truly allow yourself to maximize range of motion. In turn, you will maximize muscle growth, strength, and flexibility.
Sources:
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23629583
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22027847
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7968431
4. https://bretcontreras.com/partial-vs-full-reps-or-both/
5. http://www.personaltraineroxford.com/blog/full-range-of-motion-vs-partial-range-of-motion-which-is-better-when-it-comes-to-muscle-size-and-str/
6. https://www.facebook.com/michael.israetel/posts/10105394700379013
7. https://breakingmuscle.com/strength-conditioning/science-says-full-range-of-motion-is-best