Partial range of motion

[kbaum]

I came across this quote regarding range of motion, and I'm wondering if it's a valid point. (The quote comes from
this page .)

Quote[/b] ]
Partial Range of Motion
I am a very big advocate of full range of motion training. However, there is a time and place for every methodology. Partial range of motion training allows one to overload a range that is generally not loaded to its full potential. For example, during a full range of motion bench press one is in their weakest position from the chest up and will be able to lift more weight halfway up to the top. Because of this situation one can always handle more weight from halfway up to the top. So, during a full range of motion bench we do not load the range from halfway to the top maximally. This is usually important triceps work and improving lockout. So, what can we do? Using a power rack you can set the pins halfway so the bar will be stopped at this point You can also include board presses as well as floor presses.

This principle can also be used with deadlifts effectively. You can set the pins higher so the pull will load the back extensors more. You may also get upon a platform and go deeper to improve glute and hamstring strength. Usually you will use one of these variations for a cycle and then return to full range of motion training. Remember that the point is to overload ranges that normally do not receive maximal loading because of strength curves.

I recall a quote from Bryan on this site where he says that research shows that the most hypertrophic part of a lift is the portion where there's the most stretch, which would be at the bottom of a bench press movement. Thus, starting a bench press movement halfway up would exclude the most hypertrophic part of the lift.

Still, is there some value in using the most weight possible throughout the full range of motion as this quote suggests?

Another question, relating to Bryan's statement that the most hypertrophic part of the lift is the part where there is most stretch. On a lat pulldown, the most stretch occurs when your arms are extended upwards. The least stretch is when the bar is touching your chest. Yet, unlike the bench press, the pulldown gets harder and harder the closer you get to the *least* hypertrophic portion of the lift. (It seems that way for me, anyway.) Does that mean one should not worry too much about how close the bar gets to the chest on pulldowns (since it's not affecting hypertrophy that much anyway?)

Thanks.

 

[micmic]

The 'easy' or 'difficult' part of a lift has to do with several things. Besides leverage and other mechanics, the particular biomechanics of the lift are important. In your example of pulldowns, the lats, as you can see in ExRx, enter active insufficiency near the completion of shoulder adduction, when the shoulder girdle is somewhat protracted (as in pulldowns). Simply put, in certain positions and setups, some muscles become less effective and this is not directly related to the stretch the muscle experiences.

As far as hypertrophy is concerned, both load and stretch are important ('loaded stretch' ). We can deduce this from the fact that both unloaded stretch and static contractions have been deemed ineffective in producing any serious hypertrophy. So, we obviously have to use a combination of them.

In many lifts we can increase the load if we reduce the stretch (that is, use limited ROM). We can also increase the stretch if we reduce the load (eg, one cannot use as much weight in incline biceps curls as in normal biceps curls). My view is that as long as you don't severely limit the ROM, partial lifts have their place since the increased load can partially compensate for the reduced stretch. However, I would consider anything less than 1/2 - 3/4 of full ROM to be suboptimal, for most lifts anyway.

As for your pulldowns question, the greatest stretch of the bottom position is not enough to justify the omission of the final part of the movement. The fact that because of several (bio)mechanical factors we may feel weaker during a certain part of the movement, doesn't mean that the muscle contracts with less 'force' during that part. Many times the opposite is true. In fact, the greater loads are effective mainly because they make the muscle contract more 'forcefully'.