Full ROM vs. Half Reps ?

[Rider91]

Hey guys, I've seen lots of people doing "half reps" and full ROM as well. And I was wondering if half reps are worth doing, a few days in the gym I saw a huge guy, he was on roids obviously, his shape, size and definition weren't natural. Anyways he was doing biceps DB curls, he put his arm on the vertical pad of a bench and started curling no more than 2 or 3 inches at most, he was up and down, up and down no more than 2-3 inches. Is that worth trying to maybe bring up the "lower area" of my biceps?

Also, I've seen people including Ronnie Coleman doing half reps on the bench press. He stops the rep when his arms are 90 degree and go back down again. Some other guys do half reps push downs for triceps, some of them do it from the bottom to the middle, other guys from the middle to the top.

Have you every tried this before?

[bigd54]

Hey guys, I've seen lots of people doing "half reps" and full ROM as well. And I was wondering if they're worth doing, last time on the gym I saw a huge guy, he was on roods obviously, his shape, size and definition weren't natural. Anyways he was doing biceps DB curls, he put his arm on the vertical pad of a bench and started curling no more than 2 or 3 inches at most, he was up and down, up and down no more than 2-3 inches. Is that worth trying to maybe bring up the "lower area" of my biceps?

Also, I've seen people including Ronnie Coleman doing half reps on the bench press. He stops the rep when his arms are 90 degree and go back down again. Some other guys do half reps push downs for triceps, some of them do it from the bottom to the middle, other guys from the middle to the top.

Have you every tried this before?

First of all whether the guy was on gear or not is not relavent. Secondly the guy was doing a variation of 21's where different targeted areas of the bicep are hit. When you watch pros train most of them dont lock the weight out because this places stress on their already stressed joints. Half reps or shortned range of motion are an intenstiy technique that can be used to help you handle more weight than possible or go more reps than possible (pushing pass failure). I would recommend using full ROM for everything for quite sometime untill your become comfortable with your body, its limits, and have a lot of training under your belt.

[2L8forGrace]

The only time I think I ever did half reps intentionally was when I was working to increase my vertical. I know jumping programs specifically designed to increase verts for basketball or jumping in general use half squats. It makes sense because lets be serious whens the last time you saw someone jump that had a full ROM. Still I felt like an idiot doing them, however, I did see a significant increase in my vertical. Whether or not that was because of half squatting I don't know.

I think the main problem with quarter/half squatting / benching is that people that often do this ONLY half squat / bench. I am sure this variant of lift has its place in effective routines.

[comps]

Full ROM is best.
I suppose not full ROM might have benefits.

[TN42]

Unless you have a specific reason to do partial ROM (and know what it is and why it will be effective for you) do full ROM.

[Rider91]

First of all whether the guy was on gear or not is not relavent. Secondly the guy was doing a variation of 21's where different targeted areas of the bicep are hit. When you watch pros train most of them dont lock the weight out because this places stress on their already stressed joints. Half reps or shortned range of motion are an intenstiy technique that can be used to help you handle more weight than possible or go more reps than possible (pushing pass failure). I would recommend using full ROM for everything for quite sometime untill your become comfortable with your body, its limits, and have a lot of training under your belt.

yeah man the guy might be doing 21's, didn't see him doing them, I just saw him doing those mid half reps tho

The only time I think I ever did half reps intentionally was when I was working to increase my vertical. I know jumping programs specifically designed to increase verts for basketball or jumping in general use half squats. It makes sense because lets be serious whens the last time you saw someone jump that had a full ROM. Still I felt like an idiot doing them, however, I did see a significant increase in my vertical. Whether or not that was because of half squatting I don't know.

I think the main problem with quarter/half squatting / benching is that people that often do this ONLY half squat / bench. I am sure this variant of lift has its place in effective routines.

I want to increase my vertical jump as well, but my technique is doing the positive portion of the rep explosive, and the negative one a bit slower than normal. Anyways your technique looks pretty good, I've never seen someone jumping using full ROM.

[strangeclouds]

Yes, I incorporate partials anytime I come to a sticking point. They can be dangerous though, it was how I injured myself on bench - doing partials with 515.

I wouldn't suggest making it an all the time kinda thing, just whenever you need a little extra on any part of a lift to break through a plateau.