Half way up on bench?

[CoeKidck]

Hey guys I just started a new workout today and its all pretty standard except it says to do half reps on the bench press...I've never done this before and tried it out today and of course it felt awful after doing full reps for such a long period of time. I've always heard in the past if you touch your chest and do anything less that a full lock out then your just wasting your time. Whats your guys thoughts on this?

[renferos]

Well i just correctly reread what you posted maybe the idea is to keep tension in the chest because when you lock out it relieves this. Honestly, I'd just stick with full range of motion.

[sharpieblet]

it's not necessarily a 'waste' to not lock out, but it's not a bench press if you don't touch your chest and lock out. if it does not cause unusual pain/discomfort, ALWAYS touch your chest. those last few inches are where the chest takes majority of the focus i believe. what are your goals? if you're looking to build a big chest, you can certainly get there by doing full lockout bench press reps on incline and flat bench while simply eating to grow. it's not really until you start getting to higher developed levels of muscle mass that doing partials and more isolated movements becomes a necessary tool...kinda like quarter squats...they're not 'useless' for bodybuilding and leg mass, but if your legs still don't even have a decent foundation then you could simply improve them by doing regular full ROM squats and adding more muscle.

[Fgenetics15]

It depends on your goals.
For BB - I would do full range of motion
If PL and your sticking point is half way up or something like that, then partial movement like pin presses would be beneficial in breaking through a sticking point

[GeneralSerpant]

Yeah, if you had to choose between learning the form of different variations, then I'd choose to at least learn full-ROM. Once you learn it, or especially find yourself slowing progression, then partial reps will be utilized usefully.

it's not necessarily a 'waste' to not lock out, but it's not a bench press if you don't touch your chest and lock out. if it does not cause unusual pain/discomfort, ALWAYS touch your chest. those last few inches are where the chest takes majority of the focus i believe. what are your goals? if you're looking to build a big chest, you can certainly get there by doing full lockout bench press reps on incline and flat bench while simply eating to grow. it's not really until you start getting to higher developed levels of muscle mass that doing partials and more isolated movements becomes a necessary tool...kinda like quarter squats...they're not 'useless' for bodybuilding and leg mass, but if your legs still don't even have a decent foundation then you could simply improve them by doing regular full ROM squats and adding more muscle.

[sharpieblet]

Yeah, if you had to choose between learning the form of different variations, then I'd choose to at least learn full-ROM. Once you learn it, or especially find yourself slowing progression, then partial reps will be utilized usefully.

i think one of my favorite quotes is from Layne Norton's PHAT article:

” I’m sure there are people out there who squat over 500 lbs for reps and do not have impressive leg development, but I certainly haven’t met them yet."

point being that doing full ROM of the basic compounds and simply growing and eating will get you the majority of the way. IMHO of course...there will always be at least one naysayer lol.

[GeneralSerpant]

Lol, I will not be able to squat 500 in my lifetime. I can not attest to the validity of that statement. Full Rom progression doesn't negate the possible success of partial ROM though.

[sharpieblet]

haha i'll be ecstatic when i can do 225 for reps of 8 or more. by the time i'm doing them for reps of 12 or more i should have some pretty good wheels started lol.