ROM of partials?

[KenpachiZaraki]

Hello Everybody (in my best Dr. Nick impression),
At the gym yesterday, I watched a pair of guys doing partials on the incline bench press. They're ROM couldn't have been more than 3 inches. Their elbows didn't come close to a 90 degree angle. Seem to me a waste but then I realized I didn't know what the ideal ROM for partials is.

So, when partials on a bench press, what should the ROM be? I know the actual distance depends on the size of the person, so try to express it in general terms.

Best Regards,
Darin

[ironwill2008]

Hello Everybody (in my best Dr. Nick impression),
At the gym yesterday, I watched a pair of guys doing partials on the incline bench press. They're ROM couldn't have been more than 3 inches. Their elbows didn't come close to a 90 degree angle. Seem to me a waste but then I realized I didn't know what the ideal ROM for partials is.

So, when partials on a bench press, what should the ROM be? I know the actual distance depends on the size of the person, so try to express it in general terms.

Best Regards,
Darin

A better first question would be, why would you consider performing partial reps rather than full-ROM? IOW, what would you expect to gain from partials?

[RK42]

Advanced lifters might be doing partials to work on a weak spot. But the chances that this applies to the guys you saw are quite small. Particularly because the weak spot on bench for most people is off the chest, not the lockout.

I'm convinced that most off the partial ROM lifts you see at a gym (and there's a lot of it where I go...) is one of two things:

• People who just don't know any better, and believe that they are performing the lift properly.
• Ego-lifting.

Well, there could also be people who reduce the ROM to work around an injury.

[KenpachiZaraki]

A better first question would be, why would you consider performing partial reps rather than full-ROM? IOW, what would you expect to gain from partials?

Personally, I wouldn't do partials. I was just curious.

[ironwill2008]

Personally, I wouldn't do partials. I was just curious.

I see.

Performing partial-rep training for Bench Press and Squats---for highly experienced powerlifters---is a valid means of increasing strength in a very narrow part of whatever ROM is causing the trainee to miss a lift. It's generally done in a power rack with the safeties set a little below the point where the bar stalls, and then the trainee starts his set(s) from that point. 'Board' Presses are also used for training a sticking point on Bench. But I'm not a powerlifter, so the specifics of sets/reps/frequency of such training are not within my experience.

Bando, Jtbny and several others here do compete though, and may weigh in on this topic.





Never seen nor heard of anyone doing partial Inclines, but they may have had valid reasoning for doing so.


.....or not.

[Get-n-fit]

Ironwill hit the nail on the head. People that know what their doing don't do bench partials like that. Serious lifters will either do board presses/rack presses and/or floor presses to work the upper portion of the movement. With board presses, it's easier to overload the bar and put on more weight than you can press with full ROM and be able to strengthen the muscles used for the upper portion of the movement.

These guys sound like they are just stroking their egos....very common and dangerous if they don't have boards or bars to stop the bar if they fail.

[OldFartTom]

I see partials all the time, guy in rack yesterday was doing top quarter of a squat with about 180 lbs high bar, he must be an advanced powerlifter

Seeing stuff like that makes me feel so much better about my own (puny) attempts

Edit: would you count 1 and 1/2 squats something like a partial as you'd be working the bottom half double that way a sort of partial and full combined. I don't see it very often but I do see a girl at the gym (who lifts well) do them sometimes

[Get-n-fit]

I see partials all the time, guy in rack yesterday was doing top quarter of a squat with about 180 lbs high bar, he must be an advanced powerlifter

Seeing stuff like that makes me feel so much better about my own (puny) attempts

Edit: would you count 1 and 1/2 squats something like a partial as you'd be working the bottom half double that way a sort of partial and full combined. I don't see it very often but I do see a girl at the gym (who lifts well) do them sometimes

Yeah, that's normally a girl thing, they are increasing TUT (time under tension) thinking it will help increase their glutes.

[mtpockets]

The only partials I have incorporated over the years have been side lateral partials for shoulders.

[weiss1967]

some boxers do partials on incline bench press, exactly what OP has described. Bro theory (hypothesis rather) is that those last 3-4 inches of pressing develop exactly strength needed for knockout punch. In this context partials kind of make sense, though I myself very skeptical. But then, what do I know.

There is also another type of partials, where ROM is split into two shorter moves, both would be overlapping partials of the full range of motion, done either as a superset or two separate exercises. I remember seeing it decades ago specifically done on bicep curls. People try all kinds of tricks to make biceps grow. Some of you may remember mid-80's Tom Platz's video where he finishes off leg extension exercise with partials. Probably not a completely wrong way of training.

[PhantomMaxx]

Partial incline press or any partial lift is a waste of time. If a partial ROM is used to target a sticky point on bench press, it would be at the bottom of the range closer to the chest not the top. But if that was the case I'd rather use chains for overload rather then limiting ROM. Partial ROM as an accessory to compound lifts, ok maybe I can accept that too, but unless its specific training for an experienced lifter I'd say most should practice full range of movement on all lifts. I think most people we see not practicing full range of motion on lifts are either ego-lifters, ignorant, or both. I'd have more respect for someone lifting lighter with good form and full ROM then someone trying to go heavy with reps that don't count.

[tanksoldier]

So, when partials on a bench press, what should the ROM be?

Whatever you want. If you aren’t doing the full motion, if you aren’t actually doing the lift, do as little as you like.

You can do partial weight, too. Lift 60 and claim it was a partial 600.

There, sitting here on my couch I just benched 600. Yay me.

As the others said there are very specific uses for partial ROM but they are usually people with injury or advanced lifters working on a very specific part of their motion.

[OldFartTom]

Phantom, my embarasingly weak bench always fails in the top half, never close to chest. So I've wondered if partials (top) would help (maybe in a power rack with pins). You sound pretty pessimistic about partials, is there a better tactic like do some dips, or is it better just to man-up shut-up and just keep doing the bench

[polishedball]

Coming back from RC tear, I training using partials off pads, but increasing the ROM each week by removing a pad. Other than that it is floor presses for me to work on strength / lock out.

[drkelly74]

Sounds like a couple of half reppers. As Dom says, you can be half of a lot of things in life, but don't be a half repper.

https://youtu.be/EcNjefEZ8qY

[PhantomMaxx]

Phantom, my embarasingly weak bench always fails in the top half, never close to chest. So I've wondered if partials (top) would help (maybe in a power rack with pins). You sound pretty pessimistic about partials, is there a better tactic like do some dips, or is it better just to man-up shut-up and just keep doing the bench

Tom. Not too pessimistic I hope. I did acknowledge instances when partial is OK. Your question had got me thinking about where do I fail, so I pulled up video of my last powerlifting meet where I failed bench. I realized I failed mid-way not the bottom, if anything closer to the top. Perhaps I should do some rack press. I though lock out was always more triceps then pecs. Definitely rack press, floor press, or strengthen triceps.