How often do you hear that its alright to sacrifice range of motion (ROM) for increased weight? Its understandable in gym newcomers as the knowledge isnt there, however for those that have lifted for long enough it should be known that ego lifting is NOT okay. Not only do you look bad for having the same ROM as a carrot, you are also limiting results. A 12 week study [1] found that in 24 untrained* individuals, the muscular cross sectional area (CSA) of the anterior/posterior (front/back) thigh increased by 4-7% when performing full** ROM squats vs 2-5% found from using lesser ROM. Another 12 week study [2] found that in 26 moderately active individuals, the CSA of the Vastus Lateralis (outside quad muscle) increased by 74-44% in the longer ROM group (LR) (performing squats/leg press/leg extension) vs 26-6% in the short ROM group (SR). Also noted were the improvements in strength/distal anatomical cross sectional area/fascicle length/subcutaneous fat. The practical implications for this body of work follow that LR should be observed in RT where increased muscle strength and size are the objective, because we demonstrate here that ROM should not be compromised for greater external loading. Bottom line, dont sacrifice ROM for weight, leave your ego at home, suck it up and perform a full repetition. Got any mates that are half reppers? Tag them below! *Im aware that comparing the results of untrained individuals to train individuals is rather bold, but with such varied results as what has been seen, I believe its safe to assume that a trained individual will also achieve increased results (see [2]). **During a multi joint exercise it is very difficult to achieve a full ROM, by full I am referring to a greater ROM that complies with typical standards. [1] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23604798 [2] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23629583
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 08:54:21 +0000
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