You don’t always have to stretch your muscles fully

You can build muscle even if every rep doesn’t travel from a maximal stretch to peak contraction. Full range of motion is a good starting point for beginners, but it isn’t the best choice in every exercise or every situation.

Why don’t you always have to train muscles through a full range of motion?

In the gym you hear this line all the time: do every rep through the full range of motion, or the muscle won’t grow. It sounds logical. The muscle stretches, then contracts, and it seems like everything is covered.

But real life isn’t that black and white. Take people who carry a lot of bodyweight around all day. Many of them have strong calves, even though they don’t take the calf into a maximal stretch on every step or seek peak contraction every time. The calves simply get loaded often. Tension lasts. Volume accumulates.

The same logic shows up with runners, cyclists, gymnasts and ballerinas. They use a lot of partial range of motion, work on the balls of their feet and apply repeated tension. Yet their calves and thighs are often very well developed. That doesn’t prove full range of motion is pointless. It shows that muscle development has more than one path.

A simple truth: a muscle doesn’t care only about how long the movement path was. Training load, time under tension, frequency, control and whether the joint feels safe all matter too.

How to load your muscles more intelligently

Good training doesn’t mean forcing every exercise to a full stretch. In some movements full range of motion is very useful. For example, a beginner should learn the controlled squat, press and row with the cleanest technique possible. That teaches the body to move and gives a better feel for the movement.

For the advanced lifter the picture is broader. If the goal is muscle mass, in some exercises ¾ range of motion can give better tension than a full lockout. In pressing exercises, part of the tension on the chest, shoulder or triceps often disappears at the end of the movement. If you stop an inch or two before lockout, the muscle stays under load longer.

The deadlift is a good example. It’s considered one of the best mass-building exercises for the whole body. From Paul Anderson to Ronnie Coleman, people have stressed this. Yet in the deadlift, no muscle works from a full stretch to peak contraction in the classic sense. The trapezius takes a heavy load, but not in the way it does in dumbbell shoulder raises through the maximum range of motion.

The same goes for the clean, the jerk and the snatch. These exercises build strength and muscle, even though the movement doesn’t follow the bodybuilding-magazine ideal. So what actually happens? The body gets a strong signal to adapt.

When can maximal range of motion be dangerous?

The problem starts when full range of motion is chased at any cost. In chest exercises, a maximal stretch can mean the arms travel deep behind the body. In dumbbell pressing or on parallel bars, this can be hard on the shoulders, especially with heavy weight.

Some guys lower the dumbbells so far that the shoulder is already in a bad position. Another sinks deeper on parallel bars than their mobility allows. Both believe that this extreme stretch is exactly what makes the muscle grow. Unfortunately, the result can be pain, inflammation or a longer break from training.

The leg press carries the same risk. If you lower your knees so deep that they end up below your chin, and your lower back and glutes lift off the backrest, it’s no longer smart thigh training. Yes, the quadriceps may get a strong stretch. But your lower back pays for it.

Honestly, the best yardstick here is a simple one: is the movement controlled, and does the joint stay in a good position? If the answer is no, maximal range of motion does you no good.

Practical tips so you don’t wreck your muscles

• Use full range of motion when your technique and mobility allow it.
• Don’t chase the stretch at the cost of pain or joint discomfort.
• In pressing exercises, try ¾ range of motion now and then, especially if the tension disappears at the end.
• In the leg press, keep your lower back and glutes against the backrest.
• Treat full range of motion as a tool, not a law.

A translator’s note on the original is in order here: it’s worth teaching beginners full range of motion, because it builds a good foundation. For the advanced lifter, full range of motion can be a special method, like supersets, burnouts, cheating or rest-pause sets. But chasing it in every exercise, all the time, is an oversimplification.

The original discussion came from Jason Ferruggia’s article Full Range Of Motion Muscle Building Program – Thats Nonsense!: http://www.criticalbench.com/full_range_motion_muscle.htm

FAQ: muscles and range of motion in training

Should a beginner train with full range of motion?

Mostly yes, as long as the movement is pain-free and your technique stays under control. That way a beginner learns body position, feel for the muscle and the rhythm of the exercise better.

Does ¾ range of motion build muscle?

It can, especially in exercises where the tension leaves the muscle at the end of the movement. What matters is that the weight stays under control and the work stays on the target muscle.

Is maximal stretch always bad?

No. It’s bad when the stretch forces the joint into a poor position or causes pain. Smart training uses as much range of motion as your body allows.

Author: Translated by Janar Rückenberg

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