Depending on who you speak to, there can be numerous ways of describing how you manipulate resistance training movements. The more academic, the more complex the terms appear. Here I’ll define what I think are the 4 best ways to manipulate the range of movement around a joint, termed range of motion (ROM).
Isometric
Full range of motion
Partial range of motion
Eccentric
Isometrics
This movement is not a movement at all, really. You basically hold an exercise in a static position for a certain amount of time. A plank is a nice example of isometric exercise.
Benefits:
- Safe for novices or rehabilitation – this form of exercise requires very little technical ability, so gains can be made quickly and you can train maximally.
- Increased neuromuscular efficiency – As you hold the position your motor units are firing to ensure adequate force is created, the resistance is constant challenging your muscles to fire to overcome the load.
- Increase tendon stiffness – Stiff tendons are better at withstanding high loads and therefore are less likely to get injured. Stiff tendons are also better for energy storage and elasticity. This elastic stretch and recoil allows you to run more efficiently and jump higher.
Limitations:
- Limited specificity to sport – Doing isometrics all the time will have limited impact on your sporting performance, they may help with a little strength, but to see real transference, you need train dynamically too.
- Greater central neuromuscular system fatigue – Studies have shown central fatigue is increased compared to dynamic exercise. This is because isometric exercise is usually performed very near maximal levels for a sustained period.
- Strength is only developed at a specific joint angle – All training is specific, and if you challenge your body to work in one specific angle then it will be strong around 20 degrees either side of that angle. This limits the transference to dynamic movements.
Full Range of Motion
This is where you take a muscle or group of muscles through the full range of its motion WITHOUT compromising the technique.
Benefits:
- Helps develop mobility around the joint – By working to and slightly beyond your current ability helps elongate the muscle and lengthen it under tension.
- You work harder - moving a greater range requires greater displacement and this requires more energy.
- Get full muscle activation – You recruit more motor units and muscle fibres as you move through a greater range, resulting in increased adaptive signalling.
- Greater hypertrophy (muscle growth) – studies have reported greater hypertrophy when muscles are trained at longer lengths than shorter lengths. If you want to get bigger, this is your go-to range.
Limitations:
- Limited specificity – If you are looking for transference to sporting movements, working a full range is not always the best option as very few sports require it.
- You won’t be able to lift as much - Muscles are stronger at the mid-length, and weaker at shorter or longer lengths. Completing a full ROM repetition, you are only able to lift your maximum at your weakest point, meaning the mid-length of the muscle is not sufficiently challenged to adapt. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
- Technical ability plays a bigger role – More movement means a greater skill is needed to control the movement. For example, most people can complete a half-squat with very little training, but progressing to a full back-squat requires you to coordinate the bar and your body in ever more challenging positions.
Partial Range of Motion
This is when you stop short of going to a full range of motion, for example a step-up with a 50 degree knee angle, rather than stepping as high as you can go. Or a half-squat rather than going to the full depth.
Benefits:
- Lift more weight – As previously mentioned, you can lift more weight in the mid-length of the muscle. Think of the guy in the gym doing curls who never straightens his arms. That’s because he’s using too much weight so completing a full curl with that weight wouldn’t be possible.
- Manipulate the speed of movement – Mid-length of the muscle is strong, and this allows you to create more power per contraction as the muscle contracts and relaxes quicker. Try pogo jumps (jumping on your toes) vs calf jumps (where your heels go all the way down to the floor) and you’ll get the idea.
- Target greater specificity to your sport – For example, Rugby forwards work at very shallow angles as they generally drive, ruck and maul with small steps, being strong in this range will aid power transfer.
- Less injury risk – The technical requirement is less, so less can go wrong in the lift. The muscles, tendons and ligaments are in less of a compromised position.
Limitations:
- Less muscular hypertrophy – opposite of above.
- Loss of tendon elasticity – During partial ROM movements the tendon is not stretched fully and thus not challenged which can cause a loss of elasticity and make them more susceptible to injury. Endurance athletes often suffer with tendonitis issues due to this reason, they do most of their training in the mid-range muscle length.
- Can reduce ROM/flexibility – if the athlete is not completing a mobility routine alongside partial repetition programming, then as the muscle adapts it will shorten to the range it is being worked. This can increase the risk of injury and general function.
Eccentrics – Advanced Athletes only!
This movement involves the extending of a muscle under greater load than you can lift. Think how much easier it is to lower the bar than it is to lift it. A classic is jumping up to the chin-up bar then slowly lowering yourself down.
Benefits:
- Greater strength gains – This is due to the fact you can use more weight than in concentric contractions and you have greater time under tension, allowing you to create more damage and opportunity for adaptation.
- Good specificity for team sports – The deceleration phase of running, e.g. change of direction, requires eccentric strength to slow you down quickly, being stronger in this movement can help this process and protect from injury during dynamic movements.
- Tendon Tension – Eccentrics are used in rehab and prehab of tendons because they challenge the tendon with high load lengthening for long period of time. This helps increase blood flow and alignment of collagen fibres in the tendon to protect against injury or strengthen the tendon during rehabilitation.
Limitations:
- Increased delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) – due to the fact you’re lowering more weight than you can lift, the workload/stress is much greater, so you tend to suffer from much worse DOMS after eccentric sessions and this will impact your ability to train in the next 2-5 days.
- Requires good technical proficiency – it is recommended athletes do not use eccentric training until they have a substantial training history due to the stress placed on muscular and connective tissues.
- Modified locomotion of biomechanics – Running gait and other sporting actions could be altered by a decreased ROM, a loss in force generating capacity and impaired proprioceptive capacity if eccentrics are used to excess.
A good programme should utilise many different exercises and types of movement. If you only utilise one of these methods, then you’re leaving some performance on the table.
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