Build Muscle/Help Sore Joints

Recover Substituting Partial Reps for Full Range Reps

By Jim Carpentier, CSCS

Tweaked your shoulder during yesterday’s practice?  Achy elbow from doing excessive Bench Presses?

Repetitive pushing, pulling, and squatting movements in the weight room combined with sports-related pushing, pulling, throwing, running, kicking, jumping and lunging actions can overtax shoulder, elbow, knee and hip joints and lower back muscles – thereby restricting full range of motion.

This article shows the benefit of substituting partial range reps instead of full-range reps for various exercises (e.g. partial Bench Presses, Dips, Push-Ups, Squats, Leg Presses, Deadlifts, Pull-Ups, Inverted Rows, Pull-Downs, Overhead Presses, Upright Rows, Biceps Curls, and Triceps Extensions) to simultaneously continue building muscle while minimizing joint stress and thus enhancing recovery of muscle and joint soreness.  Also, performing partial reps in the strongest range of motion (e.g. top half of a Push-Up without going too low towards the ground) optimally places less tension on shoulder and elbow joints.

Below are two fast and intense full-body workouts (one with bodyweight-only movements and the other using dumbbells, barbells and cables) incorporating superset combo exercises and partial range reps.