In this week’s blog, I want to discuss the topic of full range of motion and why it should be a priority.
Your progress will be limited if you keep doing partial range of motion.
First, let’s discuss when a exercise is done with partial range. For example, if you do a push-up and don’t get your elbows to bend, your triceps won’t activate as much. So what do you do? Change the exercise so you can do full range of motion. If its a push-up, do it on a higher surface (ie. bench, wall). Your progress will be limited if you keep doing partial range of motion.
Secondly, is the stretching aspect. Let’s take the bench press as a example. When the weight lowers, your chest and shoulders get a stretch. If the range is limited, the stretching aspect of the exercise isn’t incorporated. This can lead to tightness and making you more dominate in certain areas.
Lastly, it is measurable. For instance, if you aren’t able to do a full push-up, but work on doing full range on the knees for weeks and are able to do a full version afterwards, that shows progress. In exercise, you want physical evidence that you are progressing because it validates your work. Then, you learn to trust your hard work. So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, those are the reasons why full range of motion should be a priority. However, injuries may limit this and that would be another topic for another week. Hope you enjoyed this week’s blog. Stay tuned for more next Wed………………Kei