Partial Reps – New Study Shows They Build Muscle 2x FASTER!
It’s all too common to see people performing half reps in the gym. Whether intentionally or inadvertently, we easily criticize those …
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March 24, 2025
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"Harmony in Every Heartbeat
It’s all too common to see people performing half reps in the gym. Whether intentionally or inadvertently, we easily criticize those …
source
Partials work if you're doing that hard part. Best result is to do both. Don't count reps, do full range until they start to hurt, then count partials until failure. Or do the reverse, start with partials until they begin to hurt then count full range until failure.
Cut the stupid music
Modern 21s – 14 lower partials plus 7 full range. Drop the top 7.
I think partial reps work and are great of the partial bit in the middle range or the exercise ,to the muscle is constantly under tension
Rather then it not being under tension usually at the top or bottom of a exercise
It's all.about the TUL OR TUT
Partial thrusts also do something two times faster.
What if I want to build as little muscle as possible but I want to focus on building up strength instead?
Partial reps is hard on the joints
Who cares, youre still going to spend your entire life in a gym alone flexing in a mirror. 😂
you can do 2-3 partials instead of 1 full range of motion rep so the time under tension is what built muscles – test by mesure the time of the set not how you do the reps
Got completely confused. Partials build more muscle, or full range does? It sounded like the studies said partials do.
When you get older, the partial reps are a must. The full extension often causes joint pain and tendonitis.
Back in the day, we did a partial rep when we couldn’t do a full one anymore. Completely fatigue the muscle
Simple
Toward the bottom and top of a lift, there is a loss of resistance. Stopping before that loss, eliminates a wasted movement
Partial reps help but only after you already reached failure.
The only way to build muscle is to do workout 😂😂😂
Thanks for sharing this I learned about partial reps from the late great John Medows and it helped me gain quickly after my illness, now I just need to fix my fatigue. Thanks for the quality advice and tips with research back up.
Full stretch is not ideal for muscles, you could actually tear a tendon or muscle resulting in arm loss etc
i do partials to tax tf out my muscles. I do both full RoM and partials & and it's gon stay like that! I ain't no expert but it works for me. i also like partials can cause they help me feel which muscle im working some time full range of motion doesn't help with that
This especially applies to guys like me, I got labrum tears and hypermobility, going the full range of motion doesn’t benefit me, partial reps and not locking out I get a much better pump
Bullshit , full range of motion that's the proper way.
Partial reps dont build crap
Dr Ron Laura did his 'matrix method' book (which lots of people took up as the "21s") way back in 1990 that advocated partial reps rather than full ROM for better results. And he had some published research to back it up, so it isn't anything new. But I'm not too fussed about the "optimal" training regime (as I am 62 and just want to lose weight without losing lean mass), but I find that using a modest weight where failure is at 15-20 reps makes injury less likely and works best for me. And if I can't do the desired number of reps on the last set using full ROM it seems better to do a 'matrix method' variation for the last set (5x, full ROM, 5x bottom half reps, 5x top half reps, 5x full ROM) rather trying to do 20 full ROM and only managing 15 and struggling to even myo-rep the last few reps using micro-pauses. Not sure if it would be better than just using drop or strip for the last set (eg. if did 45 kg for the first two or three sets, using 40 kg on the last set. There are so many variations I don't think all possible permutations have been subject to full randomized trials with trained and untrained individuals, different age cohorts and genders. Plus there probably isn't one "best" way to train that applies to everyone. Whatever you do that lets you keep coming back and working out is better than something you hate or causes injury and you stop working out.
Dude, there are way more studies that conclused that full range of motion is better. Sorry, but your statement is not completely true.
one should incorporate both methods.
I usually do some sets of full range and some of half.
Partial reps do work in some excises. Jay Cutler used partial reps to win his 4 times Mr Olympia. Partial reps do need more studies and skill to master it.
💪🙂👍
how bout strength
When are people going to realize that they should just do exercises the way they feel the muscle working the hardest while also staying injury free. On pushups for example, if I lock out and use perfect form when my elbows are locked out my muscles are barely doing any work but lactic acid is still setting in so the amount of reps I can preform is limited. In comparison if I do them with partials just pumping the bottom 3/4ths of the movement, I get way more reps and my chest burns and gets pumped a lot more but the typical science based internet critic will tell me I'm doing it wrong… until the science changes.
Black 5 o'clock shadow, hair white as snow. Priceless. LOL