Load or range of motion?
If you don’t have any joint limitations, you can and SHOULD use the full range of motion!! And what is range of motion???
It’s the maximum movement performed by a joint within its anatomical limits, without posing a RISK OF INJURY!
Less weight and greater range of motion
And why use a FULL range of motion? Because this increases motor unit recruitment and makes more efficient use of your muscles…
Not to mention that this approach increases the intensity of your workout and, as we know, intense workouts produce better hypertrophy results! Do you use the correct range of motion in your workouts?
Always pay attention to tempo and range of motion
Don’t know the tempo of your exercises? You should, and you should have that information on hand…
Remember that weight training is more than just randomly pulling or pushing weights!
According to several studies, contraction times close to 60 seconds, with repetitions lasting between 4 and 6 seconds—that is, the time in seconds—are ideal for designing hypertrophy workouts. But we have plenty of ways to vary these stimuli.
The movement tempo is a more important variable than simply increasing the “weight,” since indiscriminately increasing the load can affect your range of motion and compromise proper exercise form. In extreme cases, it can lead to unwanted injuries.
It can be prescribed as 1010, 2020, 3010, etc.
For example: 4020. The number 4 represents the seconds for the eccentric phase, the number 0 represents the transition between these phases, and the number 2 represents the seconds for the concentric phase. The fourth number also represents a transition phase before the first number.
You take three seconds to push the platform up… and without pausing at all, you bring it back down, taking another three seconds to move the platform toward your body… and without stopping, start again and continue until you complete the prescribed repetitions.
