Range Of Motion is the next topic in my Master the Basic series. Increasing the range or depth in which you take a movement is a great way to progress the training stimulus. Having the capacity to move joints through the full expression of motion is essential to ensuring well-rounded strength and long-term joint health. 

Plus, as part of your focus on progressive overload, you can use a range of motion. Rather than going heavier or adding reps, could you not try to go deeper into the movement? Of course, there needs to be a focus on control of motion, and you should be able to move into these ranges pain-free. 

Range of motion can do a few things. Increasing the amount a muscle lengthens under tension will increase the mechanical tension placed on a muscle which is great for strength and hypertrophy. Also, it’s very taxing for muscles to be lengthened under load, which increases metabolic stress and is also crucial for hypertrophy. 

A caveat on the range of motion is a tipping point that just trying to chase extreme ranges becomes pointless or potentially could induce injury. An example is squatting “Ass To Grass”, where the extreme end range often causes the pelvis to roll tuck under (butt wink) and excessive valgus forces at the knee. Which, under load, could cause problems. What you really want is to take a muscle or muscles through their full length and not allow movement compensations to happen.

Another example is taking a dumbbell chest press all the way down to the point where the shoulder shrugs and rounds forward. Rather than further lengthening the chest muscles (pecs), it brings in surrounding tissue like traps and anterior delts. So using good form, controlled tempos and listening to your body is a crucial part of full ROM training.

Stay tuned next week for another instalment of Master the Basics and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I share exercise techniques, and show you how to maximise your training. I hope you enjoyed this blog post, if you have any questions I host a weekly Sunday Q&A session on my Instagram channel. Otherwise, please feel free to email me at andy@andyvincentpt.com. 

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