Hitting the gym regularly is what we do to stay healthy and fit. We want to pull out the crunches, dumbbells, and run through the treadmill till we sweat excessively and burn a lot of fat and calories. It’s totally exhausting yet rewarding knowing that you’ll be able to increase your endurance, strength, and stamina. Additionally, you’ll gain more confidence about your body, ready to flaunt it out wherever you are. However, there are times that we felt that our efforts on hitting every now and then in the gym are useless because we can’t see its effect.
There may be developments but it’s still not sufficient to what you want to achieve during the process. However, the good news is that you could do something more to it. There’s a way to get stronger making our regular workout more efficient by following proper procedures. In this article, we’ll talk about weightlifting and how to properly do it. More specifically, we’ll discuss the idea of taking half full squats with weights on it.
Why Half and NOT Full Range Weightlifting?
Gym instructors and fitness experts often take as advice to do squatting and carry weights at full range. This means that you’ll have to bend your legs and knees entirely to increase leg power and to induce muscles to it. Similarly to taking dumbbells, it should touch our upper shoulders without limiting or halting its motion. Though this article concerns with partial weight lifting, it doesn’t mean that lifting at full range ain’t wrong. In fact, most of your gym buddies perhaps are practicing this workout day by day. There are just ways that you could do to make your regular weightlifting routine to be more efficient as you wanted it to be.
And that is to cut lifting weights into HALF.
According to current research conducted by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning, it shows that doing ‘half-full’ squats improves lower-body strength than doing full range squats. This technique of not doing full range exercises are referred to as the ‘partials’. It’s a strategy to increase strength and stamina during exercise without taking a lot of time to rest. The main principle of this technique is conserving energy and power sufficient to take a lot of rounds of weightlifting and exercise. Furthermore, this method helps in reducing fatigue and keeps you more active during exercise. Aside from that, this method trains most notably the weakest points that are often neglected during exercise. Otherwise, these weak points are said to be areas for which most sprains and cramps occur. Thus, strengthening these areas will gain you the power to avoid injuries utmost.
The Cons When Doing Full Range Lifting
Full-range lifting as said is not really bad. As reported, it increases muscle mass and will definitely strengthen your body as well. It burns fat calories and will maximize your stamina to the highest level. However, it doesn’t mean that you should do full range workouts every now and then.
Thus, it’s not quite recommended to use full range method on every workout. Thus, it’s commendable to alter full and partial lifting to maximize efficiency during exercise. Why?
Overextending your lifts full range could exhaust your muscles too much. Bending your knees or curling your biceps at full potential with a barbell or dumbbells consumes a lot of muscle strength and energy. It will keep you weak during exercise most especially if you keep on doing the full range of motion reps without taking rest or stop. Aside from that, it will cause strains and pains further if not moderated and controlled as well.
By alternating full and partial reps, you’ll be able to easily build up your lifting exercises making it the most efficient as needed. Research indicates that doing partial reps before a full range of motion exercises will aid developing neurological muscle pathways slowly adjusting until the full one commences. Thus, it will help you endure and perspire more during long hours of workouts.
Aside from that, research also tells us that partial reps help heal injuries. In fact, most physical therapists do partial reps to their patients unknowingly. Partial reps will help injuries to slowly heal, making it less painful without extending to full effort. It will also aid on regaining strength pace by pace the part where it’s injured.
How to do Half-Full Lifting Exercises?
Not much as you’ve known, this method has been used and shown to fitness articles and videos. However, people focus the most to the hard and the most challenging part for which is the full range of motion exercises. Specifically, if you’re a total beginner, then its recommendable to do first partial reps before doing the full one. If you’re now thinking to start one, then here are some workouts that you could try in the gym or even to your own personal spaces. This includes the following;
Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs)
This exercise will help you to strengthen hip muscles and keep it in a good shape. It is also an exercise aimed to gain muscle booty mass. Therefore, most women do this exercise in the gym to keep their hips curvier and sexier as needed.
To do this exercise, you’ll have to follow the procedure below:
- Using a bar or barbell, put it near the top of your soles for easy and comfortable grip to it.
- Lift upwards the bar by using your two hands. Make sure to put your weight towards your body and not in the legs.
- Move the bar up and down to your hips or four inches above the knees.
- Repeat the same process. It is recommended to do 3 sets with each 6 to 8 partial reps.
Biceps Curl
This arm exercise increases biceps muscles and will improve arm strength. It removes extra fat and mass into your arms. Other than that, it sculpts your arms making it more masculine and sexier.
The process of doing this exercise is quite simple. To do it, you’ll have to follow the instructions below:
- Using a dumbbell or any weight, hold it in one or on your two hands stretching your arms towards the thighs. It is important that your arms should be positioned facing the front.
- Lift the dumbbell slowly until 45-degree angle.
- Repeatedly do the exercise alternating full and half reps.
Bench Presses
This exercise improves triceps and develops chest endurance. Aside from that, it also increases muscle mass in the chest, removing any excess fat.
To do this exercise, you’ll have to follow the method below.
- Lie down while eyes set on the barbell located in a position above.
- Carefully grab and lift the bar upward in half range.
- Put it down until it reaches near to your chest.
- Repeat the steps while alternating full and half reps.
