Full Rom Versus Partial Rom Strength Training in the Development of Strength in Untrained Persons

Background: Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance and size of skeletal muscles. A recent method utilized in strength training and one that has indicated great promise is the use of supermaximal loads through the strongest range of motion. Many involved in the pursuit of weight training to develop strength and lean muscle mass (power lifters, bodybuilders, and athletes) have long utilized partial repetitions in their training. Since 1995, with the release of the book Power Factor Training and many body-part specialty books on the same subject, the popularity of limited range exercise has increased significantly.

Objectives: To study the effectiveness of Full range of motion {Group A} Versus Partial range of motion {Group B} training in development of strength.

Material and Methods: Study included 36 Normal healthy college students with age between 18-25 years. Training sessions were conducted 3 days per week for 10 weeks. Subjects were divided into 2 groups. Group A (N=18) trained with 3 Full ROM sets on the bench press. Group B (N=18) trained with 3 Partial ROM sets. The 1 RM Bench Press was used as the criterion measurement.

Results: The results were analyzed by student's t-test (Paired t-test). Group A showed significant strength improvement in strength with full ROM exercises (t =18.44, p0.05).

Conclusion: Partial ROM training can positively influence the development of maximal strength. Therefore, those involved in the strength and conditioning profession can confidently include Partial repetitions method as an adjunct to their normal training protocols.