Influence of range of motion in resistance training in women: early phase adaptations

The purpose of this investigation was to compare partial range-of-motion versus full range-of-motion training in the development of maximal upper-body strength in women. A 1 repetition maximum bench press was used as the criterion measurement. A 10-week, 2 days per week training regimen was used. Subjects were divided into 3 groups. Group 1 (n = 13) trained with 3 full range-of-motion sets on the bench press. Group 2 (n = 8) trained with 3 partial range-of-motion sets. Group 3 (n = 8), serving as a quasi-control, trained with an equal combination of partial and full range-of-motion sets. Findings indicated that each of the 3 groups experienced an increase in bench-press strength from pre- to posttest. In addition, a statistically significant difference was found between the full range-of-motion group and the partial and mixed groups (p < 0.5). This finding suggests that lifting through a full range of motion was superior to the other training regimens used in this study. However, this investigation also indicated that the partial technique had a positive effect on strength across time within the parameters of this study.