Range of Motion

What It Is

How far you move the weight through each repetition.

Why It Matters

A full range of motion is the reliable default, and strength is where it earns that. A systematic review and meta-analysis found that training through a complete range produced greater strength gains than repeatedly cutting the movement short, and the current position stand names full range of motion among the handful of prescription choices that improve strength. The same review found more muscle growth through a full range in the lower body, but the size half is genuinely unsettled, and the position stand declines to call it either way.

What drives the effect is loading the muscle in its lengthened, stretched position, not the total distance the weight travels. This is why lengthened partials (partial repetitions kept in the stretched part of the range) match a full range for muscle growth in recent trials, while partials worked only near the top, where the muscle is already shortened, tend to fall behind. For most muscles, training in the stretched position seems to matter more than the lockout.

Use a full range of motion by default, and focus on controlling the weight into the stretched position on every repetition rather than hurrying to lock out at the top. If a full range isn't available to you, whether from mobility, a nagging joint, or a machine's fixed path, bias your partial repetitions toward the lengthened end of the movement rather than the short end. Training the whole range also builds strength across the joint's full working angles, the strength you draw on in everyday movement and for staying capable with age.

• Pallarés, J.G. et al. (2021). Effects of range of motion on resistance training adaptations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. doi.org/10.1111/sms.14006
• Kassiano, W. et al. (2023). Which ROMs Lead to Rome? A Systematic Review of the Effects of Range of Motion on Muscle Hypertrophy. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000004415
• Gschneidner, D. et al. (2025). The effects of lengthened-partial range of motion resistance training of the limbs on arm and thigh muscle area: A multi-site randomised trial. Journal of Sports Sciences. doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2025.2567805
• Currier, B.S. et al. (2026). American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000003897