Going to parallel

[Fatty4You]

I see lots of people who practice this "going to parrallel" rule for most everything. Like on shoulder press, they only come down so their upper arms are parallel to the floow. And on chest, conly coming down so the upper arms are parallel. ANd on tricep push downs, only coming up until upper arms are parallel.

Where did this come from? Is this proper? To me, it seems that this does not work a full range of motions, and i have been taught that you only get stronger in the ROM that you work. So you are losing strength in the area you dont work.

Any thoughts on this??

-Fatty

 

[needsize]

I dont buy into that only to parallel thing, I prefer to take the joint through the fullest range of motion that it is capable of

 

[Fatty4You]

I agree. And whats wierd is people are very contradictory about it... its like they see some guy who only goes to parallel on bench and they are like "Check out how much that guy cheats!!", but then they do something like tricep pushdowns and they are like "Dont go up past parallel cause it takes tension out of the muscle and you use more shoulder and blah blah blah.."

Like, the chest muscle works differently than the tricep muscle... If you are gonna pick a style of lifting, at least be consistent!

-Fatty

 

[TheOak84]

most people are lazy, and they think goin full range of motion will ruin ur joints. people always try to tell me that when i do military.
like them guy will have 225 and bring the bar to his eyebrows.
and ill bring it to me collar bone.. dont listen to them.. they are stupid..

 

[Debaser]

Full range of motion isn't always better.

For example, behind the neck presses, you shouldn't go lower than midear level, or you will fuck up your rotator cuffs.

And on squats, not everyone can squat below parallel safely (some people not even all the way to parallel) because of their build. And if squatting ass to floor causes your knees to come forward more than parallel, you shouldn't do it.

 

[louden_swain]

Full range of motion is very important.

However, I believe it is important for the individual to find a range of motion that is comfortable to them.

Everyone is different.

 

[BodybuildingUniverse]

full range. but sometimes you will find me doing "half-reps" during the lighter warm-up sets. For example, sometimes on militaries I go from touching my clavicles to 3/4 extended. Working the bottom position (shoulders) more than the top (more tris) More of a constant tension thing.

 

[Fatty4You]

full range. but sometimes you will find me doing "half-reps" during the lighter warm-up sets. For example, sometimes on militaries I go from touching my clavicles to 3/4 extended. Working the bottom position (shoulders) more than the top (more tris) More of a constant tension thing.

Right, but at least you have a method and some reasoning... lots of people just do it for no apparent reason.

-Fatty

 

[Legion Kreinak2]

If they don't feel comfortable going past-parallel, then that's fine.

Personally, I like going ass-to-floor with squats, and then rising fully back up. I feel that much more in my quads, and it transfers the stress of the weight to the hips rather than keeping it on the knee. A definate plus, as far as I'm concerned.

I don't do behind the neck presses, so I'm not sure about that. I don't think they're good for your rotator cuffs regardless.