Half-repetition: a quick way to improvement or a gamble with health?

If you've been around the weightlifting world for a while, you've probably seen some of the viral videos of massive athletes doing reps that are incompatible with the basic principles of proper technique. But have you thought about why they do it? From time to time, you may even catch a glimpse of someone in the gym trying to emulate them. But is that a good thing? And what are the risks of such exercises? We will discuss this in detail in the current article.

What are half reps?

The very name of this training method is more or less a catch-all. Imagine any exercise you perform at the gym - a bench press or a biceps lift, for example. You can divide the movement path for each exercise into two phases, let's call them the lower and upper phases. In the case of the aforementioned biceps deadlift, the lower phase could refer to the path of motion that starts with the arms extended and ends when the forearms and upper arms are at roughly a 90-degree angle. The upper would then be from that point onwards and back towards 90°. The point of half reps is quite obvious - by shortening the path of movement, you'll be able to lift significantly more and therefore give your muscle fibres a new stimulus to grow.

With half repetitions you can lift much more and thus stimulate the muscles better.

Do they make sense? What to watch out for?

With half reps, you can lift more weight, but it's important to remember that you're also increasing the risk of injury. Not to mention that this method should be more of an occasional supplement. If you build the entire workout around half repetitions, you could end up compromising the integrity of the joints and therefore increasing the risk of various injuries. At the same time, it is worth noting that half reps are not the best option for beginners, as they assume a perfectly mastered technique. Once you have years of experience in performing the exercises, you can afford to cheat lightly and still target specific muscle parts. It's just that when beginners approach this and load up more than they can handle, it will lead to injury rather than some brutal muscle gain.

Who should include them and when?

Half reps are therefore not suitable for beginners. But who should include them? They are perfect for athletes who have already done some training and are slightly stagnant. In this case, half reps can be a whole new stimulus that, when applied correctly, can lead to really good results. But as we mentioned, it's not a good idea to do these half reps long term, because in that case they would do more harm than good.

You can incorporate half reps into your workouts maybe once or twice a week, and their undeniable advantage is the possibility of applying them in both volume and snatch training. If your primary goal is to build volume, we definitely recommend incorporating half reps on complex exercises such as squat, bench press, deadlift and other free weight exercises. If you're looking to get better sculpted, half reps can also be used on isolation exercises and even pulley exercises, which can lead to better separation of individual muscles.

For some types of half reps, it is appropriate to ask a sparring partner for help.

How to perform half reps? How many reps and sets?

In the case of half reps, you obviously have a choice as to which half of the exercise you choose to perform. Generally speaking, many athletes choose the bottom phase, which is a bit easier in their eyes. For example, with bench pressing, this may involve bouncing the barbell off your chest and then lowering it. However, it is good to include the upper half of the repetition from time to time, which, although much more challenging, can stimulate the muscles with a new impulse.

If you'd like to try a completely different workout than you're used to, you can also incorporate the so called 21s into your training plan from time to time. These consist of first going for seven reps of the lower phase of the exercise, then seven reps of the upper phase of the exercise, and finally going for the same reps throughout the entire range of motion. While this method is very effective in exercising stagnant arms, for example, you can apply it to pretty much any part of the body.

Will it increase my strength?

As our article is coming to a close, it's worth expanding on a brief explanation of whether incomplete reps are actually effective. In fact, one published study came up with the fact that a group of athletes performing full repetitions of bench press improved significantly more over the course of 10 weeks than a group performing only ⅔ of the repetitions. And the group doing only ⅓ of the reps didn't improve at all. So if you converted to incomplete reps altogether and built your entire workout around them, you definitely wouldn't move as efficiently as you would with the full range of motion. Still, half reps are a very useful addition to include with the full range of exercise from time to time - for example, the light superset of the aforementioned one-legged benchpress at the end of a breaststroke workout can be very effective.

In the case of half squats, it's a good idea not to overdo it with the weight of the barbell.

What to take away from today's article?

The main thing you should take away from today's article is that half reps are a very effective way to promote muscle growth and sculpting, both in volume and in snatch training. However, you should keep in mind that this technique is not for beginners, but only for more experienced athletes. And even they should keep in mind that its place in training is only occasionally - if you only do half reps, it could lead to injuries as well as compromised joint integrity. Another interesting way in which to modify your workout is by doing the so-called 21 repetitions, which involves completing 7 repetitions of first the lower phase, then the upper phase and finally the full range of each exercise. However, these intensification techniques have a place in the training of even experienced exercisers only once or three times a week.

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