• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The BarBend Logo in white.

BarBend

The Online Home for Strength Sports

  • News
    • CrossFit
    • Strongman
    • Bodybuilding
    • Top Athletes
    • Powerlifting
    • Weightlifting
    • HYROX
    • Competition Results
    • Latest Research
  • Reviews
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Mini Massage Guns
      • Individual Recovery Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Protein
        • Best Vegan Protein Powders
        • Best Whey Isolate Protein Powders
        • Best Mass Gainers
        • Best Protein Bars
      • Best Pre-Workouts
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Women
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Men
        • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workouts
        • Strongest Pre-Workouts
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Electrolyte Supplements
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Meal Replacements
      • Best Nitric Oxide Supplements
      • Best Fat Burners
        • Best Fat Burners for Men
        • Best Fat Burners for Women
        • Best Non-Stim Fat Burners
      • More Supplements
        • Best Supplements for Muscle Growth
        • Best Supplements for CrossFit
        • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
        • Best Supplements for Bodybuilding
        • Best Supplements for Men
        • Best Supplement Stacks
      • Individual Supplements Reviews
    • Equipment
      • Cardio
        • Best Treadmills
        • Best Rowing Machines
        • Best Exercise Bikes
        • Best Ellipticals
        • Best Recumbent Bikes
      • Strength
        • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
        • Best Dumbbells
        • Best Kettlebells
        • Best Barbells
        • Best Squat Racks
        • Best Free Weights
        • Best Weight Benches
        • Best Resistance Bands
        • Best Slam Balls
        • Best Weighted Vests
        • Best Leg Extension Machines
        • Best Cable Machines
        • Best Power Racks
        • Best Pull Up Bars
      • Best Home Gyms
        • Best Smart Home Gyms
        • Best Gym Equipment Under $100
        • Best Home Gym Essentials
        • Best Home Gym Flooring
      • Individual Equipment Reviews
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Apparel
        • Best Weightlifting Shoes
        • Best Cross Training Shoes
        • Best Gym Bags
        • Best Gym Shorts
      • Training
        • Best Weightlifting Belts
        • Best Knee Sleeves
        • Best Lifting Straps
        • Best Grip Strengtheners
        • Best Wrist Wraps
        • Best Lifting Gloves
      • Individual Fitness Product Reviews
    • Certifications
      • Best Sports Nutrition Certifications
      • Best Personal Trainer Certifications
      • Best Nutrition Certifications
      • Individual Certifications Reviews
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
      • Individual Program Reviews
  • Nutrition
    • Diets
      • Carb Cycling
      • Vertical Diet
      • Reverse Dieting
      • Carnivore Diet
      • Ketogenic Diet
      • Intermittent Fasting
      • IIFYM Diet
    • Fat Loss
      • Macros for Fat Loss
      • Calorie Deficits
      • Natural Fat Burners
      • Cut 2 Pounds Weekly
    • Muscle Gain
      • How to Dirty Bulk
      • Go From Cutting to Bulking
      • Eat These Carbs
      • How to Eat for Muscle
    • Supplement Guides
      • Pre-Workout
      • Whey Protein
      • Mass Gainers
      • Greens Powders
      • Creatine
      • BCAAs
    • Nutrition Tips
      • Daily Protein Needs
      • Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
      • Foods With Creatine
      • Bulking Tips
  • Training
    • Workouts
      • Back Workouts
      • At-Home Workouts
      • Chest & Back Workouts
      • Full-Body Workout
      • HIIT Workouts
    • Exercise Guides
      • Deadlift
      • Bench Press
      • Back Squat
      • Overhead Press
      • Bent-Over Row
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Crunches
      • Farmer’s Carry
    • Best Exercises
      • Shoulder Exercises
      • Back Exercises
      • Chest Exercises
      • Glute Exercises
      • Ab Exercises
      • Hamstring Exercises
      • Quad Exercises
      • Calf Exercises
      • Biceps Exercises
      • Triceps Exercises
    • Programs
      • Push-Up Program
      • Pull-Up Program
      • German Volume Training
      • 5/3/1 Program
      • Powerbuilding Program
      • The Cube Method
      • 5×5 Program
      • Bodybuilding Programs
      • Build Your Own Program
    • Fat Loss
      • How to Burn Fat
      • Spot Fat Reduction
      • How to Train on a Cut
      • Body Conditioning
      • Workouts
        • Kettlebell Circuits
        • Dumbbell Complexes
        • Farmer’s Carry Workouts
    • Muscle Gain
      • Muscle Hypertrophy Explained
      • How to Build Muscle
      • How to Maintain Muscle
      • What Researchers Say About Muscle Gain
        • Workouts
          • 20-Minute Workouts
          • Kettlebell Circuits
          • CrossFit Workouts for Muscle
          • Bodybuilding Workouts
  • Calculators
    • Protein Intake Calculator
    • Macros Calculator
    • BMR Calculator
    • Squat Calculator
    • Calorie Calculator
  • Community Forum
Home » Powerlifting News » 4 Times You Might Want to Use Partial Reps

4 Times You Might Want to Use Partial Reps

Written by Gabrielle Kassel
Last updated on April 2nd, 2025

Some rules are made to be broken: Like only eat tacos on Tuesday (we’re here for #TacoThursday) and don’t wear white before Labor Day (go ahead and put on those white lifters). Here’s another rule it can actually be beneficial to your body and goals to forget: go full rep, or go home.

These partial reps, or half reps as they are also called, are just that: a rep that is completed by executing a shortened range of motion (ROM), explains certified strength and conditioning coach, Mike Donavanik CSCS, CPT. That means instead of going through the full range of motion (FOM) of an exercise, you are going only a quarter, half or three-quarters through a full rep. That may includes not breaking parallel when you squat, only lowering the barbell a few inches when you bench press, or only pulling the first  2 feet of a deadlift, he explains.

“If the choice is between either partial or full range of motion, reps the full range of motion wins,” says Donavanik. That’s because studies have shown that while partial ROM can lead to strength gains, full ROM movements may lead to more strength because they more effectively catalyze muscle hypertrophy. “That said, partial reps are a useful tool to add to your training arsenal. Because combining full and partial range of motion can lead  favorable results results such as bigger, stronger muscles, heavier lifts, and even increased calorie burn, says Donavanik.

So while full range of motion reps should still be the default, partial reps may be helpful if you’re trying to take your gains to the next level. Below, 4 times partial rep training can be beneficial to athletes.

1. Break Through Plateaus

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeLkL_nBn6O

Partial reps allow you to train through the “sticking points” or “holes”, the parts of a rep where the weight feel it’s heaviest, by working the muscles and areas around those muscles that have not yet been fatigued. “This gives the body a chance to adapt to a heavier training load, which can ultimately lead to increased muscle mass and busted plateaus,” explains Donavanik.

There are a two ways to use partial reps to bust through plateaus: You can either start doing partial reps once your full range of motion reps have gone to failure, or overload the bar with weight and begin doing partial-reps with heavy weight from the get go.

When you reach failure on a particular movement, the muscles of the “sticking point” might be worked past exhaustion, but that doesn’t mean that the muscles at the beginning ROM and the end ROM are equally as affected. By continuing to work parts of the muscle that are not as exhausted through half reps, you can continue to crank out reps over a smaller range of motion. This encourages the muscle to work beyond failure, which can ultimately help with muscle growth.

Or, an athlete can start using partial reps immediately. That might mean overloading the bar so that it’s heavier than your 1 rep max deadlift and just working on the first 12-inches of the pull. This strategy works because you’re overloading your central nervous system, so that full reps actually become easier at your 1 rep max weight, because your central nervous system is primed for that level of intensity, Donavanik explains.

2. Improve Form

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfObbHQF_WX

“Partial reps are a great way to supplement technique work because they can help build the neuromuscular pathways for the portion of the movement that is hardest for each individual athlete, so that the movement begins to become automatic,” says Donavanik. For example, for a snatch you might work on just the pull from the floor to pop at your hips which will strengthen the lower-portion of the lift by strengthening the athletes hamstrings, glutes, lats, and core.

But if you’re using partial reps to focus on technique, you need to go pretty submaximal in weight (light weight) to focus on that movement and feel what muscles are moving. Going too heavy any time you are working on form will actually work against the goal. Load doesn’t matter here, explains physical therapist Grayson Wickham, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., founder of Movement Vault, a mobility and movement company.

3. Compensate for Poor Mobility

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgpSs0Envpj

Poor mobility and poor range of motion are connected. Athletes who have poor mobility may not be able to complete full-range-of-motion reps due to tight hips, rigid ankles, and stiff knees. For these athletes, partial reps may be the best they are able to do. “If an athlete who does not have the mobility to perform a movement tries to perform that movement to full range of motion, usually, they’ll end up compensating with other parts of their body which can lead to injury overtime,” says Wickham. If you stay within range of motion that you do have, it keeps your body from compensating, while also helping you develop some strength, he adds.

While full-reps and full range of motion should be the goal and partial reps are never a substitute for full ROM reps, when used in conjunction with mobility-improving practices like physical therapy or yoga, partial reps can help strengthen the muscles of athletes for whom full reps are simply not an option, says Wickham. (This mobility workout is a great place to start).

4. Rehab Injury 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNao4IYhd5M

If you have an injury, you should go to your doctor, who may send you to a physical therapist. If your PT suggests or allows it, adding partial reps into your rehab and training may help you recover. When someone is coming off an ankle or knee injury, for example, PTs will often have them start squatting with half reps, because going through the full ROM will put a lot of pressure on those joints, explains Donavanik. “This is usually because there is some type of damage to the muscle or joint. So the athlete can’t physically go through the full ROM. So partial reps are used in order to gain strength and advance ROM in that area,” Wickham adds.

How partial reps are used in rehab will depend on the exact injury, and athletes should consult with a specialist before trying this on their own. But Wickham says that as a general rule: if you’re in pain, stop.

Featured image: @emmaferreiraaa on Instagram

Editor’s note: This article is an op-ed. The views expressed herein are the authors and don’t necessarily reflect the views of BarBend. Claims, assertions, opinions, and quotes have been sourced exclusively by the author.

About Gabrielle Kassel

Gabrielle Kassel (@gk.fitness) is a New York based writer who has a deep affinity for weight training, playing (and watching) rugby, and living mindfully. She currently works at ICE NYC as the social media editor and blog coordinator and she freelances for the internet as a health and fitness writer. In her free time she can be found reading self-help books, bench pressing, or practicing hygge.

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Latest Reviews

EveryPlate Review

EveryPlate Review (2025): A Tasty, Budget-Friendly Meal Kit, Tested By Our Experts

ARMRA Colostrum Review

ARMRA Colostrum Review (2025): A Certified Nutrition Coach’s Critique of this Trending Supplement

Sun Home Luminar Review

Sun Home Luminar Review (2025): Our Experts Sweat It Out With This High-Quality Outdoor Sauna

Cover image for CookUnity review of a filled reusable box of 6 CookUnity meals

CookUnity Review (2025): An Expert-Tested and Flexible Prepared Meal Service

Transparent Labs Prebiotic Greens Review

Transparent Labs Prebiotic Greens Review (2025): Our Experts Examine This Nutrient-Filled Profile

BarBend

BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting.

  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Sections

  • CrossFit
  • Strongman
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Weightlifting
  • Reviews
  • Nutrition
  • Training

More

  • BarBend Newsletter
  • BarBend Podcast
  • The Ripped Report
  • 1RM Calculator
  • BMR Calculator
  • Macros Calculator
  • Protein Calculator
  • Squat Calculator

Policies

  • Accessibility
  • Advice Disclaimer
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2025 · BarBend Inc · Sitemap