What Are Half Reps?

Fitness trainers can be adamant about the full range of motion you should perform when doing repetitions of any exercise. But that doesn't mean that half-repetitions don't have a place in your workout, either as part of a physical therapy routine or when seeking to burst into a higher weight in an exercise such as the bench press or squats.

  1. General Form

    • Though the benefits of half-reps are debated, the way to perform them is standard. Instead of beginning and finishing each repetition at the two farthest ranges of motion, only pass the weight halfway along the range of motion, returning each time to just one of the two motion range ends.

      For instance, in barbell curls, there are two ways to do half-reps: Start with the barbells at your sides, raise them halfway to your chest, stop momentarily then return to your sides; or start with the barbells at your chest and only lower them halfway before returning to your chest.

    Best Form

    • According to ShapeFit.com, doing only one kind of half-rep of a particular exercise is limiting your muscular development. You should do both kinds of half-reps within each full-rep exercise. The goal is to incorporate half-reps beneficially into your repertoire of full-repetition exercises -- those of the pushing and the pulling variety -- to work more cartilage and connective tissue along your ranges of motion, due to the new stopping and starting that will need to occur in each exercise.

    Uses

    • Some people have limited range of motion because of advanced age, injury or disability, and half-reps can be a recommended form for certain exercises. Others employ half-reps when they want to move up in weight on a certain exercise. For instance, you may want to increase your bench press weight, so start (with a spotter) with that higher weight at half-reps to build up the strength you'll need to do full repetitions comfortably. Or you could employ half-reps when you've gotten too exhausted to do full repetitions at a certain weight. The half reps should allow you to keep the weights the same for one more set.

    The Debate

    • Whether half-reps are worthwhile is largely up to the individual. Some say that, because more connective tissue is engaged by stopping and starting along various muscle groups, half-reps can be a beneficial addition to a workout plan already using full-repetition exercises. Others claim that the fuller range of motion that's employed during an exercise the better -- every time. What's clear: Half-reps are better than no reps at all.