EROM Alchemy: Transforming Traditional Strength Training to Increase Mobility

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End Range of Motion (EROM) strength training is a vital tool in building strength and flexibility together. This week’s post discusses the ways that we can modify traditional hypertrophy-focused strength training techniques to focus instead on end range strengthening.

For the last few posts we’ve been discussing the importance of end-range strengthening and how it differs from hypertrophy-focused strength training. We also covered the limitations of passive static stretching, which is the current standard practice for increasing flexibility.

I wanted to give you some practical, actionable tools to start to put this theory into practice, so here are four standard strength training exercises modified to work for full range of motion training.

IMPORTANT PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT! If you are new to EROM strength training you will have to use much much lighter weights than you would for the traditional techniques. EROM is a delicate place to be. Your body may have difficulty organizing itself out there and the potential for injury is much higher. To stay safe, please follow these general guidelines:

1. Start with extremely light or no weight while you make sure you have the form and technique locked in

2. Begin your session with a smaller range of motion and gradually increase it as you move through your sets and reps to make sure that your body is comfortable

3. Don’t push into pain. It is normal to experience some discomfort but anything that feels painful or wrong is likely hurting not helping your cause

4. Move slowly through the range of motion. Do not jerk, heave, or swing the weight in order to get farther. Not only is it cheating it also may hurt you.

5. Progress slowly to increase weight, reps, or challenge. At the beginning it is preferable to stay light and only challenge yourself once you feel confident. More is not always more. Sometimes more is ouch.

6. Don’t compare. Everyone’s body and nervous system are different and your movement and process will unfold according to your unique composition

Example 1: EROM Strength for Shoulder Extension Mobility

One of the most basic strength-building exercise for the shoulders, focusing on the deltoid muscles, is the straight arm dumbell raise. In this exercise the arm is lifted forward to shoulder height while holding a weight. By stopping at shoulder height the muscle is challenged at the point of maximum resistance from gravity. It’s an excellent way to build muscle strength and size, however it only works about half of the shoulder complex’s full range of motion.

Shoulder extension—the ability to bring the arm overhead—requires the coordination of three different joints and over 20 muscles. It is one of my favorite examples of a simple but challenging modification for EROM strengthening. This exercise is one of my essentials for anyone who needs overhead strength, whether for handstands, aerial arts, weight lifting, or just getting your suitcase out of the overhead compartment.

The version I show here requires a degree of back body strength to hold the back straight at a 45 degree angle (approximately). It is always an option to sit backwards on an angled weight lifting bench, resting your body on the seat for more support.

IMPORTANT! I have halved the weight when I move to full range, even though I do this exercise regularly. I recommend starting with little to no weight to make sure that your joint is moving freely and there is no pain, pinching, or strain.

Example 2: Full Range Bulgarian Split Squats for EROM Strength

The Bulgarian split squat is one of my favorite leg exercises, especially because there are so many ways that you can vary the exercise to target different muscle groups and to challenge balance and stability. The first variation I show heavily targets the glutes. Generally you don’t want to bend your front knee past 90 degrees and your weight can be pitched forward over the front leg.

The second variation focuses on an eccentric lengthening of the quads and hip flexors of the back leg. The knee drops to the floor and more of the weight is shifted onto the back leg. I usually start this exercise from the floor to make sure that my positioning is correct and on every rep I work to get my butt close to the heel of the back leg to lengthen the quads.

Again, I recommend little to no weight when transitioning to this exercise. This is also quite challenging on the knees so if you have knee issues try gradually increasing your range of motion before jumping into the full knee-to-butt version.

Again, don’t do anything that hurts! Discomfort and challenge and shaking are all normal parts of strength training. Stabby pain is not.

Example 3: Triceps Extension for Shoulder Mobility

One of the most challenging shoulder movements is the ability to reach back and behind your head with the elbows bent. This movement is necessary for a lot of pole and aerial moves, as well as contortion and yoga staples like king pigeon and needle scale. Increasing triceps flexibility is also good practice for upper back mobility and good posture.

Here I show a traditional triceps exercise that focuses on the elbow movement component of the triceps muscles. However the long head of the triceps brachii actually attaches to the scapula, so changing the position of the humerus does affect the way the muscle works. By starting to extend the shoulders while keeping the ribs achored (don’t arch the back to get more range please!) you can feel some wonderful eccentric lengthening all the way down into the lats. This is a range that we rarely strengthen.

Notice that as soon as those elbows lift past 90 degrees the weight starts to feel a whole lot heavier. I halved my weight when switching exercises.

Example 4: EROM Deadlifts for Flexible Hamstrings

Walk into any weight lifting gym in the world and you will probably catch someone doing a deadlift. It is a staple of nearly all strength training disciplines and a great way to build the glutes and hamstrings.

The traditional deadlift works best if you have normal hamstring flexibility—that is that you can feel a light stretch in the hamstrings with a flat back forward and slight knee bend. That way you are lengthening the backs of your legs on every rep and using that stretch sensation to trigger the contraction of the glutes and hamstrings.

But for folks who either have very flexible hamstrings or are working towards advanced flexibility, these full ROM deadlifts are an excellent option. By keeping the knees straight and elevating the feet on a platform you are able to take the back of the legs to a deep stretch and feel them working to support your body weight at that EROM length.

Pro tip: It is essential that you keep the spine straight for these EROM deadlifts, just like you would for a traditional deadlift. As soon as the spine starts to round you are doing a different and potentially more dangerous exercise. I recommend doing these with a coach, or at least a mirror or video assist to make sure that your form is consistent. Again, I halved the weight for the straight-legged version.

Example 5: Active Back Extension for Backbend Strength

In past posts I have talked about how the limiting factor for flexibility isn’t always the muscle that is lengthening, sometimes it is the muscle that is shortening. This is very often the case with back bends. When we back bend we usually have to get to a fairly advanced level before we can feel a stretch in the front of the body. More often it is compression in the back muscles that prevents us from going deeper.

Back extension is one of the trickiest flexibility movements with a high degree of risk. This is why I teach all of my back bend clients to focus on EROM drills like this one to make sure that the spinal muscles are strong and functional, even at their shortest.

Most hypertrophy-focus back extension exercises stop at neutral, or even just shy of neutral, as a way to protect the back from strain. Certainly if you have a history of back pain or injury this is a solid plan, but our back was built to have a lot of range and we would like to be strong through all of it.

If your back extension set up has a way to lower the angle of your hips, note that the lower you go the more difficult the exercise becomes. This means that you can tailor the difficulty of your back extension according to your needs. In this video I also use a strap to help me find more shoulder and upper back extension. When first moving into this range I recommend keeping the arms either crossed over the chest (with no weight) or by your hips to focus more in the mid and lower back muscles.

These are just a few of the virtually limitless number of modifications that can be done to safely and effectively build your strength and flexibility together, at the same time. Over many years of working with a wide variety of different body types and challenges I have come to view this type of training as a very efficient way to increase mobility and keep the joints strong and healthy.

One of the things I love most in the gym is getting creative with my exercises, adapting and changing the range, angle, weight, speed, and relationship with gravity to get the results I want from my training. This is the alchemy of exercise, knowing that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to move just lots of choices and the constant process of learning and exploration.

Remember that there is no magic flexibility “hack” that will suddenly transform you into a contortionist overnight. Even the most effective strategies take time. As my coach Serchmaa Byamba always told us, “progress is made in millimeters.”

Our next installment will cover strategies for building a training plan that incorporates EROM exercises based on your goals and needs.

Happy Bendings,

Kristina