What is a full range of motion pull up?

Full range of motion means moving through the entire movement pattern. In the pull up, this means that the movement starts in an active hang (as seen below) then the chin is pulled clearly over the bar (with no swinging or momentum from the body) and finally the body is lowered back into the active hang position with control.

Why is performing pull ups with a full range of motion important?

Creating a Reliable Test

If you want to know how many pull ups you can actually do, you will have to be able to test how many you can do. Performing a test when you perform partial repetitions is very challenging, because there is no standardised version of a repetition, you can change the distance of the range of motion when you get tired. This will mean that tracking your progress will be impossible. If every repetition of pull ups looks identical you will be able to perform reliable tests.

Strengthening the Muscle In Its Entirety

When we are striving to become strong in a muscle / movement pattern, we should strive to become strong in the movement pattern as a full entity, not partially. This means training the muscle through its entire range of motion. We do not want to become strong in only a partial range of motion, but in the full range of motion. This will have higher transfer to both life and sport.

Ensuring High The Movement Virtuosity of the Shoulders

It is important to both start in the active hang position and come back into the active hang position when performing pull ups in order to create a balanced muscle mass in the back and shoulder joint. Individuals who start the pull up with bent arms will build strength in a limited range, meaning they will have high levels of strength in a partial range and low levels of strength in another part of the range of motion. This imbalance can create issues when performing other movements, imagine a shoulder joint that lacks balance when it tries to perform an activity like climbing or tennis, this shoulder is at much greater risk of becoming injured.