Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Health & Fitness

Do you need to perform the full range of motion for muscle growth? What a new study says

How to grow muscle at the gym

By
man black hat blue t shirt overhead tricep extension with dumbbell in gym
TB Studio / Shutterstock

You might think that you need to perform the full range of motion with each exercise to achieve the best outcome when it comes to muscle growth. The different exercises were specifically designed to take your muscles through the full range of motion, so it would seem that performing the full exercise as intended would be the way to see optimal muscle-boosting results. A new study compared the effects of long-length partial repetitions with full range of motion (ROM) resistance training on strength endurance and muscle growth, and the results might surprise you. Let’s take a look at the research.

What is a long-length partial rep?

Black and white picture man shirtless doing cable pushdown exercise in the gym
Daniel Apodaca / Unsplash

Lengthened partial reps refer to half repetitions that you perform repeatedly at the part of the lift when your muscles are the most lengthened. For example, if you were performing a bicep curl, this would refer to the bottom half of the bicep curl, or if you were performing a squat, it would be the bottom half of the squat. The idea is to perform about 50% of the rep. That being said, this new study shows that performing 50% of the rep certainly doesn’t only generate 50% of the muscle-building results.

Recommended Videos

The study

Man doing dumbbell rows on bench black and white pic
Aaron Barrera / Unsplash

The researchers set out to determine if training in the long-length partial position yields similar or different results when it comes to muscle hypertrophy and endurance. 30 healthy resistance-trained individuals took part in the 8-week study training program, and each of their arms was assigned to:

  1. Full range of motion: Completing all reps at the full range of motion until failure
  2. Lengthened partials: Completing 50% of the rep at the lengthened part of the rep until failure.

The participants trained twice every week and completed four sets of four different exercises for each training session. They performed exercises like the flat machine chest press, the bench dumbbell row, the cable single-arm pulldown, and the cable pushdown. The researchers used interesting methods like ultrasonography to measure muscle hypertrophy of the elbow extensors and flexors.

Related

The results

man in gym wearing long sleeve blue shirt doing overhead tricep extension exercise with weight
Mdv Edwards / Adobe Stock

The full range of motion training produced a 55% increase in muscle thickness of the humeral length, and the lengthened partial reps produced a 45% increase, which isn’t statistically significant in this study. In other words, there was no significant difference between the two, and both the full range of motion training and the lengthened partial reps yielded similar results regarding muscle growth and strength endurance.

The bottom line

Standing Cable Rope Tricep Extension
Jaengpeng / Getty Images

Another interesting study showed that training calves in the lengthened position resulted in 43.3% more muscle growth compared to training in the shortened position. As long as you’re completing the full range of motion or the lengthened partial portion of the exercise, you should still see muscle growth and reap the rewards of your efforts over time.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Steph Green
Steph Green
Steph Green is a content writer specializing in healthcare, wellness, and nutrition. With over ten years of experience, she…
Does taking magnesium supplements boost muscle mass and power? New study is in
Should you take this essential mineral while strength training?
magnesium supplement pill vitamin mineral on table by bottle

Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a role in a multitude of bodily processes, from supporting your immune system to maintaining normal muscle and nerve function. According to the NHS, men need at least 300mg of magnesium every day. Could magnesium supplementation also boost your muscle mass and power? Recently, researchers decided to find out. Of course, there’s no quick fix to gain muscle strength without working those muscles with resistance training and pumping iron in a gym. Even so, certain things can give you a boost. Let’s take a look at this interesting new study.  
The study

In a review published in the International Journal of Molecular Science, researchers set out to assess how taking magnesium supplements affected skeletal muscle health, with a focus on neuromuscular diseases and muscle tissue. The goal was to understand how magnesium supplementation affected muscle growth, atrophy, and oxidative stress. Oxidative stress refers to excess levels of free radicals in the body and an imbalance between antioxidants and harmful free radical molecules. 

Read more
What does your walking pace have to do with your risk of dementia? New research
How important is your walking speed when it comes to your brain health?
Man jogging brisk walking outdoors in nature

Walking has been shown to boost your immune system, mood, and more. People like to walk at different times of the day with varying speeds, distances, and terrains. Maybe you prefer a brisk stroll through the city center or a longer, slower hike on a nature trail. It turns out your walking pace could say a lot about your brain health and overall health. Researchers explored the association between a slowing gait or walking pace and the risk of dementia and cognitive decline. Here’s what to know about the research.
The study

In a study published in JAMA, researchers studied almost 17,000 healthy American and Australian adults over age 65 for a seven-year period. Study participants took cognitive tests every two years that assessed memory, processing speed, verbal fluency, and overall cognitive decline. They also measured their ability to walk at least 3 meters or roughly 10 feet. The researchers averaged the results to determine the individual’s usual walking speed.
The study results

Read more
New study explores whether regular exercise can lower your risk of dementia
Does prioritizing your fitness help protect your brain health?
man exercising running around outdoors dark grey sky

We all want to protect our brains and bodies from disease and decline and stay sharp and vibrant throughout the decades. Regular exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle, and it brings a range of benefits, from lowering blood pressure to perking up your mood and prompting the release of feel-good endorphins. Your training habits can benefit your physical health and your brain health, too. For example, an interesting study showed that people who took part in aerobic fitness training had increased brain volume and white and gray matter. 

Physical activity can sharpen problem-solving, memory, and learning and reduce depression or anxiety. Another study concluded that cognitive decline is nearly twice as common in adults who are inactive compared to active adults. In a recent study, researchers wanted to look at how exercise lowered the risk of dementia. Let’s take a look at the study and the results.
The study

Read more