Even if you cheat a little to lift heavier, your muscles still grow just as well—so maybe the key to building muscle isn’t perfect form, but just getting your muscles to work hard enough.
Scientific Claim
The hypertrophic response to resistance training in untrained individuals may be preserved even when external momentum is used to increase volume load, suggesting mechanical tension on target muscles may be maintained despite reduced technique strictness.
Original Statement
“Conceivably, the ability to use heavier loads when performing repetitions with external momentum may offset the dispersion of forces to other body segments, ultimately inducing similar levels of mechanical tension in the target muscles as when training with strict technique.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
overstated
Study Design Support
Design cannot support claim
Appropriate Language Strength
probability
Can suggest probability/likelihood
Assessment Explanation
The study did not measure mechanical tension directly; this is a speculative interpretation. The original phrasing implies causation ('may be preserved') without direct evidence.
More Accurate Statement
“The hypertrophic response to resistance training in untrained individuals may be preserved even when external momentum is used to increase volume load, suggesting that target muscle tension might be maintained despite reduced technique strictness, though this remains unmeasured.”
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Do Cheaters Prosper? Effect of Externally Supplied Momentum During Resistance Training on Measures of Upper Body Muscle Hypertrophy
Even when people cheated on their arm curls by swinging the weights, their arms still grew just as much as when they did the exercises slowly and perfectly — meaning cheating didn’t stop muscle growth.