Even if you're not pushing very hard, doing short muscle holds at different knee angles for eight weeks can make your hamstring muscles bigger and stronger, no matter if your knee is mostly bent or...

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Supporting (1)

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Effects of Low-Intensity Torque-Matched Isometric Training at Long and Short Muscle Lengths of the Hamstrings on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy: A Randomized Controlled Study

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2023 Oct 1

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Source Study

Effects of Low-Intensity Torque-Matched Isometric Training at Long and Short Muscle Lengths of the Hamstrings on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy: A Randomized Controlled Study

Score: 54

DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004510

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Even though people push with the same total force during hamstring holds whether their knee is bent or straight, their muscles are actually working less hard when the knee is more bent.

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If you do hamstring holds with your knee almost fully bent, you might get stronger at that angle more than if you do the same exercise with your knee only slightly bent—even if you're pushing with the same total force.

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