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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Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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Community contributions welcome

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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

The study found that when people did gentle hamstring exercises with their knee bent a little (long muscle) vs. a lot (short muscle), the total force they felt was the same — but their muscles had to work harder to produce that force when the muscle was stretched out. So yes, muscles make less force when stretched, even if the total effort feels the same.

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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

Similar Assertions

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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81%

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 almost straight.

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76%