Among people who regularly lift weights, training the elbow through a limited range of motion (0°–70°) may lead to slightly greater strength gains at a 100° elbow angle compared to training through a...
Mechanism
Synthesis from 1 study
Training with the muscle stretched makes the part farthest from the elbow joint grow slightly thicker, which helps push harder when the elbow is halfway bent. But training the whole range still makes you stronger overall, so this local growth alone doesn't beat full-range training.
Most probable mechanism
When muscles are trained while stretched, the part of the muscle farthest from the joint grows a bit bigger, which helps generate more force when the joint is bent halfway, even if the whole range of motion isn't used.
Training with restricted range of motion maintains the muscle in a lengthened position throughout the movement, increasing passive tension in the sarcomeres and connective tissues.
Elevated mechanical tension from prolonged stretch activates intracellular signaling pathways, including mTORC1, which increases the rate of muscle protein synthesis.
Protein accretion occurs preferentially in the distal regions of the muscle, where strain is greatest during stretch, leading to localized increases in muscle thickness.
The thickened distal muscle region alters the length-tension relationship of the muscle-tendon unit, enhancing force production at intermediate joint angles where the muscle operates near its optimal length.
Evidence from Studies
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Contradicting (1)
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