If you're new to lifting weights, how far you move during each rep — like doing full squats vs. half squats — changes how your muscles adapt, even if you spend the same total time lifting.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

54

Community contributions welcome

54

Influence of full range of motion vs. equalized partial range of motion training on muscle architecture and mechanical properties

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2018 Sep

The study found that lifting weights through a full range of motion led to different muscle changes than lifting through a shorter range, even when the total time the muscle was working was the same. This supports the idea that how far you move your muscles during exercise matters for what kind of strength and size gains you get.

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

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According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Influence of full range of motion vs. equalized partial range of motion training on muscle architecture and mechanical properties

Score: 54

DOI: 10.1007/s00421-018-3932-x

Similar Assertions

If new guys lift weights for 15 weeks using full movements, their leg muscles get longer and stronger at the fiber level compared to doing shorter movements—even if they spend the same amount of time lifting.

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If new guys lift weights for 15 weeks using only part of the movement—focusing on the shorter muscle position—they build more muscle size in that specific area and get stronger at certain joint angles, according to this claim.

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Not all muscles grow the same way when you move through different ranges—some might need bigger movements than others. So, telling everyone to do the same type of lift might not work for every muscle.

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If you're a guy who lifts weights, going all the way to failure or stopping just short gives your muscles about the same kind of growth changes over 10 weeks.

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Just because you move your muscles through a bigger range during strength training doesn't always mean they'll grow more — the science isn't clear on this, and it might depend on how each muscle works.

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