v1

mechanistic

Analysis v1

Strong Support

You can grow muscle not just by lifting weights, but also by stretching—just as long as the muscle feels enough tension, no matter how it's created.

52

Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (2)

52

Community contributions welcome

47

Influence of 8-weeks of supervised static stretching or resistance training of pectoral major muscles on maximal strength, muscle thickness and range of motion

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2024 Jun

The study found that simply stretching muscles regularly can make them grow just as much as lifting weights, as long as the stretch is intense enough — which supports the idea that tension, not just effort, drives muscle growth.

7

Efficacy of passive repetitive stretching of skeletal muscle on myofiber hypertrophy and genetic suppression on MAFbx, MuRF1, and myostatin

Cross-Sectional Study

Animal

2021 Dec

The study shows that just stretching muscles, without making them contract, can make them grow bigger in mice. This supports the idea that tension alone, not just exercise, can build muscle.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

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.

Similar Assertions

Muscles get bigger when they're put under tension during exercise - like when you lift weights. Only exercises that make your muscles work hard against resistance will help them grow.

0

83%

When you move your muscles through their full stretch and contraction during exercise—like fully lowering and raising a dumbbell—you build more muscle than if you only move partway, because the muscle gets stretched under load, which seems to trigger better growth.

0

67

81%

When your muscles contract or get stretched, the physical pull they feel is the main reason they grow bigger — it's like the muscle gets a signal from the tugging to grow more muscle fibers.

1

0

80%

Your muscles grow bigger mainly because of how much total force they feel over time—not whether you do your workouts all at once or spread out over the week.

54

46

76%

The main reason muscles grow bigger when you work them is because of the force they create when they squeeze — and right now, science says that’s the only proven main trigger.

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1

75%