Health Claims

If young women do calf raises with their ankle stretched more, they might build more calf muscle than if they do the same move with a less stretched ankle — after 8 weeks, the stretched version led to almost twice as much muscle growth in one study.

Doing calf raises where you don’t lift your heel all the way up — but start from a stretched position — builds more calf muscle in young women than doing full or shortened versions of the move.

If young women do calf exercises that stretch the muscle more, they gain more muscle size than doing the same exercises with less stretch — and stretching it fully gives the best results.

If young women do calf exercises with their toes pointed down and only move partway up, they’ll build more calf muscle in 8 weeks than if they do the full movement — 15% more growth compared to smaller gains with other methods.

Doing calf raises at the bottom part of the movement — where your calf is stretched — might build more calf muscle in young women than doing the full raise, according to this claim.

If you're a young woman just starting to lift weights, doing exercises through certain parts of the movement — like the top half or the full motion — helps your leg muscles grow more than doing just the bottom part. Not all shortcuts in the exercise are equally good for building muscle.

If young women who don't usually work out do leg exercises focusing on the last part of the knee bend, they get stronger in that exact spot—especially when they train between 65° and 30° of knee bend.

If young women who aren't used to working out do leg exercises focusing on the first part of the knee bend, they get stronger at that specific angle—more than if they did the full movement.

Your calf muscle doesn’t squeeze as hard when it’s too short, so doing exercises where it’s stretched might help it grow more. This could also be true for other muscles like your shoulders and chest.

Doing only the bottom part of an exercise (where the muscle is stretched) can build as much muscle in your arms and legs as doing the full movement, as long as you put in the same amount of effort and work.

If you're already fit, doing bicep and tricep exercises through a shorter range of motion—but pushing to your max—can build muscle just as well as doing full reps.

Doing hip exercises through a shorter range of motion might build more glute and hamstring muscle than doing them through the full range.

Doing certain types of leg exercises that don't go through the full movement might build more muscle near the knee than doing the same exercises through the full motion.

When muscles are shorter, they can't pull as hard, so doing partial reps in that position puts less stress on the muscle.

If you're someone who lifts weights and does calf raises, doing partial reps that stretch the muscle might make your calf grow just a bit more than doing full reps and then finishing with partials after you're too tired to do full ones.

Doing certain leg exercises that only go partway through the motion—but stretch the calf muscle while lifting—might build bigger calf muscles than doing the full movement or shorter movements.

If you keep doing partial calf raises after you can't do any more full ones, you might grow your calf muscles more.

Lifting weights feels hardest when your muscle is all scrunched up, like at the top of a bicep curl, because that’s where your muscle is strongest according to how it’s built.

If you're already used to lifting weights, doing upper-body exercises for 8 weeks — whether you move your arms all the way or just partway — can grow your arm muscles about the same amount, as long as you go until you can't do another rep and do the same total work.

If you're trying to build upper-body muscle and you're already experienced with lifting, it's probably better to focus on the part of the exercise where your muscle is stretched, even if you don't do the full movement. Adding in the part where the muscle is more squished doesn't seem to help you grow more.

If you're already fit, doing certain types of upper-body weight training for 8 weeks—focusing on the part of the move where your muscles are stretched—can boost your endurance just as well whether you test it through a full or shorter motion. This suggests the gains carry over no matter how far you move during the test.

If you're already fit and lift weights, doing partial reps that focus on the stretched part of the movement works just as well as full reps for building arm muscle over 8 weeks.

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.

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.