Shorter or Fuller Arm Curls? What Works Better?
Partial Range, Full Gains? The Effect of 8 Weeks of Partial Range of Motion Training at Long Muscle Lengths on Elbow Flexor Hypertrophy and Strength in Trained Individuals
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
People who already lift weights did arm curls with either a short motion (halfway) or full motion for 8 weeks to see which builds more muscle and strength.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 554 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
People who already lift weights did arm curls with either a short motion (halfway) or full motion for 8 weeks to see which builds more muscle and strength.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 554 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Havers T, Wagner N, Held S, Geisler S, Wiewelhove T
Related Content
Claims (10)
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.
When people who regularly lift weights perform exercises that stretch their muscles fully, they gain more strength in movements that involve those stretched positions, such as bending the elbow while the muscle is lengthened.
Whether you do full or half curls, the upper part of your bicep grows about the same amount—so where you curl doesn’t matter much for that part of the muscle.
Doing bicep curls only halfway up (keeping the arm stretched) might make the lower part of your bicep grow a tiny bit more than doing full curls, but the difference is very small.
Doing full bicep curls might help you lift a little more weight in a max lift than doing half curls, but the difference is tiny and not very certain.