The Study
The effects of lengthened-partial range of motion resistance training of the limbs on arm and thigh muscle area: A multi-site randomised trial
This study tried to see if two different ways of lifting weights make your arms and legs grow bigger. It randomly picked people to try each way, which is good. But we don’t know if the trainers or testers knew who was doing what, so we can’t be totally sure the results are fair. It found the two ways were probably about the same — but not quite enough proof to say for sure.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
People did either partial or full arm and leg exercises for 12 weeks to see which made their muscles bigger.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 566 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — if you're lifting weights, doing partial moves might build muscle just as well as full moves, saving time or reducing joint stress.
- 2Arm muscle growth difference: almost nothing (−0.032).
- 3Thigh muscle growth difference: zero.
- 4Neither was big enough to matter.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Sports Sciences
Year
2025
Authors
D. Gschneidner, L. Carlson, James Steele, James P Fisher
Related Content
Claims (4)
Lifting weights through a shorter movement range can build muscle just as well as lifting through a full movement range — no difference in muscle growth.
Doing partial reps with extended muscle stretch and full reps with normal movement build your arm and thigh muscles about the same amount over 12 weeks — neither one is clearly better than the other.
Doing weightlifting exercises by only moving the weight through the longest part of the stretch actually builds more calf muscle than lifting through the full range or only the shortened part.
When people perform resistance exercises with their muscles stretched to a longer length, they tend to gain more size in the lower part of their arms than when they perform the same exercises with muscles at varying lengths.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.