Which ROMs Lead to Rome? A Systematic Review of the Effects of Range of Motion on Muscle Hypertrophy

When people lift weights through a full motion vs. just part of the motion, the muscles might look like they grow more in one case—but that could just be because the weight feels heavier at different points, not because the muscle is stretched more. So we can’t be sure if stretching the muscle is what’s causing the growth.

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.

Compound lower-body exercises performed through a full range of motion (e.g., squats) induce greater hypertrophy in the distal regions of mono-articular quadriceps muscles (e.g., vastus lateralis) compared to isolation exercises, likely due to training at longer muscle lengths.

When you do exercises that stretch your muscles more through a bigger movement—like doing full squats instead of tiny half-squats—you may build more muscle tissue than when you stay in a shorter, more restricted movement range.

To grow your quads, biceps, and triceps best, it helps to stretch the muscle more during exercise—either by going all the way down or starting the movement early.

When you squat or move your legs widely, your butt and inner thighs grow more than if you only do the last bit of the movement.