The Study
Exercise speed and workload effects on muscle hypoxia in vastus lateralis muscle during squatting exercises
This study found that how you squat changes how much oxygen your thigh muscle gets — but it didn’t measure if your muscles get bigger. So we know one thing is linked to another, but we don’t know if it actually makes muscles grow.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
When people squat without locking their knees, their thigh muscles get less oxygen than when they lock their knees — making the muscles work harder.
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 533 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — lower oxygen means more stress on muscles, which may help them grow bigger.
- 2NL12 (non-locked for 12s) had the lowest oxygen level.
- 3L12 and L8 also had lower oxygen than rest, but only L8 showed a drop in the locked group.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Scientific Journal of Sport and Performance
Year
2024
Authors
Tetsuo Imano, Masaaki Nakajima
Related Content
Claims (9)
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 squat all the way down without locking your knees, your thigh muscle gets more oxygen-deprived than if you stop short and lock your knees — which might help build muscle.
If you keep your knees bent while squatting (no locking), your thigh muscle gets more oxygen-starved than if you lock your knees at the top — even if you do it for the same amount of time.
Even short, locked squats (8 seconds) can make your thigh muscle very low on oxygen — but only if you keep your knees bent and restrict blood flow.
When you restrict blood flow to your thigh while squatting, your muscle gets much less oxygen — no matter how you move your knee.
When you do squats without fully straightening your knees and restrict blood flow, your thigh muscle gets much less oxygen during the exercise than when you're just sitting still.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.