Lengthened partials may boost calf growth more than post-failure partials in trained individuals.
Original: Training BEYOND Failure - This NEW Study is Epic
TL;DR
Evidence suggests lengthened partials could be more effective for calf hypertrophy than post-failure partials, though findings are not definitive.
Quick Answer
The video examines whether post-failure partials—continuing with partial reps after failing in a full range of motion—lead to superior muscle growth compared to exclusively using lengthened partials, which involve training only the portion of the lift where the muscle is stretched. A new study on trained individuals found that lengthened partials for calf raises tended to produce greater medial gastrocnemius growth than post-failure partials, despite both methods achieving failure at the same bottom position. The researchers suggest that spending more time under tension at longer muscle lengths may be more effective for hypertrophy than double failure via partials at shorter lengths.
Claims (10)
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. If you keep doing partial calf raises after you can't do any more full ones, you might grow your calf muscles more.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Doing hip exercises through a shorter range of motion might build more glute and hamstring muscle than doing them through the full range.
10. When muscles are shorter, they can't pull as hard, so doing partial reps in that position puts less stress on the muscle.
Key Takeaways
- •Problem: Some exercises, like calf raises and rows, are hardest at the top when the muscle is shortest, making full-range training less effective for growth at longer muscle lengths.
- •Core methods: Lengthened partials, Post-failure partials
- •How methods work: Lengthened partials involve doing reps only in the part of the movement where the muscle is stretched, maximizing tension at long lengths. Post-failure partials mean doing full reps to failure, then continuing with partial reps to fail again, often shifting tension to longer muscle lengths.
- •Expected outcomes: Lengthened partials may lead to better muscle growth than post-failure partials, especially in muscles like calves that don’t generate much force when short.
- •Implementation timeframe: Results observed after 8 weeks of consistent training twice per week.
Overview
The central problem addressed is whether extending sets beyond failure using partial repetitions (post-failure partials) provides superior muscle growth compared to exclusively using lengthened partials—partial repetitions performed only in the range where the muscle is elongated. The solution explored involves comparing these two methods in shortened-position-challenged exercises, such as calf raises, rows, and pull-downs, where the movement is most difficult at the top (shortened muscle length). The video presents evidence from a new study on trained individuals and synthesizes findings from multiple prior studies to evaluate the efficacy of each method for maximizing hypertrophy, particularly in specific muscles and exercise types.
Key Terms
How to Apply
- 1.Step 1: Select a shortened-position-challenged exercise such as calf raises, seated rows, or lateral raises, where the movement is most difficult at the top (shortened muscle length).
- 2.Step 2: For lengthened partials, perform 4 sets of 10–20 reps using only the range of motion where the muscle is elongated (e.g., from full stretch to halfway up in calf raises), stopping when you can no longer lift to 0°.
- 3.Step 3: For post-failure partials, perform a full range of motion until failure, then immediately continue with 5–10 partial repetitions focused on the lengthened portion (e.g., bottom half) until failure at the same endpoint.
- 4.Step 4: Train each leg or side independently if comparing methods, or alternate methods across workouts, ensuring load progression over time to maintain failure within the target rep range.
- 5.Step 5: Repeat sessions twice per week for at least 8 weeks to assess changes in muscle thickness, ideally measuring via ultrasound or visual progress tracking.
Following these steps may result in greater muscle growth in the medial gastrocnemius and potentially other shortened-position-challenged muscles when using lengthened partials compared to post-failure partials, though individual results may vary and definitive outcomes require consistent training over several weeks.
Studies from Description (9)
Claims (10)
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. If you keep doing partial calf raises after you can't do any more full ones, you might grow your calf muscles more.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Doing hip exercises through a shorter range of motion might build more glute and hamstring muscle than doing them through the full range.
10. When muscles are shorter, they can't pull as hard, so doing partial reps in that position puts less stress on the muscle.
Related Content
Claims (10)
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.
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.
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.
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.
Studies (9)
Lengthened Partial Repetitions Elicit Similar Muscular Adaptations as a Full Range of Motion During Resistance Training in Trained Individuals
DOI: 10.51224/SRXIV.455
Greater Gastrocnemius Muscle Hypertrophy After Partial Range of Motion Training Performed at Long Muscle Lengths
DOI: 10.1519/jsc.0000000000004460
Muscle Hypertrophy Response to Range of Motion in Strength Training: A Novel Approach to Understanding the Findings
DOI: 10.1519/ssc.0000000000000737
The effects of lengthened-partial range of motion resistance training of the limbs on arm and thigh muscle cross-sectional area
DOI: 10.51224/SRXIV.485
Regional Hypertrophy with Resistance Training—Does Muscle Length Matter?
DOI: 10.51224/SRXIV.464