Menno Henselmans vs Milo Wolf: Who’s Right?

Summary

In this video script, Dr. M Wolf PhD critiques Meno Henselman's views on muscle hypertrophy, specifically addressing the effectiveness of full vs. partial range of motion training. He clarifies misconceptions about stretch-mediated hypertrophy, explaining that it's unlikely to be the primary benefit of lengthened partials. Emphasizing the importance of both active and passive tension in muscle growth, he suggests that training focusing on the lengthened position could be advantageous. The script also discusses the challenges of tracking progress with partials and the need for more research to understand the limits of stretch-mediated hypertrophy's impact on muscle growth.

Takeaways

• 🧐 The video discusses the concept of stretch-mediated hypertrophy and its relationship with partial range of motion (PROM) and full range of motion (FROM) training.
• 🏋️‍♂️ The speaker clarifies that 'lengthened partials' or 'for in of motion' probably do not induce stretch-mediated hypertrophy as commonly misunderstood in the fitness industry.
• 📚 The term 'stretch-mediated hypertrophy' originates from animal studies in the 70s and has been generalized to humans, where long-duration, high-intensity stretching interventions can increase muscle mass significantly.
• 🤔 The speaker questions the assumption that PROM training induces stretch-mediated hypertrophy due to the lack of sufficient evidence and the short duration of stretch in typical workouts.
• 🔍 The range of motion is defined as the degrees of joint flexion, not the distance the bar travels, highlighting the importance of understanding ROM in terms of angular motion for muscle hypertrophy.
• 💪 The length-tension relationship of muscles is explained, noting that muscles can generate different amounts of tension at different lengths, affecting their strength and potential for hypertrophy.
• 🤸‍♂️ The video emphasizes the importance of both active and passive tension in muscle growth, suggesting that passive tension alone may not be sufficient to explain the effects observed in stretch-mediated hypertrophy.
• 📉 The speaker critiques the reduction of muscle growth mechanisms to passive tension, arguing that muscle physiology is complex and likely involves multiple factors.
• 🏋️‍♀️ The video suggests that training at longer muscle lengths may be beneficial for hypertrophy, but the exact mechanisms and optimal ranges are still under investigation.
• 📊 The speaker argues against the conflation of lengthened training with stretch-mediated hypertrophy, stating that the evidence does not support this claim with confidence.
• 📝 The importance of tracking performance to assess the effectiveness of a training program is highlighted, with a discussion on the challenges and potential solutions for standardizing range of motion in PROM training.

Q & A

What is the main topic of discussion in the video script?

The main topic of discussion is the impact of full range of motion (ROM) and partial range of motion (PROM) on muscle hypertrophy, specifically addressing the concept of stretch-mediated hypertrophy.

What does the term 'stretch-mediated hypertrophy' refer to?

Stretch-mediated hypertrophy refers to the increase in muscle mass that occurs as a result of stretching interventions, particularly when muscles are stretched to their maximum length for extended periods or at high intensities.

What is the role of passive tension in muscle growth according to the script?

Passive tension, similar to an elastic band being stretched, contributes to muscle growth by increasing the tension on the muscle when it is lengthened, which may stimulate stretch-mediated hypertrophy.

Why does the script suggest that the term 'stretch-mediated hypertrophy' might be a misnomer for partial range of motion training?

The script suggests that the term might be a misnomer because the conditions required for stretch-mediated hypertrophy, such as long-duration and high-intensity stretching, are not typically met in partial range of motion training.

What is the difference between range of motion and functional excursion as discussed in the script?

Range of motion is the angular change in a joint's position, while functional excursion refers to the total amount of muscle lengthening that occurs during an exercise, which is more relevant for muscle hypertrophy.

How does the script address the importance of tracking performance in a training program?

The script emphasizes that tracking performance is crucial for assessing the effectiveness of a training program and making necessary adaptations, suggesting that even with lengthened partials, performance can be reliably tracked.

What evidence does the script provide against the idea that lengthened partials stimulate more hypertrophy?

The script cites studies that show similar hypertrophy results with different training methods, suggesting that the additional passive tension in lengthened partials may not be sufficient to induce more hypertrophy.

What is the role of active tension in muscle growth as discussed in the script?

Active tension, generated when muscles contract, is highlighted as potentially being just as important as passive tension for muscle growth, and may compensate for a lack of stretch-mediated hypertrophy.

What are the potential limitations of the stretch-mediated hypertrophy hypothesis as presented in the script?

The script suggests that the hypothesis may be too simplistic, not accounting for the complexity of muscle physiology and the various factors that can influence hypertrophy, such as active tension and the specific conditions under which stretch-mediated hypertrophy occurs.

How does the script evaluate the effectiveness of different exercises for muscle hypertrophy?

The script evaluates exercises based on their ability to generate both active and passive tension, as well as their capacity to stimulate muscle growth at different muscle lengths, suggesting that a combination of factors determines their effectiveness.

What advice does the script give for individuals looking to maximize muscle growth?

The script advises focusing on exercises and training methods that emphasize the lengthened position of the muscle, which could be achieved through lengthened partials or specific exercise selections, rather than solely relying on stretch-mediated hypertrophy.

Outlines

00:00

🏋️‍♂️ Mythbusting Stretch-Mediated Hypertrophy in Resistance Training

Dr. M Wolf PhD addresses the concept of stretch-mediated hypertrophy in resistance training, challenging the idea that partial range of motion (PROM) exercises induce more muscle growth than full range of motion (FROM) due to stretch-mediated effects. He explains that while animal studies show significant muscle mass increases with prolonged stretching, human studies require much more stretching time to see similar hypertrophy. Dr. Wolf also clarifies misconceptions about the definition of range of motion, emphasizing it's joint-specific and measured in degrees of joint flexion rather than the distance the bar travels.

05:01

🔍 The Complexity of Muscle Hypertrophy Mechanisms

This paragraph delves into the intricacies of muscle growth, discussing the length-tension relationship of muscles and the role of active and passive tension in hypertrophy. It explains that muscles are strongest at their anatomical position and that both shortening and lengthening from this position can reduce force production. The paragraph also touches on passive tension, which increases with muscle stretch, and its potential contribution to stretch-mediated hypertrophy. However, it points out that the evidence linking passive tension to hypertrophy is not conclusive and that other factors may be at play.

10:02

📊 Debunking the Stretch-Mediated Hypertrophy Assumption in Training

Dr. Wolf continues to critique the assumption that lengthened partials or PROM training leads to stretch-mediated hypertrophy. He argues that the additional stretch during these exercises is unlikely to be sufficient to induce significant hypertrophy, given the much longer durations and higher intensities required in studies to observe this effect. He also discusses the importance of tracking performance to assess program effectiveness and challenges the notion that PROM training cannot be effectively tracked, citing evidence of its reliability.

15:03

💪 The Role of Active Tension in Muscle Hypertrophy

This section highlights the importance of active tension in muscle hypertrophy, suggesting that it may be as important as stretch-mediated mechanisms. Studies are cited that show exercises emphasizing active tension, such as hip thrusts and squats, can be effective for muscle growth even without significant stretch-mediated stimulation. The paragraph discusses how the glutes, in particular, can grow through exercises that maximize active tension at their strongest length, challenging the idea that maximizing muscle length is always superior for hypertrophy.

20:04

🤔 Reevaluating the Importance of Stretch-Mediated Hypertrophy

Dr. Wolf questions the extent to which stretch-mediated hypertrophy contributes to muscle growth, citing studies that show similar hypertrophy results with different training methods, regardless of the stretch involved. He emphasizes that both active and passive tension are important for muscle growth and that the exact mechanisms behind stretch-mediated hypertrophy are not fully understood. The paragraph also discusses the potential limits of stretch-mediated hypertrophy and the need for further research to understand optimal training ranges and tensions.

25:04

🎥 Final Thoughts on Training Methods and Hypertrophy

In the final paragraph, Dr. Wolf summarizes his reaction to Menno Henselman's views on stretch-mediated hypertrophy. He agrees that lengthened partials or full range of motion may not stimulate significant stretch-mediated hypertrophy but suggests that lengthened training can still be beneficial for hypertrophy through other mechanisms. He commends Menno for his accurate representation of studies but takes issue with the conclusions drawn regarding training recommendations. Dr. Wolf promotes his upcoming training app, Myo, which will offer personalized muscle-building programs.

Keywords

💡Hypertrophy

Hypertrophy refers to the increase in muscle mass, which is the primary goal for many individuals engaging in strength training or bodybuilding. In the video, the theme revolves around the factors that contribute to hypertrophy, particularly the impact of training with full range of motion (ROM) versus partial range of motion (PROM). The script discusses how different training methods might affect muscle hypertrophy, with a focus on the role of stretch-mediated and active tension.

💡Range of Motion (ROM)

Range of motion is the extent of movement a joint can make, measured by the angle of joint flexion. The video emphasizes the importance of ROM in training for hypertrophy, contrasting the benefits of full ROM with partial ROM. The script mentions that the degree of hip flexion is an example of how ROM is measured and how it differs from the distance the bar travels in an exercise.

💡Partial Range of Motion (PROM)

Partial range of motion training involves performing exercises through only a part of the full joint movement. The script discusses studies that have compared the effects of PROM on muscle hypertrophy to those of full ROM, suggesting that there may be benefits to PROM, particularly in terms of stretch-mediated hypertrophy, although the exact mechanisms are still debated.

💡Stretch-Mediated Hypertrophy

Stretch-mediated hypertrophy is a concept suggesting that the lengthening of muscles, particularly when stretched to their maximum length, can stimulate muscle growth. The video script questions the validity of this concept in the context of partial range training, arguing that the actual mechanisms at play may be more complex and not fully understood.

💡Active Tension

Active tension is the force produced by a muscle during contraction. The script explains that active tension, particularly at the point where a muscle can generate the most force, may be as important as stretch-mediated factors for muscle hypertrophy. The video discusses how exercises that emphasize active tension, like hip thrusts, can be effective for muscle growth.

💡Passive Tension

Passive tension arises from the elasticity of muscles and tendons when they are stretched. The video mentions that passive tension could contribute to muscle growth, especially when muscles are stretched beyond their normal operating lengths, but it also suggests that the role of passive tension in hypertrophy is not as straightforward as once thought.

💡Length-Tension Relationship

The length-tension relationship describes how the force a muscle can produce changes with its length. The script explains that muscles are typically strongest at their resting length and become weaker when either shortened or lengthened beyond this point. Understanding this relationship is crucial for designing effective training programs for hypertrophy.

💡Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is a training principle that involves gradually increasing the stress placed upon the body during exercise to stimulate muscle growth and strength gains. The video script mentions the importance of tracking performance to ensure that a training program is effective and that adaptations are occurring, which is a key aspect of progressive overload.

💡Functional Excursion

Functional excursion refers to the total amount of muscle lengthening that occurs during an exercise. The script suggests that the percentage of functional excursion may be more relevant for muscle hypertrophy than the absolute range of motion. This concept is important for understanding how different exercises and training techniques can impact muscle growth.

💡Seated Leg Curl

Seated leg curl is an exercise mentioned in the script that specifically targets the hamstrings. The video discusses how performing this exercise with a full range of motion, particularly by emphasizing the stretch at the hip, can lead to greater muscle growth due to the increased lengthening of the hamstrings.

💡Mechanotransduction

Mechanotransduction is the process by which cells convert mechanical stimuli into biochemical signals. In the context of the video, it refers to how muscles sense and respond to mechanical tension, which can lead to muscle adaptations and growth. The script suggests that both active and passive tension may play a role in mechanotransduction and subsequent hypertrophy.

Highlights

Dr. M Wolf PhD discusses the myth of stretch-mediated hypertrophy, emphasizing that lengthened partials likely don't induce this effect.

Recent studies found partial range of motion training better for hypertrophy than full range of motion.

Stretch-mediated hypertrophy originally based on animal studies, not directly applicable to human training.

Significant muscle growth requires longer and higher intensity stretching interventions, which are not typically part of normal training routines.

Active and passive tension both play crucial roles in muscle hypertrophy, not just stretch-mediated tension.

Menno Henselmans' interpretation of stretch-mediated hypertrophy may be too simplified, ignoring other contributing factors.

Overhead tricep extensions shown to be more effective for long head growth due to higher tension in the stretched position.

Length-tension relationship of muscles explained, highlighting optimal muscle lengths for generating tension.

Passive tension increases with muscle lengthening, but its impact on hypertrophy might be limited.

Research suggests that muscles grow more at longer lengths, potentially due to passive tension contributing to hypertrophy.

Standardizing range of motion is important for tracking performance and ensuring consistent training stimulus.

Training at longer muscle lengths generally promotes more hypertrophy compared to shorter lengths.

Hip thrusts and squats found equally effective for glute growth, indicating active tension's significant role.

Lengthened partials can be more effective than full range of motion for certain exercises, especially for muscles not fully stretched during full range.

Emphasis on stretch-mediated hypertrophy needs to be balanced with considerations of active tension and practical training constraints.

Transcripts

did meno henselman just mythbust

lengthened partials and stretch mediated

hypertrophy welcome back Dr M wolf PhD

in sports sence here reacting to men

hensman takes first up we're reviewing

his advice on full range of mo motion as

that is my a expertise so I want to see

whether or not his advice is correct

let's get into it two recent studies

found that training with a partial range

of motion is better for muscle

hypertrophy than training with a full

range of motion

is training before full range of motion

still the way to go I recently recorded

a lecture for my PT course and I would

like to give you a free excert of that

where I explain exactly what the current

deal is with full rise of motion

training stretch mediate hopy and lant

partials I hope you enjoy

it principle number three is that you

generally want to train with full range

of motion and that's because of stretch

mediate hypertrophy you specifically

want to train with full range motion

when it increases is the lengthening of

the muscles all right before we go any

further I would just like to clarify

that lengthened partials or for in of

motion probably don't induce stretch

Meade hypertrophy it's a misnomer

essentially people in the fitness

industry have started calling it stretch

Meade hypertrophy when in reality that

is likely not what's happening stretch

Med hypertrophy originates as a term

from animal data starting in the 70s

looking at the impact of long duration

high-intensity stretching interventions

in animals often causing increases in

muscle mass of like 1 to 300% now that

research has then been kind of

generalized to humans where in humans

performing stretching interventions of

like an hour a day we do see hypertrophy

especially with longer durations of

stretching like generally higher

intensities and higher durations of

stretching of over an hour and a half of

stretching per week at higher

intensities that's where we start seeing

some muscle growth in humans however we

only start observing that stretch

hypertrophy in humans with relatively

higher is and generally with higher

intensities when you're doing length and

partials or 4ing motion training you

might be spending an additional 1 to 2

minutes in a lengthen position per

workout if we need to be stretching for

over an hour and a half a week at

maximum muscle lengths to start seeing

appreciable hypertrophy it doesn't stand

to reason that stretch meated

hypertrophy is what is occurring in the

context of length and partials or range

of motion where we're not even

necessarily training at the longest

possible muscle lengths let alone for an

hour and a half a week or more so all in

all it's just overwhelmingly unlikely

that stretch made have ptop as a plate

I'll have an article link down below and

or video link Down Below on the topic

where I go in depth but common mistake I

think is to call it stretch M

hypertrophy and that's why I've tried to

avoid that in basically all my content

many people think of the range of motion

as the distance the bar travels that is

not true the range of motion is measured

in the degrees of hip flexion for the

hip and you can measure the range of

motion for other joints as well so it's

joint specific how much The Joint flexes

or changes in angle that is the degree

of range motion so for a bicep scroll

here it's not about how high up the

weight goes it's about the degree of

elbow flexion so here you can see in the

image exactly what is his motion you can

also see a study where they did partial

range of motion and they compar that to

full range of motion and then they found

a strong trend for greater muscle growth

and strength development with full range

motion training so that's totally fine

uh it's not as though everyone agrees on

how range of motions def and it's very

much task specific like for example if

you're calculating volume load right

you're calculating how much weight time

how many reps times how many sets were

being performed and you want to get an

estimate of energy expenditure you would

need to incorporate distance traveled by

the weight as well into that equation

and in that case distance is seen as

range of motion because it literally is

how much motion was being gone through

where is the range of the motion right

so how people Define range of motion is

context specific but I do think as it

says here that for hyper specifically

defining range of motion in terms of

angular motion is a lot more meable to

our purposes so yeah I agree by and LGE

just wanted to make that distinction

because this is one of my pet areas

namely the length tension relation

passive tension and stretch mediate

perate so the length tension

relationship of muscle is that muscles

can generate a different amount of

tension at different lengths there's a

relationship between the muscle length

and how much tension it can produce

usually the muscles are strongest in

anatomical position which means when

you're standing upright just straight up

like this in that position most muscles

are strongest when you shorten them or

lengthen them from that position they

become weaker you can see that in the

left image here it's because of the

sliding filaments acting myos and

filaments they basically slide into each

other sliding filament theory as you

learned of our muscles contract when

they do this they have to be a certain

length of each other when the muscle is

super short the actinomyosin filaments

are kind of bunched up too much and some

muscles can even reach passive or active

in sufficiency which means they are so

bunched up they are so short that they

cannot effectively perform form cross

Bridges anymore similarly you can have a

passive insufficiency when the muscle is

so lengthened that they can't reach each

other anymore so you can't form cross

Bridges because the active myos

filaments they cannot slide over each

other they they can barely reach you get

this optimal overlap when um the muscle

is near anatomical position for Mouse

muscles in the functional Anatomy module

you can see exactly what uh level is

optimal for every muscle and what their

exact length tension relationship is ETC

now that's active mechanical tension

there's also a thing called passive

tension passive tension is mostly like

an elastic band that is stretched out it

is uh the more you stretch out a muscle

the more passive tension there is just

like an elastic band muscles are not

elastic they are physical elastic which

means that if you do the stretch very

slowly or you maintain a stretch

position the tension dissipates but

that's not really relevant to the point

here the passive tension in general

which also you can feel intuitively the

more stretched out a body part the

tendon the muscle everything are the

more passive tension there is on the

muscle which means that if you look at

the image on the right here you can see

that while the active Force production

is in the normal operating range which

is around anatomical position or resting

length it's optimal if you shorten the

muscle you will get a dramatic decrease

in active Force production as well as in

passive Force production so you become a

lot weaker but if you lengthen you can

actually get a little bit stronger and

some people depend this depends on

muscle the exact situ ation but you can

become a little bit stronger with some

stretching or even with a lot of

stretching because you get helped by

passive forces passive tension because

the muscle is like when it's being

stretched out it's basically passively

helping trying to get back to its

shorter position so that's passive Force

passive force is greater when you

stretch the muscle more and it's the sum

of the active and the passive Force

together that determine most likely how

much total tension there is and how much

the muscle will grow and adapt this

passive Force seems to be responsible at

least in part for a phenomenon called

stretch mediate hypertrophy we' seen

research that stretching a muscle alone

not into form of yoga or anything like

that but in terms of heavy weighted long

very arduous hardcore painful static

stretching okay I have not watched the

whole video yet so maybe he's going to

correct me here but I feel as though

he's reducing mechanisms to passive

tension which at this point we just

can't claim like muscle physiology is

very complicated

there are many things that could be at

play here besides passive tension

there's many findings that are difficult

to explain if we reduce it simply to

passive tension for instance in many of

these studies the amount of passive

tension being generated at the Joint

angles being trained through by the for

range of motion group versus the partial

range of motion group or the length and

partial group versus the for range of

motion group the degree of additional

passive tension probably isn't

sufficient to really explain differences

in hypertrophy right so I suspect he

might be making the conflation here

again of lengthen training causes

stretch meate hypertrophy because it

stretches out your muscles more but in

reality we just don't have the evidence

right now to be able to make that claim

with any confidence and there's a lot of

holes in that logic right now there have

been studies for example that's found

that stretching the cast for an hour

every day with an orphosis a device that

basically pulls the calves into as much

stretch as possible which is very

painful you have to do that for an hour

a day then the calves can actually grow

as much at least in in trained

individuals uh but also even in some

trained individuals in research they can

grow as much as from doing 15 sets of

calf rates per week so it's equivalent

to a serious strength trading program of

course it's not very practical but it

illustrates that purely passive tension

no active Force contribution required

can only stimulate a lot of muscle

hypertophy and that's stretch median

diophy similarly we see that at longer

lengths muscles grow more when they are

trained at longer lengths versus shorter

lengths there are multiple studies now

showing that muscles grow more which we

call stretch median aery and this is

likely and large part mediated by

passive mechanical tension all right

there's a few issues with this first the

study about warning King colleagues is

referring to where they compared 1 hour

of static stretching per day with a calf

orthosis to lifting in the calves a few

times a week around 15 sets I think he's

recalling correctly here three sessions

five sets each they did observe similar

hypertrophy between those two

interventions one limitation is that in

this case they were spending a total of

7 hours stretching per week versus in

total spending maybe around 30 40 of

calf training per week so the duration

of time exposed is very different so if

they needed to stretch for 7 hours a

week to observe the same hypertrophy as

from 15 sets of calf training a week do

we really think that in the context of L

partials and for range of motion

training May benefiting from the stretch

position that those additional 30

seconds are sufficient to induce stretch

made hypertrophy and result in

detectably larger muscle growth I don't

think so I really don't think so the

issue here I think and this is not just

about meno at all it's about the broader

Fitness industry is that stretchmed

hypertrophy has become a pretty nebulous

term and people have lost sight of where

it actually originated from and what

sort of phenomenon it is and under what

sort of circumstances it tends to occur

these circumstances are not the ones

that we would observe within lengthen

training let's continue and Titan is

also a mechano sensor so it also

registers the amount of mechanical

tension and signals to the muscle to

stimulate muscle proteins and to grow

and to get bigger so in the end we don't

care about the range of motion itself

but we care about the functional

Excursion which is the the muscle

lengthening functional Excursion refers

to the total amount of lengthening that

can take place and it's like the

percentage of functional Excursion that

is really relevant for muscle

hypertrophy the range of motion itself

again it's not the distance it's it's

not the degrees of joint angle but it's

technically the amount of muscle

lengthening that takes place and that

governs primarily how much muscle you

gain new to stretch speed aery this also

explains why seed L curls result in

significantly more muscle growth than

lying L curls even though both are a l

curl the machine is roughly equivalent

during a seated lacal you are stretching

the hamstrings at the hip because the

hamstrings are biarticulate remember

they are not just active at the knee but

also at the hip so when you are

stretching them at the hip they are at

longer lengths and then when you do a ll

they grow more because on average you

are at far longer lengths you also reach

a length closer to the maximum in fact

in a C lro Machine what you can do is

you can kind of lean forward to really

emphasize the stretch especially if you

don't get full R motion when you just

sit in it some machines they don't let

your legs go all the way up the plates

will cling on to each other right and

you cannot get your legs fully straight

what you can do then is you can lean

forward to lengthen the hamstrings even

further and therefore still allow you to

get full range motion still get high

tension in the fully stretched position

and it will probably enhance stretch

Medi lopy it's currently not clear yet

how much we really need to emphasize the

stretch if it's necessary to go like all

in it probably isn't

as we'll go into in a in a minute but it

does seem beneficial to get high muscle

lengths especially for muscles like the

hamstrings probably that can reach very

long lengths compared to their resting

length at this point I'll make the

prediction that he'll set the Kubo study

as a means to say that we don't need to

chase the longest possible muscle

lengths I'm arguing against a point that

hasn't even been made here but

importantly there is evidence to the

contrary for example a study by casano

and colleagues where they compared doing

bottom half partials in the calf Rays

with the knees extended which would

maximally lengthen the gas Ro

to doing a 4 of motion to doing shorten

partials in this study they found twice

as much hypertrophy at both sides

measured of the gas TR when training at

the longest possible muscle length

compared to doing a full range of motion

at very long muscle lengths so there is

evidence to the contrary is what I'm

trying to say here but once again from

what I'm gathering here it seems like

he's conflating stretch M hypertrophy as

for sure what is happening with length

and training and it's intuitive but it's

likely wrong the extra muscle growth

that occurred during the SE leral was

specifically in the heads that are

biotic and that stretch more at the hip

so it didn't occur in the short head of

the bosporus because that head is not

stretched at the hip and therefore it

doesn't experience stretch Main in the

pery we also have a study from the same

research team which found that overhead

tricep extensions stimulate

significantly more growth than pushdowns

because the Long Head is by articulate

they stretch the long head and I've long

been a fan of over Tri extensions for

this purpose they are much more

effective for the long head

interestingly in this study they were

also more effective for the other heads

that might be because in the case of a

push down in the stretch position there

is very little tension so yes you are

getting full range motion but you're not

getting a lot of tension in the lengthen

position for one the long head isn't

lengthened much at all and even the

other heads they don't have a lot of

tension when they are lengthened in the

case of overhead tricep tension in this

position there is very high tension

because if you use a dumble this is

basically position of Maximum tension

right and if a cable you still get high

tension throughout the entire motion

with a push down the fully lengthen

position which is the top here if the

cable is in line with the forearm

there's actually no tension at all in

that position and even when you're

leaning a bit more forward which is

generally good to do during a push time

you want to lean forward get the elbows

forward it's still not great the

sticking point is very clearly in full

contraction you want the sticking point

to be more in the middle or near the

stretch which is true for most exercises

because you want to stimulate stretch

Medi diophy for some exercises it

actually appears that stretch medery is

so much more important than full range

motion per se that doing short range

partials is more effective than training

with full range of motion this has only

been found in untrained individuals so

far and that's because some exercises

are just very poor at stimulating the

muscle in lant position this goes for

leg extensions and calf raises for

example and for those exercises it might

actually be better not to do pH of

potion what I like to do often with

clients is to do the first set or full

sets except the last one with full range

motion because it allows you to track

your progression we'll go into that all

in more detail later but you want

Progressive overload you need to be able

to track your progression if you don't

know if you're progressing or not you

don't know know if your program is

working therefore you don't know if you

need to adapt it and how to adapt it

monitoring your progression is crucial

to be able to effectively update your

program in response to your progression

so and that's a big problem with

training length and partials like half a

leg extension what is what is half you

know it's it's very hard to measure your

performance that way right so there is

law here first he recommends tracking

performance as a means to assess whether

or not your program is effective in the

long term I think there's some value

there I think the long term if you're

increasing your strength on esally

single joint movements but also

multi-joint movements there is a very

high likelihood that you've grow muscle

because there's not that many other

factors that could contribute to

long-term strength increases however

it's worth noting that in the short term

there are many other things that can

play a role in improving your strength

without necessarily growing muscle

secondly he makes the case that lengthen

partials you can to really Track

Performance I don't think that's true I

think that's a relatively big strong man

you can definitely track performance on

length in partials we've done some

reliability testing to see whether or

not people's performance is reliable

when using length and partials and it

does seem to be reasonably reliable

importantly if you are going to be doing

length and partials just make an effort

to standardize range of motion week upon

week but in my experience having done

length and partials a lot over the past

two to three years having used them with

clients a lot for a few years now you

can definitely standardize R of motion

to a very good extent and performance

tends to be very consistent week upon

week so I really don't think that's a

big limitation of length and partials

standardization is not that difficult if

you're doing machine work there's often

a feature of the machine you can use the

standardize range of motion very easily

week upon week if you're doing leg or

worm walk often times you can end range

of motion at around a 90° angle for a

lot of movements the same goes for most

compound pressing movements for rdl's

and for rows for example you can

literally just go until just past your

knees for pull Downs or pull-ups you can

just pull until the bar reaches your

forehead roughly there's a lot of

features you can use to standardize

range of motion and in my experience I

really don't think it's an issue and

importantly just as far as stimulus goes

whether or not your range of motion is

perfectly standardized week to week

probably doesn't matter if it takes

pretty big differences in range of

motion in these studies in controlled

environments to be able to detect a

difference in hypertrophy then in

practice if your range of motion is off

by 3 degrees from week to week it's

probably not going to influence

hypertrophy very much so for these

exercises research found at least in

untrained individuals doing lengthened

partials leg extensions and camras is

better because you're still not

overloading the length of position most

like extension machines at the top

position they're by far the hardest and

in the bottom position you're just not

overloading the muscle so you can forgo

the top part and you can use more weight

which is also the case which both of

these studies found crucially crucially

important point they could lift more

weight with the partials for the same

number of repetitions therefore you get

a higher overload of the stretch

position when you're only doing the

bottom part so only doing this part

instead of the whole movement you're

doing the bottom part with more weight

you're overloading the bottom part more

more so for these exercises that don't

stimulate the muscle in a lengthen

position it might actually be better to

the lengthen partials a compromise that

is often practical is to do lengthen

partials for all sets other than the

first set or just do them for the last

set depending on if it's safe and the

exercise lenss itself well to L field

partials you also have to think of

practical limitations here of course now

stretch mediate diery isn't the end all

be all it's very important it can

stimulate significantly more muscle

growth and traditionally programs have

very much lacked emphasis on stretch

mediate hypertrophy it is truly a

revolution of the last years of exercise

science however we also have studies

showing that active tension is probably

just as important for example we

actually did a study ourselves where hip

frosts and squats turn out to be equally

effective for the glutes now hip frosts

Shine for active tension but they don't

stimulate a lot of stretch media diophy

probably they don't put a lot of tension

at long lengths because they don't even

lengthen the glutes that much squats are

much better at lengthening the glutes

and therefore probably stimulate more

stretch mediate diophy we have research

showing that the glutes grow more at

longer versus shorter lengths just like

most other muscles effect P tested

muscles so why then are hip equally

effective well it it's likely because

they generate more active tension the

glutes are strongest probably the

actually for the glutes is not

completely clear but based on the

research we have the glutes are

strongest in anatomical position which

means that they can produce the most

active Force there which is the top

position of uh e so sticking point

corresponds with the point where the

muscle can produce the most Force which

is great you get a match between the

resistance curve and your strength curve

essentially and therefore it seems that

active mechanical tension can compensate

for lack of stretch Beery all right a

few things here the study he's referring

to is a study by Plotkin and colleagues

where they compared squats to hip

thrusts so one group doing just squats

to one group doing just hip thrusts and

measured hypertophy of the gluteus of

the hamstrings of the adaptors and of

the quadriceps and in that study they

found similar glut hypertrophy in the

hip thrust versus the squat group

importantly though squats and hip thrust

rusts are not the same exercise there's

a few differentiating factors another

important confounder within this study

if you actually scroll through the

supplementary materials is that the

depth achieved by many of the

participants was substantially above

parallel so when you're talking about is

a squat better than a hip thrust you

also have to factor range of motion into

it to an extent if I squat for example I

can get quite a bit deeper than pretty

much everyone in the study so the way

the squat was executed within the study

likely impacted the results to a

meaningful extent importantly he brings

up the glutes ability to produce tension

as a moderating factor in how much

hypertrophy they observed because the

glutes are able to produce more Force at

the peak squeeze like you would do in a

hip thrust they then saw more growth is

the rationale being claimed there's two

things to note on that number one is

that we don't really have direct

evidence for this being a thing

consistently M mechanical matching as

it's been claimed around social media

doesn't really have much evidence in

support of it and additionally there is

direct evidence to the contrary for

instance a study by my colleagues the

same research group responsible for the

research on the overhead extension

versus the push down he cited and the

leg Cur study that he cited they also

performed the study in the multi- hiip

hip extension exercise if the idea that

meno was siding here was correct that is

to say that the glutes should grow more

when being trained in more of a

shortened position because they are able

to produce more tension in that position

then we should observe more glute

hypertrophy in this study from the group

that was training at shorter muscle

length phuts instead we observe the

opposite where the group doing length

and partials training at lower muscle

lengths supposedly a position where the

glutes aren't able to produce as much

active tension saw around twice as much

growth as the group training in a more

shortened position similarly another

study by kubu and colleagues found more

hypertrophy when doing deeper squats to

140 degrees of knee flexion than a group

squatting to only 90 degrees of knee

flexion and so yet again training at

lower muscle lengths where the glutes

are supposedly able to produce less

active tension led to more hypertrophy

and so to me this hypothesis is

relatively weak for the time being the

growth was the same when the total

torque was equated which meant that

basically the seed laeral group or more

more lengthen seed leral group in this

case was not producing as much active

Force therefore suggesting that active

and passive tension are both equally

important for muscle growth now the

exact mechanism stretch meder trophy

have not been fully uh elucidated but I

think this is currently the best working

theory that corresponds well with all

the exercise comparisons that we have we

also know that there's probably a limit

to how much uh stretch medal hopy really

helps helps like it doesn't help to

stretch the muscle Beyond a certain

point probably we have for example a

study showing that preacher curls so

when you have the the elbow a little bit

forward on a preacher curl bench uh they

do put a lot of tension when the muscle

is relatively lent in the bottom

position but the muscle is not fully

lengthen and they compare that with

incline double curls which is when

you're sitting and you're leaning back

on a bench and your elbow is all the way

back so the biceps gets a great stretch

but in the bottom position because

you're using a dumble gravity pull

straight down there's actually no

tension on biceps and they showed that

the preure curls seem to be slightly

more effective for bicep growth

illustrating that for one the biceps

gets the most active tension in the

bottom position but also there's

probably a limit to just lengthening the

muscle how much that really helps you

for one need tension you don't need to

just lengthen the muscle but you also

need to lengthen it under high tension

and even then there's probably a limit

because we have another study that

compared preure curls with a barble

which really Hammer the bottom position

versus a cable which is more of an equal

resistance curve throughout the entire

range of motion they were equally

effective for muscle growth there's a

few things to note here the second study

cited by Nunes and colleagues found

around 10% more hypertrophy with the

barbell versus the cable so if anything

that's in line with the sort of effect

size we typically observe when talking

about length and training versus shorten

training being more beneficial for

muscle growth secondly the other study

cited by Zab Coran colleagues compared

the incline curl to the preure curl

observing more favorable hypertrophy of

the biceps with a preacher curl compared

to the incline curl and indeed I agree

with with him that this study provides

support for the idea that you don't just

want to stretch a muscle you want to

have it be performed under tension and

the preacher C provides more tension in

the bottom position compared to an

incline C however that is also evidence

against the idea that stretch mediate

hypertrophy is what's occurring as the

stretch was much lower in the case of a

preacher curl compared to the incline

curl if it was truly stretch mediate

hypertrophy underlying the benefits of

Linkin partials and Linkin training you

would observe more hyper from linkline

CWS and that wasn't the case so clearly

it's not simply being a longer muscle

length and you can't just make the

causal jump from animal studies on

stretching or even human studies on

stretching to length and partials and

assume the same mechanism is a plate you

don't always have to go all in on

stretch medery it's also important to

get high active tension and even if

there is stretch media departy at play

there's probably a limit to how much it

will grow and how much further

emphasizing the stretch position and

resistance in Long muscle length how

much that will further benefit muscle

growth I agree that there is probably a

limit the issue is we don't we know yet

because we haven't done those studies on

anywhere near those limits of like

maximum muscle length training with

maximum tension it's something that we

still need to uncover that is the video

I just reacted to menal hensen's takes

on stretch meded hypertrophy and how

much it influences hypertrophy whether

it's even what is occurring behind

length and partials whether you should

be training with a full range of motion

or length and partials and so on my take

length and partials or even a full range

of motion likely don't really stimulate

meaningful amounts of stretch made

hypertrophy I think it's a common

misconception within the evidence-based

Fitness space at the moment however that

doesn't mean that lengthen training

isn't still better for hypertrophy it's

just not stretchmed hypertrophy and my

advice if you want to maximize muscle

growth you should be focusing on the

lengthen position that could be through

lengthen partials it could maybe even be

through excise selection personally all

of my training is linked in partials

take that for what you will I would give

men like a seven or eight out of 10 here

I think his description of studies was

spot on like he was saw it but I think

he is jumping to conclusions when it

comes to stretch Med hypertrophy some of

the mechanisms of play and potentially

that is impacting his recommendations

but it is all love and I've got much

respect for Mr Men hensman if you enjoy

the video leave a like comment subscribe

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