-Diablo's Journal, 10 August 2022

🏋🏾‍♀️Is training with a full range of motion better for muscle growth? 💪🏻Training with a small range of motion allows for greater weights to be used. It is often joked that this is more effective for training your ego, than it is for training your muscles. 🔍This study investigated the impact of heavy shallow squats (0-60 degrees knee flexion) and lighter deep squats (0-120 degrees knee flexion) on muscle growth. The 12-week strength training program was periodized, progressive, and had the same relative intensity. The subjects were sport science students with little or no resistance training experience. 🦵Muscle growth was measured at several positions on the front thigh (quadriceps, adductors, sartorius) and the back thigh (hamstrings) with MRI. 📈Deep squats resulted in greater muscle growth in all measured positions on the front thigh compared to the shallow squats, especially in the distal region (towards the knee). 📊There were no clear changes in the back thigh muscles as a result of the training. Therefore, there were also no differences between the groups. 🧐A strength of the study are the MRI scans at multiple heights of the muscle, which is a very good method to assess muscle mass. A limitation is that only one specific exercise was used. It is possible that the results do not translate to exercises that have different biomechanical properties. There is some indication that growth is not necessarily modulated by a greater range of motion, but by effort in the more stretched range specifically. There is also some indication in the literature that it’s not specifically the range of motion that matters, but that the muscle goes through the stretched position. 💡In conclusion, training with a greater range of motion can result in greater muscle mass gains when compared to a smaller range of motion with a heavier weight, despite that it requires the use of lighter weights. 📄Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23604798 #quartersquatgang #asstograss #deepsquats #partialrom #rangeofmotion #shallowsquats #squatgoals #fullrom #totalmusclegrowth #olympiclifting #mobility #powerlifting #flexibility 

There’s people who do 0-60deg squats??? I do 0-90 cuz past 90 you’re passing too much of the load onto your knees 

Assuming the 0-90 looks like the squatting picture that is 

I see quarter squats all the time. I go well below parallel and it produces a crazy burn and a lot more soreness. You have to work up to it though. If it makes you lose balance, I'd avoid them. Even with leg presses, I had to work up to the depth I use now. When I first tried them my heels would come up and/or my butt would come up off the bench. 

*Avoid them until you gain the flexibility is what I meant. Experts I follow like Jeff Nippard and Mike Israetel, don't consider 90 degrees a full squat. You miss out on the quad stretch which is said to help with hypertrophy. 

I feel like they could have added the 90deg squat into the mix and really nip everything in the butt. I could see how a 120 is better than a 60. Cuz at 60 you’re not creating the maximum tension where as at 90 that’s where the maximum tension is at. So really the hypertrophy could have come from the stretch and also the maximum tension. But how much is from max tension and how much is from the stretch is where a 90 vs a 120 will show. But I will try the 120 on my lighter squats when I’m working my way up, to see how I like it 👍🏿 

I'm a big believer of making the muscles stretch. I credit heavy dumbbell pressing for my chest size and the stretch I got at the bottom was always much better than with the barbell that stops at your chest. Give it a try. It's humbling. You'll have to lower the weight a lot. 

Funny you posted this. I’m limited at home and have maxed out my weights but been going way deeper in my squats to try to get more effects from it. And yesterday my daughter said, mom, your legs got some awesome muscle now!! So I believe I’m doing something right?!?! 😊😁 

You are, Wifey! Deep squats are killer! 

Yes they are. I’ve had bad DOMS this week. 😜 

Yea I tried these last week on my warmups and felt a lot of hip pressure. I didn’t like having weak spots so today was the second time to try it and I wanted to try it for real this time. Check almost 100lbs at the door lol it really makes my bottom quads pop! Which is what I been trying for! Appreciate the share also, good stuff 👌👍🏿💪 

Nice! They take some practice and some humble pie, but they are great.