Anecdotal evidence here, but i’ve really made some awesome gains using lengthened partials the last year! And when if i do my exercises full ROM i make sure to put an emphasis on the stretch and it really seems to make a difference. I’m not mentally strong enough yet to grind out 52 working sets per week though, Milo ;). Would love to make a video again in the future, keep up the good stuff 💪🏻
After watching so many videos, this is the most straightforward and useful video on this topic! Thanks for actually showing clips to help visualize what the lengthened partial of the exercise is!
I really like your videos and the way you convey the information. No false chatter, no woolly words, it’s a breath of fresh air. Keep up the good work. I am including more and more lengthened partials in my workout and I am really enjoying it. The only problem is when I see people doing short partials or full ROM and it’s constantly in my head ‘ahh, you are missing out on muscle gains doing this’ haha. Or when a bro asks me why I only do partials and that this is not good for me. Cheers from Bulgaria :)
Congratulations Doctor! I'm close to 390lbs so some of the exercises are harder for me to get full rom, I'm glad partials will still get me to the goals I want. Thank you for sharing all this information for free!
To me, it makes sense that you're going to see better results in parts of the lift that provide more tension. I would love to see a study between 2 groups training with resistance bands: - Group A: train the lengthened position - Group B: train the shortened position If there is something magical about the lengthened position, we would see it here.
I'm about to wrap a hypertrophy phase for a strength phase, I'm definitely excited to dive into the research before my next hypertrophy block and will probably do partial implementation next time, then adjust moving forward based on that experience and the atate of the research in fall - very excited to try for myself!
Great work milo, saw you on Jeff podcast , love these science videos n breakdowns , can we get more videos similar to this or on food, diet etc things with fitness just ideas. I personally don’t care about “influencers” training videos they are all dorks and bots. Excited to see you rise keep grinding boss.
@@WolfCoaching Hi Milo, please do a series on the best exercises for each muscle group with LP as I have recently started doing some at home with dumbbell squats, curls and shoulder press and the burn I feel in the muscle is so much better than when I was doing full ROM. I'm 57 and have been training at home with Dumbbells and bands since last July but I have decided to start going to the gym next month and filming my workouts and plan on training mostly LP's. I currently train every day and do a full body workout twice a week with a total of 124 sets of 10 reps weekly and on average, I do 20,000 reps a month. And congrats on becoming Dr Milo Wolf.
Additionally more info on what exercises are already lengthened biased or naturally give more stretch would be interesting ie dumbbell flies you mentioned
I’ve used these intuitively in the past at the end of sets like you mentioned, but now I’m taking a fresh look and going to focus on them for hypertrophy days. Some thoughts on alternate ways to integrate: 1. Full ROM as the dropset component: Rather than partials at the end, start with heavy partials. At failure, drop weight and hit full ROM. This strategy should work well on exercises where peak contraction is most difficult. 2. Alternating sets: Rather than mixing in the same set, do one set of heavier partials, one set of lighter full ROM, repeat.
I think it's possible that after muscles have been adapted to training at the lenghtened range of motion, the early good gains slow down because you can't add conctractile elements in longituadal fashion forever. They might work best with muscles you haven't trained this way before and might only work well for certain time. I think we need more long term studies of this before we overhype the findings.
Would love to have you react on other youtubers' lengthened partials videos. Seems like some think that it is only an intensification technique. Amazing video btw!
Make videos on these topics: 1) What is the best frequency for MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY - I want to be big 2) Is programming for hypertrophy important or not too much? 3) Can you just go RIR 0 / RPE 10 every time on all exercises when trying to focus only on hypertrophy? -> Or it is better to make 3 weeks long block for example and first week go RIR 2 - second week RIR 1 and the last week RIR 0 on all execises?? Can you go RIR 0 all the time when focusing on hypertrophy?
The structure of the video is a bit ignorant. The video title is "What are lengthened partials" and in the very beginning at 0:06 you address this. The ignorant part is that you wouldn't immediately explain what they even are, for those who don't know. You spend a few minutes talking about the details of something that you haven't even explained what it is. Why would you start with elaborating on a subject when you haven't even layed out the subject itself first? As someone who doesn't even understand what a lengthened partial is. Having that explanation from the jump would have allowed me to have better context and fully understand what you spent a few minutes talking about in the beginning. Sorry man, I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just found the structure of the video to be really weird, especially given the title that suggests you're assuming some people watching won't know what a lengthened partial is. You'd think explaining that would be the best place to start the video. That's kind of how any informational video on a particular subject, or even real life class would start. Explaining what it actually is.
@@satyr888 So, you're suggesting it's ideal for a viewer to start a video, pause it, and then start skipping through the video to hunt down an explanation of what the video is actually about, rather than the video beginning with a brief explanation of the topic the video is about?
New research like this make me excited to try new techniques in the gym! Looking at it from the other side, are there any exercises you would recommend to stick to full ROM with?
Hey Dr. Milo nice work as always. This would explain my huge biceps growth when I was a teenager because I unknowingly used LP when doing chin-ups and sticking in the bottom position always milking few more "half reps" reps and doing 10 sets of it lol. I am curious if you would be doing videos about how to best implement or combine strength and hypertrophy work with sport (combat athlete in my case but I am sure that other sports enthusiast would love it also). I watched all Dr. Mikes lectures regarding the subject (that is how I found your RUclips channel trough RP) and bought his Weight Training for Grappling but I would love to hear your take on it in general how would one approach it and especially if athletes should use LP to grow muscle and then switch to Full Rom to get strength benefits for the full movement after. Cheers
The studies must be read all, complete. And if you are going to address a specific topic, you have to read the studies that do not agree with what is going to be discussed in the video. Otherwise, the subjectivity of the professional is revealed, in this case: you. I recommend the analysis of studies that analyze the combination of the long partial movement, plus (+), or combined, the short partial movement. What a surprise he's going to get. Good luck.
Milo is there any data showing that titin or any signaling proteins are more sensitive/response to lengthened partials compared to full range of motion?
Also the thing with lengthend partials on a lot of lifts (mostly compounds) is the stretched and bottom half of most lifts you are mostly only using the targeted muscle like all pressing movements the more we push through the range of motion the more the triceps kick in and with back the more we are pulling the weight into our body the more the bicep and forearm kick in
I recently rediscovered inverted body weight rows. I originally stopped doing them because of how quickly the top part of the movement becomes too hard while I still have some juice left in the stretched position. Now I know this isn’t an issue and I can just keep half-repping to true failure
@benjoleo The muscles pulling the scapulas back are probably exhausted, and won't partisipate in your half reps, You get some lenhthen partials in the muscles connecting the arm with the scapula. But never in the lats. Hanging rows (especially in rings) is a good exercise. But it's a bad example for getting partials with lengthen muscles. But mid-range partials aren't so bad, are they?
I train with tubes and bands these days, mostly tubes, way easier on my dodgy elbow. And adding lengthened partials is how I've been training for a while. The most resistance is at the end of the repetition with elastic resistance, so I train to failure and then continue with lengthened partials, and often add an isometric hold. Stepping back to increase the stretch on the bands/tubes, for the partials, works great. Compensates for the resistance curve of the bands and tubes. I continue to be amazed at what a great workout I can get with elastic resistance. Myo Reps are great with band and tubes.
Hey milo! 1) Just a question for training the centre back like the rhomboids, traps, teres, and all that. How can we hit the lengthened position for something like barbell rows / seated cable rows? For example if we do the seated cable row and we fold our back out and do the stretch, does that emphasize more of the lats and then when you pull back it's more targeted to your centre back? (however not even stimulus because its contracted at the peak top instead of lengthened). 2) Im a calisthenics athlete, so planche and handstand push up require an unreal amount of shoulder strength. Is there anyway I can bias the front delt in the lengthened position or should I just stick to regular overhead presses (training them for hypertrophy, and then later for strength) Thanks, keep up the great content :)
May I know where the lengthened partial is for calves raises and lateral raises? I feel the strongest stretch in the top half but Dr. Wolf says the bottom half can be considered as the lengthened partial so, I am starting to get confused. I tried google but only indistinctive results came up. Much appreciated for the helpful answers in advance!
For those of us who are more interested in strength, is there any evidence from the current research to suggest benefits for strength as well? How would somebody whose goal is strength or performance best utilize lengthened partials for their goals? Add lengthened partials to accessory work? Add lengthened partial movements for hypertrophy in order to use the larger muscle for greater output later?
What do you think of athletes adopting lengthened partials? Full ROM seems like excellent GPP for sports. This is a slightly nuanced topic since many athletes apparently don't actually do full ROM and what they think is full ROM isn't. I'm just wondering what happens to someone who needs to take their body through a variety of motions and joint angles abandoning resistance training outside the range that is most hypertrophic. Congratulations on the PhD, Dr. Milo.
Strength gains are specific to the ROM you train in. Want to get better at full ROM? Do full ROM. Want to get better at a partial ROM? Do that partial ROM.
Milo, are there any studies on loaded stretching vs passive stretching/pnf/etc.? Example: loaded pancake stretch with a barbell vs passive pancake stretch, or Jefferson curl vs standing pike stretch. I've always found that loaded stretches work much better than normal passive stretches in the right dose - the gains seem to come faster and stick around longer. I tend to use reps instead of long holds, and now I'm thinking that mobility isn't the only benefit to this, but also extra hypertrophy. In reverse, stretch mediated hypertrophy and training at long muscle lengths might have benefits to mobility as well.
So would the best practice be to combine lengthened partials with the way Dr. Mike lifts? Slow eccentric, short pause, explode, and stop and the "halfway" point?
Hey Milo, thank you for this great video. I have a question on lengthened supersets. You say they may be less effective because there's less total time spent in the lengthened position during the set. But what about the science showing the most hypertrophic part of the set are the last few reps close to failure aka "effective reps". Doing a lengthened superset would mean the majority of "effective reps" would be in the lengthened position whereas the full rom reps before that point (let's say the first 5 reps of a 12 rep set) would simply be a prerequisite to get to those "effective reps" and not really hypertrophic themselves. So would it matter if I did either a full set of lengthened partials or a lengthened superset if the "effective reps" are going to be lengthened biased anyways? Thanks in advance.
The endpoint is the same; failure on a lengthened partial. So, you get just as many "close to fail" reps either way. However, when doing lengthened partials-only, all those reps take place in a more stimulating position.
Awesome video! So I had a distal bicep tear and surgical reattachment. The result is that I have a gap in the distal portion of my left bicep. This has been a nagging problem in my training. I will try lengthened partials. Is this a good idea in my case?
Good Dr. Wolf, what position should we use for pin-loaded prime machines? Should it be in the fully lengthened position or lengthened/mid position? I think that’s 3 for lengthened in the prime preacher curl vs. 5 for the lengthened/mid. I know you recommended for plate-loaded prime machines 80% in the lengthened position and 20% in the mid-position so wondering if it should be 5 or fully lengthened at 3.
After 20 years lifting weights and past my prime, im doing lenghtened partials to see if i can still make the gains i could have if i knew that from the beginning.
Most lengthen partials will look at growth of targeted muscle. Whereas a full ROM will involve more muscles. It’s a movement pattern, I’m fine with isolating muscles to achieve a look but don’t ignore the fact that full ROM actually works the body or part of the body in a ‘functional’ role.
Dr. Milo - curious question. What about exercises that restrict the muscle from a true lengthened position, such as triceps cable pushdowns and biceps preacher curls? In ur opinion, are these exercises worth the time/energy expenditure (for hypertrophy goals) even if I focus on the deepest stretch range on said exercises?
That said.. in some cases, like the preacher curl, the resistance curve will be favourable while the position isn’t. In these cases, it makes for a good but not perfect exercise - use your best judgement
@@WolfCoachingHi Milo. By the position not being favourable on the preacher curl, you mean from a risk to reward ratio? I’m trying long length partials on them, but my right bicep tendon clicks on the last reps. I’m afraid going to complete lockout might risk a bicep tear… what do you suggest?
@victortironi2403 with exercies that are already high risk for i njury like the preacher curls i woudnt risk it pick safer exercises that you can experiment with muscle building techniques on
@@billy-johnson678 there’s nothing higher risk abt preachers, if you do them properly incl warmups and very slow eccentrics, compared to other exercises. Stop listening to nonsense based on the few freaky injury videos out there.
Congrats on your PHD, Doc! I've been a subscriber since your first vid with Dr. Mike and I'm ready to jump into using lengthened partials for my next meso. Quick question: I'm specializing shoulders, medial deltoids in particular, and I'm trying to figure out the best ways to target that lengthened position. I feel like cable laterals and cable upright rows are far superior to using barbells or DBs. Am I right thinking this way?
Imagine 2 people, A and B, with the exact same proportions. They are both doing rows. Their starting position is maximally lengthened and exactly the same. They do the same number of reps with the same weight. However, A does lengthened partials only, while B does full ROM only. Thus, B will be do doing all of the work that A does, plus some more (the shortened range). Would you expect A to make better gains despite B doing exactly the same work, plus more, and likely finishing at a higher RPE? If you would, then the only way I can possibly believe that more work produces less growth is If doing the full ROM is essentially allowing fatigue buildup in the lengthened range to dissipate. essentially, at a certain point the muscle is no longer lengthened/doing the shortened part pf the range acts as rest by allowing the muscle to shorten. these mini breaks away from being lengthened dissipate lengthened-fatigue in a way that reduces growth stimulus. if that is correct, what effect would never training the shortened position have on overall muscle and tendon health/would it produce imbalanced muscles? Also, would this suggest that maximal isometric holds/pushes and pulls against immovable objects, from a lengthened position, would be even better training? Finally, how would this affect exercises like squats where load would likely have to be reduced?
I’m still confused on the reps and weight, if you want to perform whole set of lengthened partials on bicep curl do you use the same weight as for Full Rom and similar rep range?
Hi Milo, thanks a lot for these wonderful videos. In relation to your full body workout program, with the latest research showing high volumes increases muscle growth, should we be jacking the sets up in your program? Maybe doing intensity techniques e.g drop sets/myo reps. Or is a upper lower split or Push/pull/legs better for ramping the volume?
You definitely could! That said, just sticking to the top end of the set ranges will do the trick. Fullbody splits are likely best for volume accumulation.
Is it right that a study shows that lengthened Partials are better than full range of motion for the legs (Squat) although the lenghened Partials Group cant do so much weight? What can be the reason for that?
Combination of all including reduced ROM variations like pin squat/bench, cables, bands, chains is best. All different stimulus and variation Full rom is generally gonna be my go to because it’s the most balanced stimulus. Lengthened uses more weight, so does reduced rom variations except this is in the bottom instead of top. Between that and not being able to rest at the top it might cause more CNS fatigue+more weight=more body stress
Great video and a concept I have tried integrating in my own workouts for a while. If we are talking about side delt hypertrophy, would you say that cables are needed rather than using dumbells? Since dumbells actually are the hardest during concentric phase and much easier at the stretched position?
Great vid! I'm getting awesome results with these for most pushing and pulling movements. Quick Q - would lengthened partials be good for DB lateral raises? Would this mean I pick a heavier weight and only go up to 45 degrees or 60 degrees or so? But then isn't the most tension (most productive part) at the top (90 degrees)? Help me understand :) Cheers
@@WolfCoaching Tried it today on all my sets (DB laterals), felt amazing. Let myself have up to 60deg then call it a failed set when I'm barely getting to 30deg. Great pump and really 'pure' muscle feeling, usually I feel trap and back (and rib??) muscles getting involved during 'normal' laterals. New secret weapon for delts, thanks ;)
Google Mountain Dog Partial Dumbbell Side Laterals. It's a perfect illustration of this. But I agree, doing these with a cable and one of these wrist/ankle wraps that are often used for glute kickbacks will be even better. It's the gnarliest pump I've ever had in my side delts in 9 years of training.
Thank you for the video! I have a question, if Long-Length Partialsare more preferable for hypertrophy, does it make sense to do only them, and not do exercises in full amplitude at all (naturally, in relation to those muscles with which we can do this), so as not to waste strength, and pass more Long-Length Partials
Dr Wolf, Dr Israetel is a proponent of so called, myo rep sets, i.e, performing additional mini sets, at the target RIR, with short rest say 5 - 10sec until a goal number of reps is achieved. Would you recommend incorporating myo rep sets into lengthened partial training? If so, would the principle remain the same or would it require substantial variation? It seems to me that myo reps would easily apply "as is" without any changes but I would appreciate your insight.
As always, great video! Does anyone know if the RDL counts as a lengthened partial movement? I’m asking because you start upright and then begin to descend but stop before the barbell hits the ground (at about knee level). If not, how would a lengthened partial for a deadlift look like? Would you start from the ground and then lift the barbell but descend before you are fully upright and then down to the ground again? Sorry about the confusion, I’m still finding my way at the gym😅
Like most folks, I held the apparent misguided belief that contraction yielded the biggest pump. That range is easiest - that’s why I see almost every gym bro ego lifting at that range. Now I aim for full ROM but I focus heavily on lengthened range … I’ve been almost astounded how much PUMP I get from deep heavy lengthened partials.
With machines and lengthened partials, should one pause in the most stretched position (not bottoming out or letting the weight rest) or is the reflex better (aka continuous reps with/without bottoming out)? How do you rate Hammer Strength machines for lengthened partials? Which if any are better or worse? Are dumbbell pullovers better than lat cable prayers?
Regarding doing a set for example for Specifically Hypertrophy how many lengthened Partials would you recommend ie if i did 3 lengthened Partials and 1 full ROM rep how many total lengthened Partials would you look to do in that set
Actually crazy anecdote evidence I was pretty athletic guy my whole life even in my early 20s still did a lot of bodybuilding, powerlifting, basketball boxing etc. little over 2 years ago I had to do chemo. Long story short beat my condition, however I lost 60lbs I was already 170 so finished out 110lbs getting back into lifting was hard so I focused on the partial rom with focus on eccentric into finally getting back to lifting. Seeing this now makes sense as to why I put my weight back on.
All the studies so far have been on what is also the most difficult part of the lift, back training generally doesn't follow this, but I haven't found any study where the easiest part of the lift illicit more hypertrophy, do you have any with back training?
Is it possible that the ability to use higher absolute loads when doing LLP versus full ROM is one of or the main reasons it is better for muscle growth? Like being able to curl 16kg dumbbells with full ROM for 12 reps vs. being able to curl 20kg dumbbells as a LLP for 12 reps.
I would like to try them on pullups, but I don't know how much extra weight my door frame can handle 😅. How slow should I do the lengthened partials? For strength, if I e. g. want to improve my Front Lever pullup, should I do shortened partials because the resistance is the hardest at the top, or should I also do lengthened partials for this kind of resistance curve (or even only isometric holds at the hardest position)?
Great video! I've been considering incorporating lengthened partials for hypertrophy, and your insights were awesome. I'm curious, though, if there's any concern about biasing the lengthened part of the muscle in regards to injury risk. I've heard that pushing for the highest resistance at full stretch, especially in muscles like the biceps, chest, or hamstrings, could increase the probability of tendon tearing. Is there any evidence supporting this claim, or perhaps tips on mitigating this risk, like specific warm-up strategies?
Currently, there's no evidence to suggest that's the case, IMHO. Warm-up a bit more thoroughly if you'd like and control the tempo more in that stretch! But don't nocebo yourself.
WOLF… let me take this a step further. When I started, I never did tricep kickbacks and basically did mostly lengthened partials as was the general recommendation back in the day. I gained tricep size. But as soon as I started tricep kickbacks, I got a much more defined horseshoe! So…… is it that relatively, lengthened partials produce more gains than contracted partials but also that they hypertrophy different parts of the muscle? Maybe some combo of lengthened AND contracted partials might produce more gains than lengthened partials alone?
Hi, Doctor Wolf, love your content, to put it simply. However, is the study on lengthen partials vs full rom really conclusive? for instance, when you compare to full rom, you mentioned leaving some partial reps in the tank. however when i do full rom (as per RP, controlled, slow eccentric etc), when i fail, i also cannot lift an inch anymore, not even 1 or 2 partial reps, so in essence already reach complete muscular failure. in this case, what would the benefit of lengthened partials, since complete muscular failure is the benefit of lengthen partials, unless i am mistaken?
The benefit would likely be smaller, but not non-existent. The benefit of lengthened partials, practically, is probably two-fold. (1) You reach closer to "true" failure (2) You spend more time in a more anabolic/lengthened position. With your approach, you achieve #1, but not #2.
Hey doc what's ur take on Myo reps/rest pause.... On one hand we know that sufficient rest between sets is very crucial but on the other hand we also see reputed PPL like Dr Mike isertael himself promoting myoreps as an intensity technique fr better gains How can both be there??
Hi Dr Milo, I was wondering if there was also a difference in fatigue levels of full ROM and Lengthened partials just like stimulus, since we are using more weight and spending more time in the most difficult part of the lift. And if yes then how much?
The answer there is: we just don’t know yet. Anyone claiming otherwise is jumping through more hoops than I think is warranted. We lack direct evidence!
Did them at the end of sets with the leverage squat. Went lower weight than normal and damn that felt insanely good. I notice if you have 2-3 RIR when starting lengthned partials you can maybe match the RIR or even less than the RIR, why is that?
Anecdotal evidence here, but i’ve really made some awesome gains using lengthened partials the last year! And when if i do my exercises full ROM i make sure to put an emphasis on the stretch and it really seems to make a difference.
I’m not mentally strong enough yet to grind out 52 working sets per week though, Milo ;). Would love to make a video again in the future, keep up the good stuff 💪🏻
Right there w you.
I’m glad to hear it young king. Definitely collab again soon!
#DarioDroog2
Seems like a great thing for calisthenics exercises as well, getting that active stretch in.
After watching so many videos, this is the most straightforward and useful video on this topic! Thanks for actually showing clips to help visualize what the lengthened partial of the exercise is!
I really like your videos and the way you convey the information. No false chatter, no woolly words, it’s a breath of fresh air. Keep up the good work. I am including more and more lengthened partials in my workout and I am really enjoying it. The only problem is when I see people doing short partials or full ROM and it’s constantly in my head ‘ahh, you are missing out on muscle gains doing this’ haha. Or when a bro asks me why I only do partials and that this is not good for me. Cheers from Bulgaria :)
Congratulations Doctor! I'm close to 390lbs so some of the exercises are harder for me to get full rom, I'm glad partials will still get me to the goals I want. Thank you for sharing all this information for free!
Thank you! Glad this stuff is helpful man.
Trying this out, just had my first workout focusing on lengthened partials and it felt amazing, thanks for your research
Glad to hear it was helpful Gosu!
To me, it makes sense that you're going to see better results in parts of the lift that provide more tension. I would love to see a study between 2 groups training with resistance bands:
- Group A: train the lengthened position
- Group B: train the shortened position
If there is something magical about the lengthened position, we would see it here.
great video, been waiting for this for a long time
Thank you, Tarantula!
Buddy.. your channel is going to blow up soon! This is amazing info. Thank you Milo !
Thank you Stefano! Appreciate it.
video sponsored by Big ROM™️ and Big Volume™️
Big rom wants to keep us small.
My lawyers will be in touch.
I'm about to wrap a hypertrophy phase for a strength phase, I'm definitely excited to dive into the research before my next hypertrophy block and will probably do partial implementation next time, then adjust moving forward based on that experience and the atate of the research in fall - very excited to try for myself!
Great work milo, saw you on Jeff podcast , love these science videos n breakdowns , can we get more videos similar to this or on food, diet etc things with fitness just ideas. I personally don’t care about “influencers” training videos they are all dorks and bots. Excited to see you rise keep grinding boss.
For sure! The influencer reaction videos are going to be less frequent - most of the content is information-driven
can't wait for the training with Dr Mike. great info, Dr Milo. you've convinced me to do lengthened partials after full ROM reps.
It's coming soon! Glad you enjoyed it.
Best exercises for lengthen partials would be a great video!! Curious on your thoughts. Thank you teacher
*most exercises* are suitable, but I may make a series on best exercises for each muscle group. Thoughts?
@@WolfCoaching that would be extremely helpful
@@WolfCoaching Hi Milo, please do a series on the best exercises for each muscle group with LP as I have recently started doing some at home with dumbbell squats, curls and shoulder press and the burn I feel in the muscle is so much better than when I was doing full ROM. I'm 57 and have been training at home with Dumbbells and bands since last July but I have decided to start going to the gym next month and filming my workouts and plan on training mostly LP's. I currently train every day and do a full body workout twice a week with a total of 124 sets of 10 reps weekly and on average, I do 20,000 reps a month. And congrats on becoming Dr Milo Wolf.
@@WolfCoaching100%!
Additionally more info on what exercises are already lengthened biased or naturally give more stretch would be interesting ie dumbbell flies you mentioned
Dr. Milo Wolf is my hero!
Lol, thank you Nate!
Congrats DOCTOR Milo!
Always good real-Doctor! Love that Prime 80% on lengthened loaded pin and 20 % mid. Thanks for all the invaluable info.
All good! Glad you found it helpful!
I’ve used these intuitively in the past at the end of sets like you mentioned, but now I’m taking a fresh look and going to focus on them for hypertrophy days. Some thoughts on alternate ways to integrate:
1. Full ROM as the dropset component: Rather than partials at the end, start with heavy partials. At failure, drop weight and hit full ROM. This strategy should work well on exercises where peak contraction is most difficult.
2. Alternating sets: Rather than mixing in the same set, do one set of heavier partials, one set of lighter full ROM, repeat.
I think it's possible that after muscles have been adapted to training at the lenghtened range of motion, the early good gains slow down because you can't add conctractile elements in longituadal fashion forever. They might work best with muscles you haven't trained this way before and might only work well for certain time. I think we need more long term studies of this before we overhype the findings.
Would love to have you react on other youtubers' lengthened partials videos. Seems like some think that it is only an intensification technique. Amazing video btw!
I’ve got a couple videos like that in the works! Thank you.
Thanks for sharing such amazing videos! They’re quite valuable and helpful.
Great video Milo! I actually did lengthend partials for the first time today, and the burn I got in leg press was substantial😅
That's awesome! LPs on the LP are great
haha good one@@WolfCoaching
Great summary 🤌
Thank you Martin!
Great video. Lots of practical tips. Thank you Milo.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Make videos on these topics:
1) What is the best frequency for MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY - I want to be big
2) Is programming for hypertrophy important or not too much?
3) Can you just go RIR 0 / RPE 10 every time on all exercises when trying to focus only on hypertrophy? -> Or it is better to make 3 weeks long block for example and first week go RIR 2 - second week RIR 1 and the last week RIR 0 on all execises?? Can you go RIR 0 all the time when focusing on hypertrophy?
Will definitely be incorporating these into my work outs
Let me know how it goes Ducky
What about isometric static holds: are they useful?
The structure of the video is a bit ignorant. The video title is "What are lengthened partials" and in the very beginning at 0:06 you address this. The ignorant part is that you wouldn't immediately explain what they even are, for those who don't know. You spend a few minutes talking about the details of something that you haven't even explained what it is. Why would you start with elaborating on a subject when you haven't even layed out the subject itself first? As someone who doesn't even understand what a lengthened partial is. Having that explanation from the jump would have allowed me to have better context and fully understand what you spent a few minutes talking about in the beginning. Sorry man, I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just found the structure of the video to be really weird, especially given the title that suggests you're assuming some people watching won't know what a lengthened partial is. You'd think explaining that would be the best place to start the video. That's kind of how any informational video on a particular subject, or even real life class would start. Explaining what it actually is.
that's why there are time stamps for
@@satyr888 So, you're suggesting it's ideal for a viewer to start a video, pause it, and then start skipping through the video to hunt down an explanation of what the video is actually about, rather than the video beginning with a brief explanation of the topic the video is about?
New research like this make me excited to try new techniques in the gym! Looking at it from the other side, are there any exercises you would recommend to stick to full ROM with?
Great info!!!Thank you
Hey Dr. Milo nice work as always. This would explain my huge biceps growth when I was a teenager because I unknowingly used LP when doing chin-ups and sticking in the bottom position always milking few more "half reps" reps and doing 10 sets of it lol. I am curious if you would be doing videos about how to best implement or combine strength and hypertrophy work with sport (combat athlete in my case but I am sure that other sports enthusiast would love it also). I watched all Dr. Mikes lectures regarding the subject (that is how I found your RUclips channel trough RP) and bought his Weight Training for Grappling but I would love to hear your take on it in general how would one approach it and especially if athletes should use LP to grow muscle and then switch to Full Rom to get strength benefits for the full movement after. Cheers
The studies must be read all, complete. And if you are going to address a specific topic, you have to read the studies that do not agree with what is going to be discussed in the video.
Otherwise, the subjectivity of the professional is revealed, in this case: you.
I recommend the analysis of studies that analyze the combination of the long partial movement, plus (+), or combined, the short partial movement.
What a surprise he's going to get.
Good luck.
I'd like to see workouts doing lenghthened partials so I can see the actual exercises. Great information.
Check out the playlists on my channel; they have demonstrations!
Would love to see your take on Joel Seedman!
Great explanation
Thank you!
Love this contnet. Super helpful
Milo is there any data showing that titin or any signaling proteins are more sensitive/response to lengthened partials compared to full range of motion?
Nice self-like, William. There's data showing greater phosphorylation at greater MTU lengths.
@@WolfCoaching was unaware, thank you. Do you have the link?
Also the thing with lengthend partials on a lot of lifts (mostly compounds) is the stretched and bottom half of most lifts you are mostly only using the targeted muscle like all pressing movements the more we push through the range of motion the more the triceps kick in and with back the more we are pulling the weight into our body the more the bicep and forearm kick in
I recently rediscovered inverted body weight rows. I originally stopped doing them because of how quickly the top part of the movement becomes too hard while I still have some juice left in the stretched position. Now I know this isn’t an issue and I can just keep half-repping to true failure
You got it!
@benjoleo
The muscles pulling the scapulas back are probably exhausted, and won't partisipate in your half reps,
You get some lenhthen partials in the muscles connecting the arm with the scapula. But never in the lats.
Hanging rows (especially in rings) is a good exercise. But it's a bad example for getting partials with lengthen muscles.
But mid-range partials aren't so bad, are they?
Thank you for the informative video. How do you do lengthened partials for the side delts?
I train with tubes and bands these days, mostly tubes, way easier on my dodgy elbow. And adding lengthened partials is how I've been training for a while. The most resistance is at the end of the repetition with elastic resistance, so I train to failure and then continue with lengthened partials, and often add an isometric hold. Stepping back to increase the stretch on the bands/tubes, for the partials, works great.
Compensates for the resistance curve of the bands and tubes. I continue to be amazed at what a great workout I can get with elastic resistance. Myo Reps are great with band and tubes.
That's a great idea, Martin! Solid work
Please make a review or study about pulse reps or x-reps!
What do you think of lenghtened isometrics for Hypertrophy? Great Video
Hey milo!
1) Just a question for training the centre back like the rhomboids, traps, teres, and all that. How can we hit the lengthened position for something like barbell rows / seated cable rows? For example if we do the seated cable row and we fold our back out and do the stretch, does that emphasize more of the lats and then when you pull back it's more targeted to your centre back? (however not even stimulus because its contracted at the peak top instead of lengthened).
2) Im a calisthenics athlete, so planche and handstand push up require an unreal amount of shoulder strength. Is there anyway I can bias the front delt in the lengthened position or should I just stick to regular overhead presses (training them for hypertrophy, and then later for strength)
Thanks, keep up the great content :)
May I know where the lengthened partial is for calves raises and lateral raises? I feel the strongest stretch in the top half but Dr. Wolf says the bottom half can be considered as the lengthened partial so, I am starting to get confused. I tried google but only indistinctive results came up. Much appreciated for the helpful answers in advance!
Did bicep partials after i saw Nippard's vid and i was happy with the burn
That's awesome!
For those of us who are more interested in strength, is there any evidence from the current research to suggest benefits for strength as well? How would somebody whose goal is strength or performance best utilize lengthened partials for their goals? Add lengthened partials to accessory work? Add lengthened partial movements for hypertrophy in order to use the larger muscle for greater output later?
What do you think of athletes adopting lengthened partials? Full ROM seems like excellent GPP for sports. This is a slightly nuanced topic since many athletes apparently don't actually do full ROM and what they think is full ROM isn't. I'm just wondering what happens to someone who needs to take their body through a variety of motions and joint angles abandoning resistance training outside the range that is most hypertrophic. Congratulations on the PhD, Dr. Milo.
Thank you! Well, I think they should stick to the ROM of their sport, mostly. Improvements are ROM-specific!
Great stuff!
Thank you!
Could you add LPs after you do a full ROM set?
Question. Because the partials what are the positive or negative consequenses for the tendons?
Are strength gains using lengthened partials comparable to that of FROM training? Great video. 19:01
Strength gains are specific to the ROM you train in. Want to get better at full ROM? Do full ROM. Want to get better at a partial ROM? Do that partial ROM.
Milo, are there any studies on loaded stretching vs passive stretching/pnf/etc.? Example: loaded pancake stretch with a barbell vs passive pancake stretch, or Jefferson curl vs standing pike stretch. I've always found that loaded stretches work much better than normal passive stretches in the right dose - the gains seem to come faster and stick around longer. I tend to use reps instead of long holds, and now I'm thinking that mobility isn't the only benefit to this, but also extra hypertrophy. In reverse, stretch mediated hypertrophy and training at long muscle lengths might have benefits to mobility as well.
What's the optimal range of motion for a lengthened partial.. what's the least amount of range for optimization
So would the best practice be to combine lengthened partials with the way Dr. Mike lifts? Slow eccentric, short pause, explode, and stop and the "halfway" point?
I tried them, and they kicked my doms in pretty hard last couple days. No volume increase for me today.
Hey Milo, thank you for this great video. I have a question on lengthened supersets. You say they may be less effective because there's less total time spent in the lengthened position during the set. But what about the science showing the most hypertrophic part of the set are the last few reps close to failure aka "effective reps". Doing a lengthened superset would mean the majority of "effective reps" would be in the lengthened position whereas the full rom reps before that point (let's say the first 5 reps of a 12 rep set) would simply be a prerequisite to get to those "effective reps" and not really hypertrophic themselves. So would it matter if I did either a full set of lengthened partials or a lengthened superset if the "effective reps" are going to be lengthened biased anyways? Thanks in advance.
The endpoint is the same; failure on a lengthened partial. So, you get just as many "close to fail" reps either way. However, when doing lengthened partials-only, all those reps take place in a more stimulating position.
Awesome video! So I had a distal bicep tear and surgical reattachment. The result is that I have a gap in the distal portion of my left bicep. This has been a nagging problem in my training. I will try lengthened partials. Is this a good idea in my case?
Could you make a video about lengthened partials vs full rom and if they effect doms different?
What’s better doing just partial reps or doing full range of motion then partial thanks
Good Dr. Wolf, what position should we use for pin-loaded prime machines? Should it be in the fully lengthened position or lengthened/mid position? I think that’s 3 for lengthened in the prime preacher curl vs. 5 for the lengthened/mid.
I know you recommended for plate-loaded prime machines 80% in the lengthened position and 20% in the mid-position so wondering if it should be 5 or fully lengthened at 3.
After 20 years lifting weights and past my prime, im doing lenghtened partials to see if i can still make the gains i could have if i knew that from the beginning.
Most lengthen partials will look at growth of targeted muscle. Whereas a full ROM will involve more muscles. It’s a movement pattern, I’m fine with isolating muscles to achieve a look but don’t ignore the fact that full ROM actually works the body or part of the body in a ‘functional’ role.
yes yes yes game changer in exercise science!!!
Thank you jujojio!
Dr. Milo - curious question. What about exercises that restrict the muscle from a true lengthened position, such as triceps cable pushdowns and biceps preacher curls? In ur opinion, are these exercises worth the time/energy expenditure (for hypertrophy goals) even if I focus on the deepest stretch range on said exercises?
Probably not. Time and energy better spent on more lengthened exercises!
That said.. in some cases, like the preacher curl, the resistance curve will be favourable while the position isn’t. In these cases, it makes for a good but not perfect exercise - use your best judgement
@@WolfCoachingHi Milo. By the position not being favourable on the preacher curl, you mean from a risk to reward ratio? I’m trying long length partials on them, but my right bicep tendon clicks on the last reps. I’m afraid going to complete lockout might risk a bicep tear… what do you suggest?
@victortironi2403 with exercies that are already high risk for i njury like the preacher curls i woudnt risk it pick safer exercises that you can experiment with muscle building techniques on
@@billy-johnson678 there’s nothing higher risk abt preachers, if you do them properly incl warmups and very slow eccentrics, compared to other exercises. Stop listening to nonsense based on the few freaky injury videos out there.
Are lengthened partials good for strength too? Or only size ?
Bro decided to record his defense and thought we wouldn’t notice
LMAO. If only my defense had been this easy 😂
Congrats on your PHD, Doc! I've been a subscriber since your first vid with Dr. Mike and I'm ready to jump into using lengthened partials for my next meso. Quick question: I'm specializing shoulders, medial deltoids in particular, and I'm trying to figure out the best ways to target that lengthened position. I feel like cable laterals and cable upright rows are far superior to using barbells or DBs. Am I right thinking this way?
You're correct! Machine laterals are great, too. I have a video on shoulder exercises coming soon!
But i wonder if the part of the range of motion where the muscle is being shortened is building a specific area of the muscle?
what is the pump like on LPs? Also does it work in more or less all rep ranges?
I think it works well! Others have reported the same
Imagine 2 people, A and B, with the exact same proportions. They are both doing rows. Their starting position is maximally lengthened and exactly the same. They do the same number of reps with the same weight. However, A does lengthened partials only, while B does full ROM only. Thus, B will be do doing all of the work that A does, plus some more (the shortened range). Would you expect A to make better gains despite B doing exactly the same work, plus more, and likely finishing at a higher RPE?
If you would, then the only way I can possibly believe that more work produces less growth is If doing the full ROM is essentially allowing fatigue buildup in the lengthened range to dissipate. essentially, at a certain point the muscle is no longer lengthened/doing the shortened part pf the range acts as rest by allowing the muscle to shorten. these mini breaks away from being lengthened dissipate lengthened-fatigue in a way that reduces growth stimulus.
if that is correct, what effect would never training the shortened position have on overall muscle and tendon health/would it produce imbalanced muscles? Also, would this suggest that maximal isometric holds/pushes and pulls against immovable objects, from a lengthened position, would be even better training? Finally, how would this affect exercises like squats where load would likely have to be reduced?
I’m still confused on the reps and weight, if you want to perform whole set of lengthened partials on bicep curl do you use the same weight as for Full Rom and similar rep range?
Hi Milo, thanks a lot for these wonderful videos. In relation to your full body workout program, with the latest research showing high volumes increases muscle growth, should we be jacking the sets up in your program? Maybe doing intensity techniques e.g drop sets/myo reps.
Or is a upper lower split or Push/pull/legs better for ramping the volume?
You definitely could! That said, just sticking to the top end of the set ranges will do the trick. Fullbody splits are likely best for volume accumulation.
Congrats Milo on the title
Thank you sir!
Is it right that a study shows that lengthened Partials are better than full range of motion for the legs (Squat) although the lenghened Partials Group cant do so much weight? What can be the reason for that?
Combination of all including reduced ROM variations like pin squat/bench, cables, bands, chains is best. All different stimulus and variation
Full rom is generally gonna be my go to because it’s the most balanced stimulus. Lengthened uses more weight, so does reduced rom variations except this is in the bottom instead of top. Between that and not being able to rest at the top it might cause more CNS fatigue+more weight=more body stress
Fair enough!
would this be viable with myo's; I can't see why not, but i might be missing something
how can we integrate lengthened partials for side delta? standard partial lateral raises?
Yep, or, better yet, cable or machine lateral raises. More tension in the stretched position!
Great video and a concept I have tried integrating in my own workouts for a while. If we are talking about side delt hypertrophy, would you say that cables are needed rather than using dumbells? Since dumbells actually are the hardest during concentric phase and much easier at the stretched position?
"Needed" is a strong word, but yes, cables will do a better job!
Just found your channel. Really want to dive in to all your videos, but that background musac drives me crazy! Do all your vids have it?
It's quieter on other vids!
STAY WITH IT
@@WolfCoaching Thank you! I'll keep going🙂
I watched this video to failure with lengthed partials and gained +20 pounds of muscle
Quick easy trick 😎😎
Great vid! I'm getting awesome results with these for most pushing and pulling movements. Quick Q - would lengthened partials be good for DB lateral raises? Would this mean I pick a heavier weight and only go up to 45 degrees or 60 degrees or so? But then isn't the most tension (most productive part) at the top (90 degrees)? Help me understand :) Cheers
You'd be correct! But to make that lengthened position really effective, consider using cables instead. Failing that, 45-60 degrees is good.
@@WolfCoaching Tried it today on all my sets (DB laterals), felt amazing. Let myself have up to 60deg then call it a failed set when I'm barely getting to 30deg.
Great pump and really 'pure' muscle feeling, usually I feel trap and back (and rib??) muscles getting involved during 'normal' laterals.
New secret weapon for delts, thanks ;)
Google Mountain Dog Partial Dumbbell Side Laterals. It's a perfect illustration of this. But I agree, doing these with a cable and one of these wrist/ankle wraps that are often used for glute kickbacks will be even better. It's the gnarliest pump I've ever had in my side delts in 9 years of training.
Are tempo considerations the same with LP? With a more “shallow ROM” are slower eccentrics as effective as with full ROM?
I'd say stick with the same tempo if you can.
Thank you for the video!
I have a question, if Long-Length Partialsare more preferable for hypertrophy, does it make sense to do only them, and not do exercises in full amplitude at all (naturally, in relation to those muscles with which we can do this), so as not to waste strength, and pass more Long-Length Partials
Dr Wolf, Dr Israetel is a proponent of so called, myo rep sets, i.e, performing additional mini sets, at the target RIR, with short rest say 5 - 10sec until a goal number of reps is achieved. Would you recommend incorporating myo rep sets into lengthened partial training? If so, would the principle remain the same or would it require substantial variation? It seems to me that myo reps would easily apply "as is" without any changes but I would appreciate your insight.
The principle would remain the same. Myo-reps probably work fine, but there's not a ton of evidence there yet.
As always, great video! Does anyone know if the RDL counts as a lengthened partial movement? I’m asking because you start upright and then begin to descend but stop before the barbell hits the ground (at about knee level). If not, how would a lengthened partial for a deadlift look like? Would you start from the ground and then lift the barbell but descend before you are fully upright and then down to the ground again? Sorry about the confusion, I’m still finding my way at the gym😅
Start from the ground, and go halfway up👍
Like most folks, I held the apparent misguided belief that contraction yielded the biggest pump. That range is easiest - that’s why I see almost every gym bro ego lifting at that range. Now I aim for full ROM but I focus heavily on lengthened range … I’ve been almost astounded how much PUMP I get from deep heavy lengthened partials.
That’s awesome man. Stoked to hear it!
With machines and lengthened partials, should one pause in the most stretched position (not bottoming out or letting the weight rest) or is the reflex better (aka continuous reps with/without bottoming out)? How do you rate Hammer Strength machines for lengthened partials? Which if any are better or worse? Are dumbbell pullovers better than lat cable prayers?
Regarding doing a set for example for Specifically Hypertrophy how many lengthened Partials would you recommend ie if i did 3 lengthened Partials and 1 full ROM rep how many total lengthened Partials would you look to do in that set
Actually crazy anecdote evidence I was pretty athletic guy my whole life even in my early 20s still did a lot of bodybuilding, powerlifting, basketball boxing etc. little over 2 years ago I had to do chemo. Long story short beat my condition, however I lost 60lbs I was already 170 so finished out 110lbs getting back into lifting was hard so I focused on the partial rom with focus on eccentric into finally getting back to lifting. Seeing this now makes sense as to why I put my weight back on.
Dude! Happy to hear you're doing better. Glad to hear you're feeling better now, too!
All the studies so far have been on what is also the most difficult part of the lift, back training generally doesn't follow this, but I haven't found any study where the easiest part of the lift illicit more hypertrophy, do you have any with back training?
Great🌸👏👏
Thank you Adrian!
@@WolfCoaching ❤️
Is it possible that the ability to use higher absolute loads when doing LLP versus full ROM is one of or the main reasons it is better for muscle growth? Like being able to curl 16kg dumbbells with full ROM for 12 reps vs. being able to curl 20kg dumbbells as a LLP for 12 reps.
I would like to try them on pullups, but I don't know how much extra weight my door frame can handle 😅. How slow should I do the lengthened partials? For strength, if I e. g. want to improve my Front Lever pullup, should I do shortened partials because the resistance is the hardest at the top, or should I also do lengthened partials for this kind of resistance curve (or even only isometric holds at the hardest position)?
Great video! I've been considering incorporating lengthened partials for hypertrophy, and your insights were awesome. I'm curious, though, if there's any concern about biasing the lengthened part of the muscle in regards to injury risk. I've heard that pushing for the highest resistance at full stretch, especially in muscles like the biceps, chest, or hamstrings, could increase the probability of tendon tearing. Is there any evidence supporting this claim, or perhaps tips on mitigating this risk, like specific warm-up strategies?
Currently, there's no evidence to suggest that's the case, IMHO. Warm-up a bit more thoroughly if you'd like and control the tempo more in that stretch! But don't nocebo yourself.
WOLF… let me take this a step further. When I started, I never did tricep kickbacks and basically did mostly lengthened partials as was the general recommendation back in the day. I gained tricep size. But as soon as I started tricep kickbacks, I got a much more defined horseshoe! So…… is it that relatively, lengthened partials produce more gains than contracted partials but also that they hypertrophy different parts of the muscle? Maybe some combo of lengthened AND contracted partials might produce more gains than lengthened partials alone?
Hi, Doctor Wolf, love your content, to put it simply. However, is the study on lengthen partials vs full rom really conclusive? for instance, when you compare to full rom, you mentioned leaving some partial reps in the tank. however when i do full rom (as per RP, controlled, slow eccentric etc), when i fail, i also cannot lift an inch anymore, not even 1 or 2 partial reps, so in essence already reach complete muscular failure. in this case, what would the benefit of lengthened partials, since complete muscular failure is the benefit of lengthen partials, unless i am mistaken?
The benefit would likely be smaller, but not non-existent. The benefit of lengthened partials, practically, is probably two-fold. (1) You reach closer to "true" failure (2) You spend more time in a more anabolic/lengthened position. With your approach, you achieve #1, but not #2.
@@WolfCoachinggot it, much appreciate the information and education provided
I’m on that LP band wagon fellers. On the real, LP helps so much with some of my nagging joint issues.
Glad to hear it's helping with your pains!
Hey doc what's ur take on Myo reps/rest pause....
On one hand we know that sufficient rest between sets is very crucial but on the other hand we also see reputed PPL like Dr Mike isertael himself promoting myoreps as an intensity technique fr better gains
How can both be there??
Hi Dr Milo, I was wondering if there was also a difference in fatigue levels of full ROM and Lengthened partials just like stimulus, since we are using more weight and spending more time in the most difficult part of the lift. And if yes then how much?
The answer there is: we just don’t know yet. Anyone claiming otherwise is jumping through more hoops than I think is warranted. We lack direct evidence!
Did them at the end of sets with the leverage squat. Went lower weight than normal and damn that felt insanely good. I notice if you have 2-3 RIR when starting lengthned partials you can maybe match the RIR or even less than the RIR, why is that?