Everyone knows that training muscles through their full range of motion enhances muscle growth.
But did you know that particularly emphasizing the point where they are fully stretched can further enhance hypertrophy?
Let’s look at practical ways to do this for the major muscle groups.
Chest:
Use dumbbells or cables instead of a barbell for presses/flyes, as they allow a greater range of motion.
Lower the dumbbells/handles slowly and deeply, allowing your elbows to travel slightly below the level of your torso (within a safe range for your shoulders).
Focus on feeling a distinct stretch across your chest muscles at the bottom of the movement.
Pause briefly (e.g., 1 second) in the fully stretched position before pressing back up.
Back:
Pull-ups/Pulldowns: Start from a “dead hang” or near-dead hang position, allowing your lats to fully elongate and your shoulder blades to elevate. Control the descent back to this fully stretched position on each rep.
Rows: Allow your shoulder blade to move forward (protract) fully at the start/bottom of the movement, feeling a stretch in your upper back/lats before initiating the pull. Control the return phase, letting the weight pull your arm forward again.
Overhead Press: Control the negative, lowering the bar/dumbbells fully to the starting position (e.g., collarbone level for barbell) to stretch the deltoids.
Lateral Raises: While the stretch isn’t extreme, controlling the descent (eccentric) phase is key. Lean-away cable laterals can increase the starting stretch.
Face Pulls: Allow your arms to fully straighten and shoulders to protract at the start of each rep before pulling back.
Overhead Extensions (for Triceps/Shoulder connection): Letting the dumbbell/cable go deep behind your head stretches the long head of the triceps, which crosses the shoulder joint.
Biceps:
Incline Dumbbell Curls: Lie back on an incline bench (e.g., 45-to-60 degrees) and let your arms hang straight down, behind the line of your body. This puts the biceps in a highly stretched position at the start. Focus on a full extension at the bottom.
Preacher Curls: Ensure you reach full elbow extension (or close to it) at the bottom of each rep, controlling the descent.
Cable Curls: Step back slightly from the cable stack so there is tension on the biceps even when your arm is fully extended.
Triceps:
Focus on exercises where the elbows come up towards the head/ceiling, allowing the weight to travel deep behind your head. This maximally stretches the long head of the triceps.
Control the lowering phase, allowing a deep stretch.
Pause briefly in the maximally stretched position at the bottom.
Quads:
Free Weight Squats (Barbell/Goblet): Aim for the deepest possible squat while maintaining good form and a neutral spine (avoiding significant “butt wink” or lower back rounding). For many, this is likely parallel or slightly below.
Machine Exercises (Leg Press, Hack Squat, Pendulum, V-Squat, etc.): These machines often allow for a greater safe range of motion due to added stability. Focus on utilizing the full ROM the machine allows comfortably while ensuring your lower back remains appropriately positioned (e.g., stays in contact with the pad on leg presses/hack squats) throughout the movement.
Lunges/Split Squats: Control the descent until your back knee is very close to, or lightly touches, the floor. This creates a significant stretch in the quad (and glute) of the front leg.
Control the Eccentric: Regardless of the exercise, emphasize a slow, controlled lowering phase (descent) into the stretched position (typically 2-to-4 seconds).
Bottom Position Handling: During your regular working sets, focus on a smooth, controlled turnaround at the bottom of your deepest safe position, avoiding bouncing.
Strategic Pauses: Consider incorporating dedicated pause sets periodically into your routine. For these sets, deliberately pause in the fully stretched (deepest safe) position for 1-to-3 seconds on each rep to increase time under tension and control in that specific range.
Hamstrings:
RDLs/Good Mornings: Lower the weight slowly, feeling a deep stretch along the hamstrings. Go as low as you can while maintaining a flat back.
Seated Leg Curls: Adjust the machine setup (especially the back pad) to allow for maximum stretch at the start of the movement (when legs are straightest). Control the eccentric phase as you straighten your legs.
Calves:
Allow your heels to drop as far below the level of the ball of your foot as possible at the bottom of each rep of calf raises.
Pause for a second in this fully stretched position before pushing up.
Glutes:
Achieving depth in squats and lunges naturally places the glutes under a significant stretch at the bottom.
RDLs also provide a good glute stretch in the bottom position as you hinge forward.
Focus on controlling the descent into these stretched positions.
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