Regional Hypertrophy with Resistance Training—Does Muscle Length Matter?
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51224/SRXIV.464Keywords:
muscle hypertrophy, muscle length, range of motion, resistance trainingAbstract
The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine how mean muscle length during resistance training (RT) influences regional muscle hypertrophy. We included studies that manipulated muscle length through range of motion (ROM) or exercise selection and evaluated regional muscle hypertrophy (i.e., changes at proximal, mid-belly, and/or distal sites). After systematically searching through three databases with additional secondary searches 12 studies were included in a meta-analysis. The meta-analysis was performed within the Bayesian meta-analytic framework. Standardized mean changes indicated small hypertrophic effects favoring training at longer muscle lengths at distal sites (75% muscle length; SMD: 0.20; Exponentiated lnRR: 4.13%) while smaller effects were found mid-belly (50% muscle length; SMD: 0.15; Exponentiated lnRR: 2.61%) and proximal sites (25% muscle length; SMD: 0.10; Exponentiated lnRR: 1.1%). The probability of finding a meaningful positive effect at proximal, mid-belly and distal sites was 50.70%, 69.78%, and 80.75%, respectively. Our pre-registered model analysis revealed a high degree of imprecision and uncertainty in the interaction between mean muscle length and site of measurement. Substantial uncertainty and imprecision, as reflected by wide 95% quantile intervals, were observed in all secondary predictor models (upper- or lower-body muscle groups, individual muscle groups, and muscle actions). In summary, our results indicate that if positive effects of training at longer muscle lengths on regional muscle hypertrophy exist, they may be the greatest at the distal sites. However, due to the imprecision in the posterior distributions for effects, our findings should be considered exploratory.
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References
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