Partial ROM Training for Strength, and Protein Requirements for Muscle Growth

Episode summary

Today’s episode begins with a discussion about an ambitious experiment in the world of academic publishing, and the real-world costs of striving for bench press excellence. After that, Greg presents a segment about partial range-of-motion (ROM) training for strength outcomes. Greg digs into the available research about whether or not partial reps can be used to facilitate greater strength gains, and provides practical recommendations about when and how to incorporate this style of training. That’s followed by Eric’s segment that tackles a fairly widespread misconception about protein requirements for muscle growth. Many people believe that 1.6 g/kg/day is a very clear minimum requirement for supporting hypertrophy, and that falling a little bit short of this target severely limits muscle growth. However, the data suggest otherwise. He explores the available research and discusses some protein target recommendations for people who are prioritizing muscle growth or retention.

Time stamps

Intro/Announcements (0:00)

An innovation in academic publishing (4:53)

• Scientific Autonomy, Public Accountability, and the Rise of “Peer Review” in the Cold War United States
• Peer review: a flawed process at the heart of science and journals
• The Rise of Peer Review: Melinda Baldwin on the History of Refereeing at Scientific Journals and Funding Bodies

Reviewing Greg’s shitpost (19:39)

• Twitter

Combining ROMs for larger strength gains? (25:12)

• Partial vs full range of motion resistance training

The history and tradition of partial-ROM training (29:39)

• Anderson’s 1,200lb Squat: Did He Do It?

Study #1 (Bazyler) (38:51)

• The efficacy of incorporating partial squats in maximal strength training

Study #2 (Gillingham) (40:14)

• The Efficacy of Partial Range of Motion Deadlift Training: A Pilot Study

Study #3 (Pedrosa) (43:14)

• Partial range of motion training elicits favorable improvements in muscular adaptations when carried out at long muscle lengths

Study #4 (Whaley) (45:07)

• Progressive Movement Training: An Analysis of its Effects on Muscular Strength and Power Development

 Summary of findings and mechanisms (46:56)

• Changes in exercises are more effective than in loading schemes to improve muscle strength

Conclusions and practical applications (56:20)

How much protein do you actually need for muscle growth? (1:01:38)

What are the most important dietary metrics to track and manipulate for a hypertrophy-oriented diet? (1:01:55)

New meta-analysis by Nunes et al (1:05:18)

• Changes in exercises are more effective than in loading schemes to improve muscle strength

The 2018 meta-analysis by Morton and colleagues (1:13:04)

• A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults

What if we only look at values above 1.2 g/kg/day? (1:19:01)

A note on “leave-one-out” analyses and cherry-picking (1:20:41)

What if we only look at values above 1.24 g/kg/day? (1:27:54)

Summary and conclusions (1:31:07)

Practical applications (1:37:25)

Video version

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