Fitness
Is This Muscle-Building Protocol All Hype? Here’s What You Need to Know.
IF YOUR MEDIA diet puts you into certain corners of the muscle-obsessed fitness internet, you know about lengthened partials. If you don’t immediately recognize the term, we’ll get you up to speed: Lengthened partials are fractional reps performed with the target muscle in its stretched position. Good examples of this include the lower half of a pullup or biceps curl. Rather than raising the weight (or your body, in the case of the pullup) up through the exercise’s full range of motion, you’ll only go to about halfway to the top. Why? Muscle researchers have found that in many cases, those half-reps can still yield growth.
Anyone plugged-in enough to be familiar with the concept has also likely heard all kinds of wild theories about the protocol: Lengthened partials should be used for any and all exercises, no one should ever do a full rep ever again, your gains will jump by exponential degrees by using this one magic trick—the list goes on. There’s a lot of noise out there about this approach, and MH experts are trying to cut through it in our recent Strong Talk discussion.
“The problems with [the conversation around lengthened partials] right now is everyone’s trying to research every muscle,” said exercise physiologist and strength and conditioning coach Dr. Pat Davidson. Davidson was dismissive of some of the studies surrounding the protocol, as researchers seem to be approaching the topic both broadly in, terms of the muscle groups being tested, and with a limited scope of focus for the experiments. “They don’t give enough time and the stimulus is just kind of weird in some of these things. It’s going completely overboard.”
Does that mean that you should ignore everything you hear about lengthened partials and muscle building? Not quite, according to Davidson. There’s still solid research backing the use of the protocol in basic cases, and it’s not worth disregarding because the hype cycle is spinning out of control.
“There are some really good take-home points. When you stretch a muscle and challenge it, that’s probably the greatest threat you can put on it,” he said, calling back to another salient point in the conversation. “Most of the staple exercises that have been around for the test of time that everybody goes back to feature that naturally.”
Along with the isolation exercises mentioned above, he’s talking about compound movements like squats and bench presses, which apply heavy stimulus to the target muscles when they’re in the stretched position (the bottom of the squat and the bottom of the bench press, for example).
The real misread of the protocol would be performing your partials in the wrong place. If you’re hitting half-reps when the muscle is in the shortened position, you’re not coming close to doing enough to reap the benefits of your workout. “The things that most people do that never makes progress is they just do quarter squats at the top,” Davidson said. “They use too much weight, and they never go low enough… That’s not doing anything.” That applies to the other big compound movements, too; performing limited-ROM bench or leg press reps won’t get you anything but an empty ego boost.
The most important thing to remember is that the “lengthened” aspect is what’s important, not the “partial.” Davidson was clear about what it takes to really make this type of work useful: the hard stuff, i.e. taking the weight to that bottom portion of the movement, with the muscle in the lengthened position. You can’t completely skip out on ROM and expect muscle growth. “Versus somebody for real where it’s like boom, they bury that thing deep, they hold that stretch, and they drive out of that stretch,” he said, motioning through a bench press rep. “That’s the real deal.”
For more important lessons for growth, check out the MH Definitive Guide to Building More Muscle.
Brett Williams, NASM-CPT, PES, a senior editor at Men’s Health, is a certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.
It’s important to have goals in mind as you set out on your fitness journey, whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain muscle or train for a race.skynesher/Supplied
January is notoriously the busiest time of year at the gym. A survey from Ipsos reported that a third of Canadians made exercise-based resolutions for the new year, with many folks working out for the first time or returning to fitness after some time away. If you’re new to exercise, the gym can feel like an intimidating place. But it doesn’t need to be. Below we’ve put together a few suggestions to help you get started.
Have a plan going in
For success at the gym, it’s crucial to have a plan. Before you start, it’s important to identify your goals. Are you looking to get stronger? Training for a race or competition? Do you want to improve body composition? While almost any consistent exercise is going to improve your overall health, specific results require specific training.
Following a workout program can help you stay committed – here’s how to write your own
Those completely new to working out may want to invest in a few sessions with a personal trainer. A reputable trainer will be able to put together a plan based on your preferences and skill level, while walking you through the proper form for each exercise. If cost is an issue, many gyms offer a free intro training session as a sign-up perk. There are also hundreds of different workout programs you can find online and video tutorials outlining proper form.
If you’re intimidated to exercise on your own, a fitness class allows you to follow along with an instructor while getting some quick pointers on how to properly perform the workout. Many gyms offer discounted or free classes to first-time visitors.
Trying to do too much, too fast will burn you out, leave you injured or both
When you’re motivated by a new year’s resolution, it’s tempting to pencil in long gym sessions multiple times a week. But that kind of regime is rarely sustainable. If you’d like to make exercising a habit beyond January – and you’ll need to for any kind of lasting results – it’s best to think about what you can do in the long term.
“You can either do an hour of weightlifting a few days a week, and actually do it, or you have these imaginary 10-hour training sessions you’ll never actually have time for,” said Dan John, strength coach and author. “I try to focus on [programs that are] doable, repeatable and reasonable.”
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Similarly, trying to immediately push beyond your physical limitations is a great way to get injured. For weightlifting, it’s important to consider proper warm-ups, active mobility exercises and learning the right techniques before trying to lift anything too heavy. For cardio, Canada Running Series offers a Couch to 5K plan that eases newcomers into jogging by starting small and gradually increasing the length/difficulty of each run.
Follow basic gym etiquette
The gym is a shared public space. Everyone there is trying to get in a good workout. That’s harder to do when people are having phone conversations, listening to videos without using headphones and refusing to wipe down their equipment after use.
In March, fitness trainer Paul Landini wrote an article explaining some unofficial rules to follow when going to the gym, including being mindful of other people’s space and making sure you’re not monopolizing equipment during busy hours.
Try to find what you like about the gym
Changes in body composition, strength and overall health take time. They also need upkeep over the long term. Building a consistent fitness habit is something that will help with all those goals. One of the best ways to do that is finding something at the gym you genuinely enjoy doing. That can be working out with a friend to add a social aspect to exercise and accountability to show up. It can entail learning a new fitness-adjacent skill such as boxing or training for a competition like Hyrox. It can be rooted in the sense of accomplishment that comes with getting stronger. Whatever the reason, finding the joy in exercise is going to be key if you want to move beyond short-term motivation.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Finding time to work out as a mom with young kids can be a challenge in itself, especially when you’re new to an area and don’t know where to start. However, a new fitness option strolled into Sioux Falls today. iStroll offers moms the chance to work out and meet other moms all while their kids can play or even join alongside them.
iStroll is a national organization that has more than 35 locations in the country but this is the first time one opened in South Dakota. It’s a full body workout that incorporates dumbbells, body weight, and jogging strollers when the weather’s nice.
“I found iStroll in Oklahoma and fell in love,” said Kelsi Supek who started the affiliate in Sioux Falls. “We made friends. It became our entire social network. The kids loved it and then we moved to Arizona during COVID. And all the moms were stuck at home. They were inside with our kids and lonely, honestly. And we were like, why can’t we start an iStroll and be out at the parks with the kids every day? And it took off.”
When Supek moved to Sioux Falls, she was encouraged by her family to start an affiliate and own it herself.
“Gym daycares did not work out for my children,” said Supek. “I would get 10 minutes into a class and then I’d have that person trying to knock outside the yoga studio going, Can I have Kelsey and her kids screaming in daycare? And it just didn’t work for us. So at iStroll they could be with me or I could be breastfeeding the baby as I was teaching in class.”
Classes are planned to continue each Wednesday and Friday at We Rock the Spectrum and First Presbyterian Church. For a full schedule for January and February, you can look at their Facebook. The first class is also free and memberships are for the whole family.
“Letting the kids see you work out is, it’s similar to homeschooling where like, you know, how are they going to love working out if they don’t see you working out,” said Kelly Jardeleza, a stay-at-home mom of three kids. “Whereas at other gyms they put them in a room and they don’t get to watch you. And how are you going to inspire them if they’re not watching you do it?”
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
There’s no bad time to take a more active interest in your health, but the new year, for lots of us, feels like a fresh start. Maybe you’re planning to sign up for a 10k or finally have a go at bouldering, eat a bit better or learn to swing a kettlebell. Maybe you want to keep up with your grandkids — or just be a little bit more physically prepared for whatever life throws at you.
To help things along, Guardian Live invites you to a special event with public health expert Devi Sridhar, journalist and author Mariella Frostrup, and health and fitness columnist Joel Snape. They’ll be joining the Guardian’s Today in Focus presenter Annie Kelly to discuss simple, actionable ways to stay fit and healthy as you move through the second half of life: whether that means staying strong and mobile or stressing less and sleeping better.
To make the whole event as helpful as possible, we’d love to hear from you about what you find most challenging — or confusing — when it comes to health and exercise. What should you actually be eating, and how are you going to find the time to make it? What sort of exercise is best, and how often should you be doing it? Is Pilates worth the effort — and should we really all be drinking mugfuls of piping hot creatine?
Whether your question is about exercise, eating, or general wellness, post it below and we’ll put a selection to our panel on the night.
Share your experience
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