Optimizing Resistance Training Technique to Maximize Muscle Hypertrophy:

“Optimizing Resistance Training Technique to Maximize Muscle Hypertrophy: A Narrative Review” was recently published as an Open-Access paper on the Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology.

As it stands, the literature on exercise technique to optimize hypertrophy points at the following practical takeaways:
✅Ensure that you’re emphasizing long muscle lengths
✅Take 2-8 seconds per repetition with an eccentric/concentric tempo of your choice but perform the eccentric in a controlled manner

Take the above as easy adjustments that you can make if you want to ensure that you’re doing everything you can to maximise muscle growth, not as must adjustments if you want to make substantial gains. People often tend to view these “educated bet” recommendations as “this or nothing” rules, when in reality they are merely an optimization recommendation for those looking to maximise adaptations.

Things we’re still unclear on:

🤷Whether the above combination of variables is actually meaningfully better for hypertrophy than “regular” lifting
🤷Whether extending the concentric or eccentric phase of a repetition will lead to greater hypertrophy
🤷The effect of strict versus more lenient technique, on hypertrophy
🤷How exercise-specific kinematic modifications directly affect hypertrophy (eg: different grip widths, cable attachments etc)

We will be working on the strict vs non-strict technique study in the following year or so but “given the paucity of data on the subject, it is recommended to minimize the involvement of other joints to ensure repetitions adhere to the recommended repetition tempo and ROM”.