Hi there, HubermanLabAI :-) I heard in a podcast that we should choose two exercises per muscle group. The first bringing the muscle into shortened position and the second bringing the muscle into lengthened position. Can you explain the reason why we should do this? Also, why in this order? Thank you!

Andrew Huberman recommends performing two exercises for each muscle group, one that places the muscle in a weighted stretch position and another that contracts it in the shortened position. This approach ensures that different portions of the muscle fibers are being activated and targeted for growth. For muscles like the quadriceps, this might involve performing both leg extensions, which contract the muscles in the shortened position, and hack squats, which put the muscles under stretch 1.

The order of doing an exercise in the shortened position followed by one in a lengthened position is not specifically dictated by Andrew Huberman in the provided clips. However, it might be due to the principle of pre-exhausting muscles taught by Dr. Huberman which suggests that performing isolation work like leg extensions before compound movements such as squats can target muscle groups more effectively for hypertrophy 2. This can effectively fatigue the muscle, ensuring that both the shortened and elongated ranges are trained, possibly suggesting why one might start with an exercise bringing the muscle into a shortened position before moving on to an exercise that extends it.

Always consider your safety and adapt the exercise selection to your specific needs and recovery ability 3.