PhD · Researcher · Strength Coach

Stian
Larsen

Assisting Head of Education at AFPT. Researching biomechanics and muscle hypertrophy. Trying to figure out how strength training actually works.

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41+ Publications
406+ Citations
59K+ Paper Reads
8K+ Followers
Dr. Stian Larsen
PhD • RESEARCHER • COACH • AFPT •
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Who he is

About

Stian Larsen has spent his career trying to figure out how strength training actually works. Not just what works, but why.

His PhD from Nord University focused on the biomechanics of the barbell back squat, and that curiosity has since expanded into muscle hypertrophy, exercise selection, and the practical side of programming for real athletes. He now has over 41 peer-reviewed papers to his name and more than 400 citations from researchers around the world.

Since 2021 he's been a lecturer at AFPT, Norway's leading personal training academy, where he's grown into the role of Assisting Head of Education. He helps shape how the next generation of trainers learns to think about evidence-based practice.

Outside the classroom, he still coaches. Athletes who work with him come away knowing not just what to do, but exactly why they're doing it.

Education

  • PhD, Professional Science Nord University · Biomechanics of the Barbell Back Squat
  • MSc, Sports Science Nord University
  • BSc, Sports Science Nord University

Certifications

  • Personal Trainer · AFPT
  • Rehabilitation Trainer · AFPT
  • Nutrition Advisor · AFPT
  • Biomechanics & Exercise Analysis · AFPT
  • Olympic Weightlifting Coach · AFPT
What he studies

Research

Stian's research lives at the crossroads of biomechanics and practical training. The questions that drive him are ones coaches and athletes actually ask: which exercises grow muscle most effectively, how technique changes affect performance, and what the science really says about programming.

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Squat Biomechanics

How does where you hold the bar change how you lift? How does your stance affect which muscles do the work? Stian has dug into these questions more thoroughly than almost anyone.

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Muscle Hypertrophy

Which exercises actually build the most muscle? Does it matter where in the range of motion you load a muscle? Stian's recent work has tackled these questions head-on, with results that challenge a lot of conventional wisdom.

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Training Methodology

Some of Stian's most-cited work steps back from individual studies to look at the bigger picture. His systematic reviews and meta-analyses on autoregulation, free weights vs. machines, and drop sets have become go-to references in the field.

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Exercise Science

Not everything fits neatly into a category. Stian has also published on EMG methodology, what body measurements predict strength, and why Norwegians go to the gym. (That last one is more interesting than it sounds.)

Peer-reviewed work

Selected Publications

A selection of Stian's published work. Full list on Google Scholar →

2025

The effects of hip flexion angle on quadriceps femoris muscle hypertrophy in the leg extension exercise

Journal of Sports Sciences · 21 citations

2025

Dumbbell versus cable lateral raises for lateral deltoid hypertrophy: an experimental study

Frontiers in Physiology · 12 citations

2025

Resistance training beyond momentary failure: the effects of past-failure partials on muscle hypertrophy in the gastrocnemius

Frontiers in Psychology · 10 citations

2025

Effects of barbell load on kinematics, kinetics, and myoelectric activity in back squats

Sports Biomechanics · 20 citations

2023

Effect of free-weight vs. machine-based strength training on maximal strength, hypertrophy and jump performance — a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation · 50 citations

2023

Effects of drop sets on skeletal muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Sports Medicine-Open · 18 citations

2021

Effects of subjective and objective autoregulation methods for intensity and volume on enhancing maximal strength during resistance-training interventions: A systematic review

PeerJ · 74 citations

2021

A biomechanical analysis of wide, medium, and narrow grip width effects on kinematics, horizontal kinetics, and muscle activity on the sticking region

Frontiers in Sports and Active Living · 44 citations

View All 41 Publications on Google Scholar
In practice

Coaching & Education

AFPT

Stian came to AFPT as a student in 2019. By 2021 he was teaching. Now he's Assisting Head of Education, helping set the direction for how Norway's most respected personal training academy approaches evidence-based practice.

Visit AFPT →

Strength Coaching

Stian's coaching is grounded in the same research he publishes. He works with athletes who want to get bigger and stronger, and who want to understand the reasoning behind everything they're doing in the gym.

Nord University

Where it all started. Stian did his bachelor's, master's, and PhD at Nord University in Levanger, and continues to collaborate with the Sports Science Programme there.

Nord University →
On stage

Speaking

Stian speaks at conferences and seminars on strength training science, biomechanics, and hypertrophy. If you're looking for someone who can make research genuinely interesting to a room full of coaches, he's your guy.

2026

International Strength and Conditioning Summit (ISCS)

Oslo, Norway · AFPT

Speaker at one of Scandinavia's biggest strength and conditioning gatherings, talking about the latest in hypertrophy research and biomechanics.

ISCS 2026 →
Say hello

Get in Touch

Whether it's a research collaboration, a coaching question, a speaking invitation, or something else entirely — reach out.

📸 Instagram @drstianlarsen 🎓 Google Scholar Stian Larsen 🔬 ResearchGate Stian Larsen 💼 LinkedIn Stian Larsen 🏋️ AFPT Profile afpt.no