Jan 30Why do individual athletes display different responses to the same training program?If you like this article, you will also like my first book (see on Amazon). Why do individual athletes display different improvements in measures of athletic performance (such as sprinting speed, vertical jump height, or throwing distance) after the exact same training program involving a combination of both heavy strength…Athlete12 min read
Jan 23Why do individual bodybuilders display different responses to the exact same training program?If you like this article, you will like my second book (see on Amazon). Why might individual lifters display different responses to the same strength training program? The principle of individuality has been less well-described in the literature in comparison with the principle of specificity. Even so, we can draw inferences from basic physiology about how the principle of individuality might be applied…Hypertrophy15 min read
Jan 9How does muscle glycogen influence recovery after a workout?If you like this article, you will enjoy my second book (see on Amazon). What is fatigue? Introduction Fatigue is a temporary and reversible reduction in exercise performance (often measured as a reduction in maximum strength, but it can alternatively involve reductions in endurance capacity or maximum velocity) as a result of a previous…Strength Training11 min read
Jan 2How might cluster set training work for hypertrophy?If you enjoy this article, you will like my second book (see on Amazon). What are cluster sets? Cluster sets are strength training sets that involve intra-set rest periods. Curiously, the use of intra-set rest periods has been extensively researched in the literature, with many long-term training studies being available (as well as several…Hypertrophy15 min read
Aug 19, 2021Why does eccentric overload training not cause more hypertrophy than normal strength training?This post was first published at my blog. If you enjoy this article, you will like my second book (see on Amazon). Eccentric overload training tends to produce similar hypertrophy to normal strength training. This is strange, because we might expect the combination of eccentric training and concentric training within…Strength Training8 min read
Sep 28, 2020Why are strength gains velocity-specific after fast movement training?If you enjoy this article, you will like my first book (see on Amazon). We can calculate a force-velocity profile for an athlete in a lift by measuring the bar speed and the force produced at a range of loads. Measuring this force-velocity profile at varying times during a training…Athlete6 min read
Sep 21, 2020Why are strength gains velocity-specific after heavy strength training?If you enjoy this article, you will like my first book (see on Amazon). We can calculate a force-velocity profile for an athlete in an exercise by measuring the bar speed (and the force) produced at a range of loads. Measuring this force-velocity profile at varying times during a training…Strength Training8 min read
Aug 17, 2020What is the minimum number of stimulating reps in a workout that will cause hypertrophy?If you enjoy this article, you will like my second book (see on Amazon). In a previous article, I addressed the question of how many stimulating reps in a workout would maximize the dosage of mechanical tension leading to muscle growth. Even so, researchers have identified that strength-trained males can…Hypertrophy8 min read
Aug 9, 2020How does mechanical tension cause muscle growth when bar speed is maximal on every rep in the set?If you enjoy this article, you will like my second book (see on Amazon). According to the stimulating reps hypothesis of muscle growth, hypertrophy is stimulated when the muscle fibers controlled by high-threshold motor units experience a sufficiently high level of mechanical tension. This mechanical tension is primarily the result…Bodybuilding12 min read
Jun 8, 2020What causes delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)?Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is pain or discomfort associated with a previously-exercised muscle, which usually appears the day after exercising. In addition to any pain or discomfort that is present at rest, the muscle is more sensitive to touch and to movement. Strangely, despite decades of research, we still…Muscle Soreness18 min read
