Lacto-Resistance Training: A way to new growth and strength for advanced bodybuilders by Jerry Brainum 11/24

 

Muscle gains are most rapid when you begin regular resistance training. Indeed, this is a problem I have with many exercise studies that use untrained subjects to test various training techniques. The truth is that almost anything a beginner does will result in muscle gains, invalidating such studies' results. To get more accurate results, the study subjects would have to be advanced trainees with at least a year or more of training experience. However, with initial training, strength comes before actual muscle growth. What happens is that starting a resistance training program increases the coordination or communication between the brain and the muscles, which results in rapid muscle strength gains. This is known as a "Neuromuscular effect." This also explains why some people can be strong yet not display the huge muscles you expect to accompany such strength levels. They have better neuromuscular communication, and that's the secret of their strength, along with certain leverage factors, such as shorter limbs.

The actual increase in muscle mass doesn't occur until an average of 3 months of regular training. It may appear that the muscles are growing sooner than that, but what is happening is a type of muscle swelling effect that isn't real muscle. However, the strength gains are real, setting up the increased muscle growth effect. Some scientists have lately said that there is no genuine connection between muscular strength gains and muscle mass gains. They point to those who are undeniably strong yet do not possess much muscle mass. You see this with many Olympic weightlifters and competitive powerlifters. In addition, many elite champion bodybuilders show massive muscles that aren't matched by their strength levels. In such cases, much of their muscle mass could be written off to extensive use of anabolic drugs such as anabolic steroids and growth hormone coupled with a genetic predisposition to building larger muscles. My experience in over 60 years of training clearly shows that muscle strength is related to muscle mass gains. As a natural bodybuilder who avoided using any type of anabolic drug, my best muscle gains came when my strength peaked. That doesn't mean you cannot develop larger muscles without lifting heavy weights. New research shows that significant muscle size gains can occur by lifting relatively light weights, equal to about 40% of one-rep maximum, by doing higher reps of 20 to 30 per set and completing each set to total muscular failure. But the only way to increase strength is to lift heavier weights.

For nearly everyone who lifts weights, the gains in muscular size and strength are most significant at the start of training, which holds for both men and women. What happens after that is controversial. Recent studies suggest that all muscle and strength gains come within the first two years of training, and after that, training just maintains what you've developed. The obvious implication is that after two years of . . .