The primary goal of those who begin bodybuilding is to develop increased muscle mass and strength. Most resistance training members believe building larger muscles requires increasing muscular strength. On the surface, this seems to make sense. If you lift heavier weights, … [Read more...]
The Elements of Muscle and Strength Gains by Jerry Brainum 9/22
I've written previously that there is no one ideal way to train that will work for everyone. It takes experimentation with different training techniques to determine those that produce the best results for you, and this will vary among individuals. Some people, for instance, … [Read more...]
Gaining Muscular Size and Strength: What Does the Research Show? by Jerry Brainum 4/22
How do you determine the best training techniques to develop added muscular size and strength? One obvious answer would be the time-honored trial and error technique. What this entails is trying various styles of training until you find the particular plan that works best for … [Read more...]
When is it Best to Train to Muscular Failure? by Jerry Brainum 5/20
Although the training to failure concept has been discussed several times in past issues of Applied Metabolics, a new study defines just when training to failure is best used to promote gains in muscular size.[ref] Lasevicius, T, et al.Muscle failure promotes greater muscle … [Read more...]
How Many Sets Are Needed to Develop Maximum Muscular Size and Strength? by Jerry Brainum 9/19
It seems that everyone has a different opinion about what constitutes the ideal amount of exercise volume that would promote maximal gains in muscular size and strength. Bodybuilding is notorious for the "more is better" philosophy, which means that the more you do, the … [Read more...]
Getting Stronger: the Science of Muscle Strength by Jerry Brainum
In past issues of Applied Metabolics, I've pointed out that muscular size and strength can be mutually exclusive. That is, you can develop a substantial amount of muscle mass that isn't always accompanied by a gain in muscular strength. Until recently, the primary … [Read more...]