For example, a man who works out three times a week gains 5 lbs of lean muscle mass in 3 months.
Would that mean someone who worked out only once a week reach the same 5 lbs of lean muscle in 9 months?
or perhaps there is a benefit to frequency that I’m not understanding?
thanks
In: 1
Hypertrophy (building muscle) is a function of a few factors – protein and calorie intake, burn, genetics, etc – but mostly of mechanical stress.
You’re body is smart enough to use what it has. It’s not going to build new muscle if it can do what you’re asking of it with the muscle it currently has. This is what folks mean when they say you have to lift to failure.
So, can those two timelines get you the same results? Probably not. Because the first case induced greater mechanical stress on your muscles. The shorter time span means that you’re actively elevating the baseline. You’re body will respond to the greater level of stress.
But this is a broad generalization. There are lots of studies on hypertrophy and it’s far from being 100% confirmed.
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