Here is an interesting report, for those of us with an interest in High Intensity Training (HIT).
Building muscle doesn't require lifting heavy weights: study
Low-Load High Volume Resistance Exercise Stimulates Muscle Protein Synthesis More Than High-Load Low Volume Resistance Exercise in Young Men
It reminds me of Clarence Bass recent reports that the important thing is effort - Forget Heavy, Think Effort - which Matt discussed here, following up here and here. (incidentally the final link actually points to the original study I started with above).
Building muscle doesn't require lifting heavy weights: study
"Rather than grunting and straining to lift heavy weights, you can grab something much lighter but you have to lift it until you can't lift it anymore," says Stuart Phillips, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University. "We're convinced that growing muscle means stimulating your muscle to make new muscle proteins, a process in the body that over time accumulates into bigger muscles."The report points to a recent study:
Low-Load High Volume Resistance Exercise Stimulates Muscle Protein Synthesis More Than High-Load Low Volume Resistance Exercise in Young Men
The study used light weights that represented a percentage of what the subjects could lift. The heavier weights were set to 90% of a person's best lift and the light weights at a mere 30% of what people could lift. "It's a very light weight," says Phillips noting that the 90-80% range is usually something people can lift from 5-10 times before fatigue sets in. At 30%, Burd reported that subjects could lift that weight at least 24 times before they felt fatigue.
"We're excited to see where this new paradigm will lead," says Phillips, adding that these new data have practical significance for gym enthusiasts but more importantly for people with compromised skeletal muscle mass, such as the elderly, patients with cancer, or those who are recovering from trauma, surgery or even stroke.
It reminds me of Clarence Bass recent reports that the important thing is effort - Forget Heavy, Think Effort - which Matt discussed here, following up here and here. (incidentally the final link actually points to the original study I started with above).
Comments
But its great news for older people, injured and people who want to stay very lean and muscular.
Raymond
If fatigue alone causes hypertrophy, then why do long-distance runners have totally different physiques than sprinters? Why do gymnasts look completely unlike, e.g., tennis players?
P70S6k was highly elevated in the 30FAIL group and this enzyme has been linked heavily with fast twitch protein synthesis. My guess is that Marahton runners dont do resistence exercise and therefore dont lengthen the muscles. There is evidence from studies that when muscle is stimulated but not lengthened it actually grows shorter.
Performing full range of motion in resistence exercise is extremely important, further there is evidence that the way muscle works is that hypertrophy preceedes hyperplasia.
Or rahter, sarcomere's are first added in series until some set length is reached, before they are added in parallel. After that, once a fibre reaches a critical size in series and parallel, only then are new fibres made ( hyperplasia), This is when the muscle actually gets 'bigger'.
The bottom line is sarcomeres need to reach the critical length in series before other forms of hypertrophy come into play. And addind sarcomere's in series will only be stimulated when performing a muscle contraction from a stretched position.
Muscles to go, not muscles for show.
Although acute protein synthesis is used as a measure of a workouts effectiveness in numerous studies, there has never actually been any correlation shown between this measurement, and actual hypertrophy, which is what is important at the end of the day. (Brad Pilon's "How much protein do you need" Ebook has a good explanation of this).
While this study may raise some interesting questions and prompt further research, until a longer term study is conducted it really doesn't prove anything.
As Pavel says- to build muscle you need to get a pump with a heavy weight.
Period.
This is like doing many back-off sets with 90% or 80% of the highest 'Work set'.
This piece of 'research' is thouroughly trashed here:
http://evidencebasedfitness.blogspot.com/2010/08/if-youre-going-to-claim-to-improve.html
http://baye.com/study-claims-heavy-lifting-not-necessary-to-build-muscle/
And all that crap about bbers not being strong is retarded, pump and tone training only works for those on the juice or the extremely gifted. Watch any successful bodybuilder who has built himself up from a scrawny to respectable build and he will tell you that heavy weights are key.
Kindke is off his rocker, hyperplasia is most definitely accepted not to occur in humans except for underneath the most extreme conditions, even then, maybe. Muscle cells do not multiply, they only grow larger.