What 'things' do you do that aren't 'supported' by research but you still do and have seen results from?

[jamesgregory786]

Anything? I actually can't think of anything on my end personally, except I've always preferred lower volumes ( ~3/4 RIR).

 

[dawn16]

@jamesgregory786 I buy supplements for the placebo effect on my motivation.

 

[weepingwillow422]

@jamesgregory786 Both of your examples fall within recommendations based on research. 10-20 sets with 0-3 RIR is a standard recommendation.

Some of the anti-science crowd (not you) don't understand research is descriptive, probabilistic, contextual and constrained. There's stuff that lacks a formal research basis, but that doesn't mean it's 'against the science', which is how they portray it. I honestly don't understand how the anti-science crowd squares researchers and science-based practitioners loving John Meadows.

There are two primary ways I see research used:

1. To give ballpark ranges you can use as a jumping off point for n=1 experimentation—after all, research gives you averages but no person is "the" average lifter. For example, 10-20 sets is a common recommendation based on research. But a high-level triathlon athlete or the like may be better-suited to 30 sets per week. But this recommendation came about in a context where people were doing anywhere from 6 to 80 sets per week. There are low- and high-responders to different training paradigms and that it gives you a ballpark but you have to engage in individual experiment to find what works best for you. This was pretty clearly demonstrated when other researchers noticed odd data patterns in Barbalho Et Al specifically because there wasn't enough overlap between intervention groups.
2. To back up mechanistic arguments through indirect evidence. The expansion of rep range recommendations is an example of this: there was a mechanistic rationale for why higher reps/lower intensities may work as well as lower reps/higher intensities, and it was borne out by the research. Rep ranges have expanded a lot from the classic 8-12.

In both these cases, advice is given with the assumption that you want to maximize and optimize. But
muscle growth is a bunch of logarithmic curves in a trench coat. Each additional set per session/per week provides less ROI than the one before it. Moreover, the more muscle you have the slower you'll add more muscle and the more difficult it will be. That means that the person who gets 100% of their maximum potential gains is only months ahead of the person getting 80% at the start of their training career (which takes farrrrrrr less than 80% the work), and that gap only shrinks over time. The result is a million different routines and training paradigms from 5x5 with 5x5 with 5x10 accessories at 60% 1RM 2x/week per muscle group, to 8x8 with 50% 1RM 3x/week per muscle group, to 20x8-12 with 75% 1RM 1x/week per muscle group, etc. with people swearing by each and every one.

 

[nick714]

@jamesgregory786 Intensity techniques for isolations.

Restpause for the last set, drop sets, extending a set, cheat reps.

Done wonders for arms and shoulders.

 

[israelisone]

@jamesgregory786 Bro split for injury prevention ie giving a muscle a full week to recover. Getting protein 6 times a day not sure if the research is there……

 

[dawn16]

@jamesgregory786 Honestly man, very little is supported by research at this point IMO. The vast majority of lifting studies are extremely limited in terms of external validity, but they're still interesting.

The only thing I know is that extremely hard work and consistency + finding what you personally respond best to and enjoy trumps everything.

But, to answer your question because it's a fun topic: over the last year, I've firmly become a believer that training to near failure is the primary driver of hypertrophy and that I was overdoing it with junk volume that blurred the line of what progress is.

 

[christian2018]

@dawn16

very little is supported by research at this point IMO.

Hogwash.

I've firmly become a believer that training to near failure is the primary driver of hypertrophy

If this were the case, then we wouldn't have to add weight to lifts to get big.

 

[dawn16]

@christian2018 Well if you’re training to failure and progressing, that means you’re adding reps and/or weight. If your “failure” set point never moves, you won’t grow.

 

[christian2018]

@dawn16

Well if you’re training to failure and progressing

You didn't discuss the importance of progress in your original comment, you only discussed your belief in the importance of failure.

Whoever downvoted, thanks.

 

[hopeandgrace]

@christian2018 You're welcome.

 

[christian2018]

@hopeandgrace Point to me in the original comment I replied to where progress was discussed as a primary determinant of muscle growth. Show me.

 

[trumpeter2]

@christian2018 The studies look at 8 - 12 weeks, that's hogwash

 

[christian2018]

@trumpeter2 When you're able to conduct a study over 6 months let me know.

Until then it's the best we have smart ass.

 

[ohiggins]

@christian2018 I'm not that well read on the subject, but dont you get about the same hypertrophic response training between 100-35% of your training max? So, I mean you could probably stick with a weight for quite some time

 

[weepingwillow422]

@ohiggins More like 90-30%. When you do closer to 100%, the muscle fibres aren't exposed to mechanical tension for long enough to provide as robust a stimulus, and you accumulate too much fatigue to compensate for that through added volume.

 

[christian2018]

@ohiggins Yes but sticking with a weight for "quite sometime" doesn't exclude adding weight to your exercises over time.

 

[dawn16]

@jamesgregory786 I think your mind muscle connection is extremely important. For example I do conc curls because I get way more bicep activation.

 

[constantine1946]

@jamesgregory786 I'm not sure about if its supported by results or not. But I do cluster sets.

Say I am doing 30Lbs+30Lbs bicep curls.

I did 7 reps, then took 20 seconds of intra set rest, and did 8 more.

Rather than doing just 7 and finishing the set I did 8 more, which increases total volume. It works for me personally.

 

[lrswimmer3]

@constantine1946 aka rest pause.

 

[constantine1946]

@lrswimmer3 I see