Earlier this year, I wrote a column on the “minimal effective dose” of strength training. Remarkably, newbie lifters can make gains with as little as one set of six to 15 reps per week—on average, at least. But average results don’t tell the full story. Some people will gain more than average; others will gain less. If you’re a typical endurance-focused Sweat Science reader, there’s a good chance you’re in the second category. What does it take to put on muscle for those who don’t respond to the minimum?
A new study in the Journal of Applied Physiology, from researchers at the University of Sao Paulo and other institutions in Brazil as well as the University of Alabama at Birmingham, fills in some details about this question. By assigning volunteers to do different lifting routines with each leg, they eliminate a bunch of the individual variations that usually cloud the results of strength training studies. The results offer hope for those who might initially be classed as “non-responders” to resistance training, and suggest that the best way to turn on muscle-building adaptations is…
