High-volume and high-load resistance training produce similar rates of integrated myofibrillar protein synthesis in trained young men after six weeks, indicating that both protocols stimulate contractile protein production to a comparable degree despite differing hypertrophy outcomes.

Both heavy lifting and high-repetition training trigger muscle fibers to build the same amount of contractile proteins, even though one makes muscles look bigger and the other makes them stronger. Heavy lifting activates a pathway that directly boosts the machinery for making muscle fibers, while high-repetition training activates a different pathway that builds other muscle components, but both end up producing the same amount of contractile proteins over time.