causal
Analysis v1
Strong Support
Lifting heavier weights (80% of your max) builds bigger muscles faster than lifting lighter weights (20% of your max) when you do the same total work, with thigh muscles growing about 20% more and arm muscles growing about 25% more after 12 weeks.
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Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
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Community contributions welcome
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Effects of different intensities of resistance training with equated volume load on muscle strength and hypertrophy
Randomized Controlled Trial
Human
2018 JulThe study found that lifting heavier weights (80% max) made muscles grow more than lifting lighter weights (20% max) when the total work done was the same, exactly as the claim says.
Contradicting (0)
0
Community contributions welcome
No contradicting evidence found
Gold Standard Evidence Needed
According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.