When you lift weights or push against resistance, your muscles get stronger and bigger because they're trying to handle the stress—this is exactly why people do strength training.
Context Details
Domain
exercise_science
Population
human
Subject
Muscle tissue
Action
adapts to mechanical tension by increasing strength and cross-sectional area
Target
strength and cross-sectional area
Intervention Details
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.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (3)
Resistance Training Increases Muscle Strength and Muscle Size in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis.
People with liver disease who did weight training got stronger and their muscles grew bigger, just like the claim says happens when you lift weights.
The study showed that when women did weight training, their muscles got stronger and bigger, which is exactly what the claim says happens when you lift weights.
This study shows that lifting weights makes your muscles bigger and stronger over time, even if you don’t get sore — and that’s the whole point, not the soreness.