When people who already work out do a type of lifting where the resistance changes during the movement, their muscles send out a stronger 'grow' signal right after — but that doesn’t mean they end up bigger than if they did regular lifting.

42

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

42

Community contributions welcome

42

Resistance training variable manipulations are less relevant than intrinsic biology in affecting muscle fiber hypertrophy

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2022 May

The study found that changing up your workout routine (like using different weights or rest times) makes a certain muscle gene more active right after exercise, but your muscles still grow just as much as if you did the same workout every time — so more gene activity doesn’t mean bigger muscles.

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.

Source Study

Resistance training variable manipulations are less relevant than intrinsic biology in affecting muscle fiber hypertrophy

Score: 42

DOI: 10.1111/sms.14134

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When you do weightlifting with changing resistance (like bands or machines that get harder or easier), your muscles briefly turn on a growth signal called MyoG more than with regular weights—but this doesn’t mean you’ll end up bigger in the long run.

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