The Study
The dose–response relationship between resistance training volume and muscle hypertrophy: are there really still any doubts?
This article is just a writer's opinion piece about other studies, not a new experiment itself. It shares what the authors think about how exercise affects muscles, but it doesn't provide new proof.
Analysis score
Maximum 0 for a editorial/opinion.
Where the score came from
This paper reviews past research on how doing both upper and lower body workouts affects muscle growth, highlighting that these body parts often do not grow at the same rate.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 50 / 100
Quality score
Based on clinical experience or non-systematic literature reviews. The lowest level of evidence as they are most susceptible to bias and personal perspective.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes, this means people might need to train their upper and lower body differently to get the best muscle growth, rather than using the exact same workout plan for both.
- 2Out of 5 past studies combining upper and lower body workouts, 4 showed different muscle growth patterns between the two areas.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Sports Sciences
Year
2017
Authors
B. Schoenfeld, Daniel I. Ogborn, J. Krieger
Related Content
Claims (5)
Doing more sets of weightlifting for each muscle group in a workout generally helps you build more muscle, but after a certain point, adding extra sets gives you smaller and smaller gains.
Doing around 31 sets per muscle group each week is the sweet spot for building muscle, and doing more than that won't give you noticeably better results.
When you train your upper and lower body, your muscles don't all grow at the same rate. To get the best overall results, you probably need to adjust how much you train each specific area instead of using the same routine for everything.
Different parts of your body don't grow muscle at the same rate when you lift weights. Because your upper and lower body respond differently to workouts, you might need to adjust how much you train each muscle group to get the best results.
If you do a workout that targets both your upper and lower body, your muscles in those areas won't grow at the same rate or in the same way. Research shows that most combined workout routines lead to noticeably different muscle growth patterns between your arms and chest compared to your legs and glutes.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.