The Study
Ribosome biogenesis adaptation in resistance training-induced human skeletal muscle hypertrophy.
This study saw that when guys lifted weights for 8 weeks, their muscles got bigger and some parts inside their muscle cells also changed — but we don’t know if those cell changes actually made the muscles grow, or if they just happened at the same time.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
When guys lift weights for 8 weeks, their muscles grow a little, and their cells make more machines (ribosomes) to build muscle proteins.
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 538 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1A 6% muscle growth is noticeable and meaningful for strength and appearance; increased ribosomes suggest a biological mechanism behind muscle growth.
- 2Muscles grew by 6% on average.
- 3Ribosome parts (rRNAs) went up.
- 4One protein (UBF) stayed more active even when resting.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism
Year
2015
Authors
V. Figueiredo, M. Caldow, V. Massie, J. Markworth, D. Cameron-Smith, A. Blazevich
Related Content
Claims (6)
Some people’s muscles grow way more than others when they lift weights, and this might be because their muscle cells make more of the tiny machines (ribosomes) that help build muscle protein.
If a young, healthy man lifts weights for 8 weeks, his muscles will likely get bigger—by about 6%, give or take a little.
When you lift weights, your muscles make more of the tiny molecular machines that build proteins, which helps them grow bigger.
After lifting weights, your muscles make more of a protein called Cyclin D1 quickly — not by turning on new genes, but by using existing instructions more efficiently, which might help your muscles adapt and grow.
After working out with weights for 8 weeks, your body keeps its protein-making machines more active even when you're resting, as if it's always ready to build more proteins.
Even after working out with weights for 8 weeks, your muscles still respond to a single workout the same way as they did at the start—your body doesn’t get better at signaling muscle growth after training for a while.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.