The Study
Changes in Exercises Are More Effective Than in Loading Schemes to Improve Muscle Strength
This study is like a fair race where people were randomly picked to try different workout styles. It found that switching up exercises helped people get stronger faster than just changing how heavy the weights were. But it doesn't prove it will work the same for everyone — just for these guys in this study.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
If you want to get stronger doing squats, doing different exercises like leg presses and deadlifts with the same weight helps more than changing how heavy the weight is.
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 569 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — changing exercises leads to more balanced muscle growth and significantly better strength gains than changing weights, even when total work is the same.
- 2People who did 4 different exercises at the same weight (8RM) got 1.4–1.6 times stronger than those who only did squats.
- 3Those who changed weights but did only squats got less strong.
- 4All groups grew similar overall leg muscle, but only those who changed exercises grew all parts of the thigh muscle evenly.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Year
2014
Authors
Rodrigo Fonseca, H. Roschel, V. Tricoli, E. O. de Souza, Jacob M. Wilson, G. Laurentino, A. Aihara, Alberto R de Souza Leão, C. Ugrinowitsch
Related Content
Claims (5)
When the total amount of lifting is the same, resistance training using weights that allow 6 to 10 repetitions per set results in equal growth of the quadriceps muscle whether the exercises or the weights are changed between sessions.
In physically active men, performing multiple different resistance exercises at the same effort level leads to larger gains in maximum squat strength than using one exercise or changing the effort level, because varying exercises improves neural adaptations that boost maximal strength.
In physically active men, changing the exercises during strength training while keeping the weight constant leads to greater increases in strength than changing the weight while keeping the same exercises.
Resistance training programs that change exercises regularly produce equal muscle growth in all four parts of the quadriceps, while programs that repeat the same exercise do not significantly grow the inner and front parts of the quadriceps.
In physically active men, adding intensity variation to varied resistance exercises does not lead to greater strength gains than varied exercises alone, and the combination may reduce the efficiency of neural adaptations.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.