Mixed
Increasing muscle time under tension (TUT) during low-intensity resistance exercise (30% 1RM) to failure stimulates greater acute mitochondrial and sarcoplasmic protein synthesis (0-6h) and a delayed, robust myofibrillar protein synthesis response (24-30h) compared to work-matched rapid cadence exercise.
To maximize muscle growth, you don't always need to lift heavy weights. If you use lighter weights (around 30% of your max), you can achieve similar muscle-building signals by slowing down your reps (e.g., 6 seconds up, 6 seconds down) and continuing until you can't do another rep. This approach shifts the muscle-building benefits to a peak 24-30 hours after your workout, so consistency over time is more important than how heavy the weight is on any single day. Ensure you consume protein (e.g., 20g) after your workout to support this delayed synthesis.
These data show that greater muscle time under tension increased the acute amplitude of mitochondrial and sarcoplasmic protein synthesis and also resulted in a robust, but delayed stimulation of myofibrillar protein synthesis 24–30 h after resistance exercise.
Why this rating
Randomized crossover design with gold-standard stable isotope tracer measurements of fractional synthetic rates in specific protein fractions.
Source
Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub‐fractional synthetic responses in men
Nicholas A. Burd et al. · The Journal of Physiology · 2011
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