Research
Mixed
Resistance training to the point of contractile failure is the primary driver of hypertrophy, rendering specific load selection (light vs. heavy) less important as long as failure is reached.
Focus on pushing your sets to the point where you cannot complete another repetition with good form (contractile failure), regardless of whether you are using heavy weights or lighter weights. This effort level is what triggers muscle growth, making the specific weight you choose secondary to the intensity of your effort.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
We propose that the manipulation of a multitude of RE variables may mean much less in terms of stimulating hypertrophy than simply exerting a high degree of effort to achieve contractile failure... we hypothesize that reaching contractile failure is what drives skeletal muscle adaptation.
Why this rating
Based on multiple studies (Burd, Mitchell) showing equivalent hypertrophy across loads when taken to failure.
Source
Nutritional interventions to augment resistance training-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy
Robert W. Morton et al. · Frontiers in Physiology · 2015
narrative_reviewCited 234×
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