Differences in Gains Between Individuals, and What You Can Do About It

Episode summary

In today’s episode, Eric briefly addresses some feedback and responses to his previous article and segment about reverse dieting. After that, it’s all about differences in gains between individuals. Greg begins by exploring research that describes the degree to which training-induced improvements in strength, muscularity, and aerobic fitness vary from person to person. After that, Greg leans on the available research to provide evidence-based advice about what you can actually do about it, particularly if you suspect that you’re experiencing below-average gains.

Time stamps

Intro/Announcements (0:00)

Reverse dieting: feedback, responses, and a clarification (2:17)

• Reverse Dieting: Hype Versus Evidence

Feat of Strength (22:10)

• Jamal Browner

How much do muscle growth and strength gains differ between people? (25:10)

• Genetics And Strength Training: Just How Different Are We?

Hypertrophy variation in response to resistance training (29:08)

• Cluster analysis tests the importance of myogenic gene expression during myofiber hypertrophy in humans (Bamman, 2007)

Strength and hypertrophy variation in response to resistance training (33:10)

• Variability in muscle size and strength gain after unilateral resistance training (Hubal, 2005)

Aerobic fitness variation in response to endurance training (36:56)

• Familial aggregation of VO2max response to exercise training: results from the HERITAGE Family Study (Bouchard, 1999)

How much do strength gains vary? A look at SBS survey data and empirical data across the field (39:08)

• Improbable Data Patterns In The Work Of Barbalho Et Al: An Explainer
• Data-Based Muscle, Strength, And Fat-Loss Targets To Set Realistic Training Goals

Why is there so much inter-individual variability? (50:09)

• Genetics of muscle strength and power: polygenic profile similarity limits skeletal muscle performance
• Potent myofiber hypertrophy during resistance training in humans is associated with satellite cell-mediated myonuclear addition: a cluster analysis
• High responders to resistance exercise training demonstrate differential regulation of skeletal muscle microRNA expression
• Physiological Differences Between Low Versus High Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophic Responders to Resistance Exercise Training: Current Perspectives and Future Research Directions
• Cluster analysis tests the importance of myogenic gene expression during myofiber hypertrophy in humans
• Muscle Androgen Receptor Content but Not Systemic Hormones Is Associated With Resistance Training-Induced Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy in Healthy, Young Men
• Do Non-Responders to Exercise Exist—and If So, What Should We Do About Them?

What can you do about it? (59:21)

Make sure you have your ducks in a row outside of the gym (1:00:01)

Keep training (1:02:33)

• Separate Effects of Intensity and Amount of Exercise on Interindividual Cardiorespiratory Fitness Response

Train more/harder (1:05:37)

• Refuting the myth of non‐response to exercise training: ‘non‐responders’ do respond to higher dose of training

Measure more variables (1:12:52)

• There Are No Nonresponders to Resistance-Type Exercise Training in Older Men and Women

Experiment with different training styles (1:18:28)

• Different load intensity transition schemes to avoid plateau and no-response in lean body mass gain in postmenopausal women

Embrace other benefits of training and/or find another entire type of training that you respond better to (1:31:14)

• Individual Responses to Combined Endurance and Strength Training in Older Adults

1:45:16 Summary/conclusions

Video version

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