Programming Articles

The Complete Resource: What do you need to advance from a beginner to intermediate to advanced lifter? The Complete Strength Training Guide is your ultimate programming resource, with programs and thorough advice for lifters in all stages.

Programming for Hypertrophy: Is there a hypertrophy range of 6-15 reps per set that will net you more muscle growth? The Hypertrophy Range – Fact or Fiction? looks at this question both scientifically and practically.

Programming for Strength: Think bodybuilding and powerlifting training should be different? Think again. Powerlifters can learn a lot from bodybuilders about size and strength. Read more about programming for strength in this popular article: Powerlifters Should Train More Like Bodybuilders.

April 19, 2021 By Eric Trexler

Modest Glycogen Depletion May Impact Lifting Performance More Than You Think

Some fitness professionals have questioned the importance of dietary carbohydrate, given that resistance training only depletes 24-40% of muscle glycogen. New data suggest that small reductions in muscle glycogen might have bigger performance impacts than once thought. Read…

November 24, 2020 By Greg Nuckols

The Evidence for Myonuclear Muscle Memory May be Murkier Than Commonly Believed

It’s commonly believed that myonuclei – the “control centers” of muscle fibers – are added to muscle fibers when fibers grow, but aren’t lost by fibers when they shrink, facilitating muscle re-growth. This is a proposed mechanism for…

June 8, 2020 By Jason Eure

Risks of Returning to Training

After a forced layoff, everyone is excited to get back in the gym and “make up for lost time.” But are we at a greater risk of injury when returning after a period of time off? Doctor of…

May 18, 2020 By The MASS Team

Returning to Training After a Break

Having to take time off from training is frustrating. What’s more frustrating is struggling to progress upon your return because you are trying to do too much too soon. This video provides a sample program for how to…

April 20, 2020 By Greg Nuckols

The First Clear Evidence of Delayed Hypertrophic Supercompensation

The idea of delayed hypertrophic supercompensation – the idea that your muscles can keep growing for several days after you complete a grueling block of training – is very contentious. A recent study provides us with the first…

March 23, 2020 By Greg Nuckols

How to Make Gains Without a Gym

Maybe you’re trying to hold onto your gains during a pandemic, maybe you just want to be equipped for high-quality home workouts when it’s challenging to make it to the gym, or maybe you just want to save…

March 16, 2020 By Hayden Pritchard

Are Ammonia Inhalants Effective?

In this article, we are going to learn what exactly an ammonia inhalant is, examine whether they have been shown to be effective, and finish with some thoughts on their use.

March 2, 2020 By Greg Nuckols

Bench Press Range of Motion: An Exception to the Principle of Specificity?

Much of what we know about range of motion specificity comes from single-joint studies and squat studies. When we branch out to the bench press, things get more complicated.

February 17, 2020 By Andrew Patton

What Factors Influence Injury Risk in Powerlifters? (Injury series, Part 3)

In Part 3 of the series of articles based on our yearlong injury study, we’ll be digging further into the data, and examining how the factors that may contribute to injury risk interact.

September 30, 2019 By Greg Nuckols

Using Velocity to Autoregulate May Increase Strength Gains

When the rubber meets the road, does autoregulating training using velocity targets and velocity stops ultimately lead to larger strength gains than percentage-based training? This study says “yes.”

September 9, 2019 By Greg Nuckols

The Evidence is Lacking for “Effective Reps”

The idea that the last 5 reps before failure are “effective reps,” and therefore the ones that REALLY matter for hypertrophy, doesn’t actually have much experimental support. In this article, I’ll re-examine the evidence for “effective reps” and…

July 1, 2019 By Greg Nuckols

Squats Are Secretly an Adductor Exercise

A new study lends pretty solid support to two of my more iconoclastic positions about squatting, for which I previously only had shaky, circumstantial evidence. This article digs into the research and tells you what you need to…