Oral contraceptives don’t impact muscle growth and strength gains
A review of the biggest study on the topic to date
Research Spotlight
Research Spotlight articles share quick breakdowns of interesting studies.
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As far as we know, the fountain of youth is boring
While we know more about health, aging, and longevity than ever before in human history, clear and concise guidelines for pursuing these outcomes remain elusive. In this article, we cut through the noise and identify some evidence-based strategies to support successful aging.
Does lifting reduce your range of motion?
How do we reconcile (seemingly) conflicting findings on the impact of resistance training on joint range of motion?
Food quality, diet quality, and how to paint with a broad brush in nutrition
Do food or diet scoring systems tell us anything useful? A new study by Livingstone and colleagues sought to explore relationships between “diet quality,” genetic risk factors, and body composition in a prospective study that observed 17,478 adults for a period of up to 10 years.
Can cardio (eventually) make you bigger?
A recent study found that, under the right circumstances, aerobic training might actually increase muscle growth.
Adding nuance to the relationship between energy density and calorie intake
A recent study aimed to assess the relationship between the energy density of a meal and the number of total calories consumed at the meal.
Are overhead triceps extensions better than pushdowns for hypertrophy?
Are exercise variations that allow you to train at longer muscle lengths inherently better for hypertrophy than exercise variations that force you to train at shorter muscle lengths?
Do vegan diets negatively impact bone health?
How might resistance training alter risk in vegans? A recent study by Wakolbinger-Habel et al explored that exact question.
Is heavier training or higher-rep training better in an energy deficit?
Until very recently, there weren’t longitudinal studies testing the effects of different resistance training protocols on changes in body composition during an energy deficit. A new study by Carlson and colleagues finally provides us with a bit of data that’s relevant to this debate.
How do ketogenic diets impact performance and body composition in trained adults?
A new meta-analysis examines the effects of ketogenic diets on body composition and performance outcomes in comparison to alternative diets.
Does high-rep training actually improve strength endurance more than heavier training?
“Strength endurance” is a surprisingly nuanced concept, and it’s not clear-cut that high-rep training is always best. A recent meta-analysis by Hackett and colleagues beautifully illustrates this.
Does food timing matter for weight loss?
Eric Trexler breaks down a recent study on the associations between the timing of eating and weight loss in calorically restricted healthy adults.