Martin Refalo

@JSportsSci @jacksonfyfe How many downloads? 👀

Amongst our most downloaded articles from the past years: Similar muscle hypertrophy following eight weeks of resistance training to momentary muscular failure or with repetitions-in-reserve in resistance-trained individuals ✒️@MartinRefalo @jacksonfyfe tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

@Ruialexpirex @jacksonfyfe @DrAndyGalpin @GregNuckols @iainjgallagher @dlhamilton82 Possibly the surface area to volume ratio of the fibres. Smaller fibre volume to start off with = possibly larger potential for growth. Type I fibres larger in females to start with (versus type II), but vice versa for males.

@jacksonfyfe @MartinRefalo @DrAndyGalpin @GregNuckols @iainjgallagher @dlhamilton82 What could be the reason for the difference in the results obtained for type I fibers (and perhaps a very slight difference for type II)?

Resistance training: the most potent tool for muscle growth. But do men and women benefit equally? Our new meta-analysis led by @MartinRefalo found: ➡️ Men saw slightly greater absolute muscle growth ➡️ Relative gains were nearly identical between sexes ➡️ Type I muscle fibre growth slightly favored men, but Type II growth was the same Women can build muscle just as effectively as men.

The Roundup includes links to interesting content that I came across this week, including works by @RealLastStand / @SwipeWright, @CollegeFix, @trgolden, @MartinRefalo, etc. Check it out!👇

Great breakdown of our most recent paper, just published this week. Main Conclusion: Men & women grow muscle mass at the same rate in response to resistance exercise. Led by @MartinRefalo w/ @GregNuckols @jacksonfyfe @dlhamilton82 @iainjgallagher

@mackinprof @PeerJLife @GregNuckols @DrAndyGalpin @jacksonfyfe Thanks for sharing Doc!

Sex differences in muscle hypertrophy peerj.com/articles/19042/ via @PeerJLife Great work from @MartinRefalo @GregNuckols @DrAndyGalpin @jacksonfyfe

How does it “feel” to lift to failure? And why does it matter? Our new study in trained lifters shows lifting to failure (vs. stopping 1-2 reps short): - Increases perceived discomfort and exertion - Worsens general feelings that increase over time - Promotes variable responses between individuals The take home? Lifters who find failure unpleasant may benefit from stopping 1-2 reps short, achieving similar hypertrophy while possibly supporting long-term adherence. doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.1…

New study looking at the impact of protein intake on fat-free mass retention during energy restriction now open access in the Strength and Conditioning Journal. Check it out! #ContentAccessOptions" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/fullt… @EricTrexler

@DanielBerglind Thanks for sharing my research :)

Meta-regression: More protein 🍳🥩➡️ over muscle mass💪🏻 (dose-response relationship) when losing weight, and the lower the BF%, the more important it is with high protein: journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/abstr…

@nick_krontiris Thanks for sharing my research!

This systematic review with meta-regression suggests a linear dose-response relationship between daily protein intake up to 4.2g/kg per fat-free mass per day and favorable fat-free mass changes in resistance trained individuals undergoing energy restriction.

New paper published. Will be open access in a few days!

New meta indicates protein requirements may be as high as ~3 g/kg/d to optimize FFM retention during energy restriction. Note that FFM doesn't necessary = muscle mass. Also, protein intake from self-report may not be accurate. Interesting nonetheless... journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/fullt…

@BradSchoenfeld Thanks Brad! Paper will be open access and free for everyone to read in a few days.

Do you need to train to failure to maximize muscle hypertrophy? This was an excellent paper by @MartinRefalo

⌛ 3 x years of dedicated work 🔬 2 x original research studies 📃 6 x peer-reviewed journal articles 👨‍💻 And of course 1 x very proud supervisor 🎓 Congratulations, Dr Martin Refalo!

Training to failure isn’t needed to max gains? Some people believe that you must take every set to failure in order to maximize muscle gains, but emerging literature suggests this may not be the case A new study examined training to failure vs stopping 1 to 2 reps shy of failure & found that the participants gained the same amount of muscle mass from both training styles There are several strengths to this study. First of all, they used a unilateral design where each participant was their own control by training one leg taking each set to failure and stopping 1-2 reps shy on the other. This helps negate any genetic induced differences since each person is acting as their own control Second, they matched training volumes to the participants previous volumes. This is a HUGE strength that is often overlooked in other studies Third, they used participants that were well trained (at least 3 years resistance training experience) Fourth, they had them all eat in a slight calorie surplus This adds to a growing body of literature demonstrating that training to absolute failure isn’t needed for gains & is likely counterproductive for optimal strength gains due to excess fatigue Interestingly, each group had no difference in total reps performed. That may seem strange when one group is going to failure but the other is stopping 1-2 reps shy. This can be explained by lower inter-set fatigue in the non failure group. For example if a failure group hits failure at 10 reps in set 1, they may only get 8 on the next set, and 6 on the next set. Whereas they might have been able to do 8 reps every set if they didn’t go to all out failure. As such, if you do train to failure I recommend only going to failure on your very last set of an exercise If you want to know how to implement this sort of programming make sure you check out the Biolayne Workoit Builder to get access to all my evidence based programs to help you get strong AF & build muscle 👊 biolayne.com/workout-builde…

@brunooremigio @SportRxiv @GregNuckols @DrAndyGalpin @iainjgallagher @jacksonfyfe @dlhamilton82 I created the graphic on Canva - all the icons are from there. Some might be from Flaticon!

@MartinRefalo @SportRxiv @GregNuckols @DrAndyGalpin @iainjgallagher @jacksonfyfe @dlhamilton82 Great study and graphical overview. Where did you get that (icons)?! Is it possible share the source? Cheers.

NEW meta-analysis investigating sex differences in muscle hypertrophy now available as a Preprint. @SportRxiv sportrxiv.org/index.php/serv… Thanks to: @GregNuckols @DrAndyGalpin @iainjgallagher @jacksonfyfe @dlhamilton82 🔑 Findings below!

@TonyBoutagy Thank you for sharing, Tony!

More great by Martin and co, this time on sex differences in muscle growth

@danhwilliams @jacksonfyfe Thank you!

@jacksonfyfe @MartinRefalo Nice paper (+graphic) 👏 Similar relative increases ♂️ ♀️ We can ALL build muscle 👊

Resistance training builds muscle - but do males respond differently to females? Our new meta-analysis (in peer review) led by @MartinRefalo found: - Males on average grow more muscle (in absolute terms) - But relative changes in muscle size from baseline levels were similar between sexes More evidence for comparable muscle-building effects of resistance training in males and females. sportrxiv.org/index.php/serv…