Exercise Professional Education

08/25/2026

The Resistance Training Dose-Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gain

"ABSTRACT
Background:
Weekly set volume and frequency are used to manipulate resistance training (RT) dosage. Previous research has identified higher weekly set volume as enhancing
muscle hypertrophy and strength gains, but the nature of the dose-response relationship still needs to be investigated. Mixed evidence exists regarding the effects of higher weekly
frequency.

Objective:
Before meta-analyzing the volume and frequency research, all contributing RT sets were classified as direct or indirect, depending on their specificity to the
hypertrophy/strength measurement. Then, weekly set volume/frequency for indirect sets was quantified as 1 for ‘total,’ 0.5 for ‘fractional,’ and 0 for ‘direct.’ A series of multi-level
meta-regressions were performed for muscle hypertrophy and strength, utilizing 67 total studies of 2,058 participants. All models were adjusted for the duration of the intervention
and training status.

Results:
The relative evidence for the ‘fractional’ quantification method was strongest; therefore, this quantification method was used for the primary meta-regression models. The posterior probability of the marginal slope exceeding zero for the effect of volume on
both hypertrophy and strength was 100%, indicating that gains in muscle size and strength increase as volume increases. However, both best fit models suggest diminishing returns, with the diminishing returns for strength being considerably more pronounced. The posterior probability of the marginal slope exceeding zero for frequency’s effect on hypertrophy was less than 100%, indicating compatibility with negligible effects. In contrast, the posterior probability for strength was 100%, suggesting strength gains increase with increasing frequency, albeit with diminishing returns.

Conclusions:
Distinguishing between direct and indirect sets appears essential for predicting adaptations to a given RT protocol, such as using the ‘fractional’ quantification method. This method’s dose-response models revealed that volume and frequency have
unique dose-response relationships with each hypertrophy and strength gain. The dose-response relationship between volume and hypertrophy appears to differ from that with strength, with the latter exhibiting more pronounced diminishing returns. The
dose-response relationship between frequency and hypertrophy appears to differ from that with strength, as only the latter exhibits consistently identifiable effects."

Pelland JC, Remmert JF, Robinson ZP, Hinson SR, Zourdos MC. The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains. Sports Med. 2026 Feb;56(2):481-505. doi: 10.1007/s40279-025-02344-w. Epub 2025 Dec 4. PMID: 41343037.

08/18/2026

Are you taking blood pressure readings s from your clients?

Maybe consider taking readings from both arms?

Prognostic Significance of Between-Arm Blood
Pressure Differences

Rajiv Agarwal, Zerihun Bunaye, Dagim M. Bekele

"Abstract
Blood pressure (BP) recordings often differ between arms, but the extent to which these differences are
reproducible and whether the differences have prognostic importance is unknown. We enrolled 421 consecutive patients
from a medicine and a renal clinic at a veterans’ hospital. Three BP recordings were obtained in each arm using an
oscillometric device in a sequential manner and repeated in 1 week. Patients were followed for all-cause mortality
7
years. The right arm had 5.1-mm Hg higher systolic BP that attenuated by
2.2 mm Hg a week later. Systolic BP
dropped 6.9 mm Hg over 1 week and by an additional 5.3 mm Hg in patients with chronic kidney disease. Accounting
for the visit and arm effect improved the reproducibility of the BP measurements. The intraclass correlation coefficient
was 0.74, which improved to 0.88 after accounting for visit and 0.93 after accounting for arm. The crude mortality rate
was 6.33 per 100 patient-years. Every 10-mm Hg difference in systolic BP between the arms conferred a mortality
hazard of 1.24 (95% CI: 1.01 to 1.52) after adjusting for average systolic BP and chronic kidney disease. BP differences
between arms are reproducible and carry prognostic information. Patients should have evaluation of BP in both arms
at the screening visit. (Hypertension. 2008;51:657-662.)"

08/11/2026

Do you agree with this statement? ...

Nature operates through extreme contrasts—from scorching heat to absolute zero and deepest oceans to highest peaks—demanding extreme specialization for survival.

These environments (e.g., acid lakes, arctic ice) showcase life’s resilience, while physics principles like the Lagrangian method show natural systems often follow pathways of maximum or minimum efficiency.

• Extreme Environments & Life: Extremophiles thrive in conditions lethal to most, such as high-pressure deep-sea vents, hyper-saline lakes, or extreme acidic/alkaline environments (e.g., Mono Lake).

• Physical Extremes: Earth’s climates feature intense, record-setting, and often catastrophic phenomena (floods, droughts, wildfires) that are becoming more frequent.

• Physical Laws: Lagrangian mechanics suggests natural processes, such as light paths or motion, often follow the path of least action (an extremum).

• Biological Adaptation: Animals and plants have evolved extreme adaptations in size, longevity, and speed to survive in hostile or highly competitive environments.

In essence, nature is not moderate; it is defined by, and frequently creates conditions at the extreme, forcing life and matter to adapt or succumb.

08/09/2026

A summer of problem solving it has been!

Another incredible weekend of learning with an awesome group of Muscle System Specialist for our Advanced Course 5 in Columbus, OH Greg Mack

Thank you to Dave Freiday, Lance White, Brandon O’Connor, Stephen Dansevich and Charlie Rowe for making it special!

08/07/2026

Fist Bump Friday for another amazing weekend of learning as our colleagues take on the MSS Advanced Course 5 in Columbus, OH at the Greg Mack office as Greg Mack leads the way for more innovative thinking, problem solving, and discussion 🗣️

08/07/2026

08/04/2026

Nasal breathing and muscle function...

"Nasal breathing (NB) and oral breathing (OB) are two modes of respiration, and the extent to which they affect respiratory muscles and brain function. The primary objective of this study was to explore the impact of NB versus OB on respiratory muscle and brain function. A literature review was conducted by searching the National Library of Medicine (PubMed) and Scopus databases from January 2000 and May 2024. One hundred twenty-six articles were retrieved from the databases searched, and at the end of the selection process, 11 articles were included in the present review. Most studies (91%) were experimental and had adult healthy volunteers; 64% of the included studies focused on the effects of NB and OB on brain function, while the remaining 36% focused on respiratory muscles. A total of 313 participants comprised the population, most of whom were women (63%). Although most studies were conducted
on adults, a percentage of participants (15%) were children. NB and OB elicit different brain areas and heterogeneously influence
respiratory muscle function. Knowledge of the underlying mechanisms could be beneficial for, for example, personalizing respiratory and manual techniques when rehabilitating individuals with neurological or respiratory impairments."

Bayrak Ö, Polastri M, Pehlivan E. Effects of Nasal and Oral Breathing on Respiratory Muscle and Brain Function: A Review. Thorac Res Pract. 2025 Apr 30;26(3):145-151. doi: 10.4274/ThoracResPract.2024.24061. Epub 2025 Jan 20. PMID: 39930776; PMCID: PMC12047190.

08/03/2026

Improving access to—and control of—the full spectrum of your sensorimotor system has a profound impact on overall health.

Greg Mack and the crew dove into a simple question with powerful implications:
✍️ Pen & paper or 📱 tablet?

How we learn, process, and retain information matters more than most people realize.

The Full Immersion Course doesn’t just teach —it challenges the way you think about the human system. 🗣️

07/28/2026

Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy versus sham surgery for a degenerative meniscal tear

"Abstract

Background: Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy is one of the most common orthopedic procedures, yet rigorous evidence of its efficacy is lacking.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial in 146 patients 35 to 65 years of age who had knee symptoms consistent with a degenerative medial meniscus tear and no knee osteoarthritis. Patients were randomly assigned to arthroscopic partial meniscectomy or sham surgery. The primary outcomes were changes in the Lysholm and Western Ontario Meniscal Evaluation Tool (WOMET) scores (each ranging from 0 to 100, with lower scores indicating more severe symptoms) and in knee pain after exercise (rated on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 denoting no pain) at 12 months after the procedure.

Results: In the intention-to-treat analysis, there were no significant between-group differences in the change from baseline to 12 months in any primary outcome. The mean changes (improvements) in the primary outcome measures were as follows: Lysholm score, 21.7 points in the partial-meniscectomy group as compared with 23.3 points in the sham-surgery group (between-group difference, -1.6 points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -7.2 to 4.0); WOMET score, 24.6 and 27.1 points, respectively (between-group difference, -2.5 points; 95% CI, -9.2 to 4.1); and score for knee pain after exercise, 3.1 and 3.3 points, respectively (between-group difference, -0.1; 95% CI, -0.9 to 0.7). There were no significant differences between groups in the number of patients who required subsequent knee surgery (two in the partial-meniscectomy group and five in the sham-surgery group) or serious adverse events (one and zero, respectively).

Conclusions: In this trial involving patients without knee osteoarthritis but with symptoms of a degenerative medial meniscus tear, the outcomes after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy were no better than those after a sham surgical procedure."

(Funded by the Sigrid Juselius Foundation and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00549172.).

Sihvonen R, Paavola M, Malmivaara A, Itälä A, Joukainen A, Nurmi H, Kalske J, Järvinen TL; Finnish Degenerative Meniscal Lesion Study (FIDELITY) Group. Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy versus sham surgery for a degenerative meniscal tear. N Engl J Med. 2013 Dec 26;369(26):2515-24. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1305189. PMID: 24369076.

07/21/2026

The Importance of Recovery in Resistance Training Microcycle Construction

"Systemic resistance training aims to enhance performance by balancing stress, fatigue and recovery. While fatigue is expected, insufficient recovery may temporarily impair performance. The aim of this review was to examine evidence regarding manipulation of resistance training variables on subsequent effects on recovery and performance. PubMed, Medline, SPORTDiscus, Scopus and CINAHL were searched. Only studies that investigated recovery between resistance training sessions were selected, with a total of 24 articles included for review. Training to failure may lengthen recovery times, potentially impairing performance; however, it may be suitable if implemented strategically ensuring adequate recovery between sessions of similar exercises or muscle groups. Higher volumes may increase recovery demands, especially when paired with training to failure, however, with wide variation in individual responses, it is suggested to start with lower volume, monitor recovery, and gradually increase training volume if appropriate. Exercises emphasising the lower body, multi-joint movements, greater muscle recruitment, eccentric contractions, and/or the lengthened position may require longer recovery times. Adjusting volume and frequency of these exercises can affect recovery demands depending on the goals and training logistics. Daily undulating programming may maximise performance on priority sessions while maintaining purposeful and productive easy days. For example, active recovery in the form of training opposing muscle groups, light aerobic cardio, or low-volume power-type training may improve recovery and potentially elicit a post activation potentiation priming effect compared to passive recovery. However, it is possible that training cessation may be adequate for allowing sufficient recovery prior to sessions of importance."

Sousa CA, Zourdos MC, Storey AG, Helms ER. The Importance of Recovery in Resistance Training Microcycle Construction. J Hum Kinet. 2024 Apr 15;91(Spec Issue):205-223. doi: 10.5114/jhk/186659. PMID: 38689583; PMCID: PMC11057610.