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This study recorded estimates of intracellular water (ICW) and extracellular water (ECW) during high-volume training to show how just much muscle swelling occurs in well-trained lifters. The program actually caused atrophy if we deduct both ICW and ECW.

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How are muscle strain injuries different from the more common exercise-induced muscle damage phenomenon? Read more in the weekly free Patreon article.

Both rest period duration and proximity to failure affect how many reps are lost from set to set. Stopping a couple of reps in reserve (RIR) seems to have a greater impact than leaving extremely long rests.

Eccentric training causes a very different type of muscle growth compared to concentric training because the lengthening of the activated muscle fibers generated passive mechanical tension, which stimulates sarcomerogenesis.

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It is commonly claimed that muscle damage does not exist in trained people "because of the repeated bout effect" but we have multiple studies that have measured direct markers of myofibrillar disruptions in trained subjects after months of training.

The active length-tension relationship is altered by sarcomeres being added or removed from muscle fibers. Whether this happens depends on whether the muscle is activated at long or short lengths. Read more in the weekly free Patreon article.

The stretch reflex increases muscle activation and thereby produces a stretch-shortening cycle effect (defined as an increase in concentric phase performance because of the preceding eccentric contraction). Yet, the effect is probably very small when using heavy loads.

Many fitness influencers have argued that elongating the biceps brachii by doing curls with an extended shoulder rather than a flexed shoulder should cause more muscle growth. This study found it does not. Yet, there may be differences between the biceps brachii and brachialis.

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Although the dose-response of muscle damage to eccentric contraction volume is fairly linear in animal models with electrically-stimulated contractions, it is non-linear in human studies, most likely because the development of CNS fatigue during exercise is protective.

Some researchers argue that muscle swelling doesn't happen in trained lifters, despite studies literally measuring increased intracellular and extracellular water in trained lifters after high-volume training programs. Read more in the weekly free Patreon article.

EMG amplitudes are twice as high in the lifting (concentric) phase of a rep than in the lowering (eccentric) phase. This happens because fibers exert twice as much force eccentrically than concentrically, so only half the fibers need to be activated for the same muscle force.

There are definite signs of regional muscle growth within the elbow flexor complex after different types of curl exercise. Whether this occurs due to differences in activation between muscles or within muscles is not clear from this study, however.

Contusions (bruises) involve exactly the same muscle damage process as exercise. When the impact hits the muscle, the cell membranes are damaged, allowing extracellular calcium ions inside. These cause damage in exactly the same way as they do during stretch and/or exercise.

We often talk about muscle activation being measured in studies, but how is that done? Read more in the full (free) article on Patreon.

Many fitness influencers are determined to perpetuate the idea that muscle loss happens very slowly. Yet, we have many studies showing substantial losses of muscle fiber cross-sectional area within a few days of finishing a strength training program.

In trained lifters, the middle deltoid does not benefit from being trained in a stretched position (with a cable) compared to in a contracted position (with dumbbells). Was this due to the muscle group or the trained population? Impossible to know.

Although it is often claimed that muscle damage occurs during exercise, it actually mainly develops in the post-workout period. Here is another study showing the development of both fatigue and also markers of muscle damage gradually for 2-3 days post-exercise.

Post-workout fatigue accumulates during normal strength training until it stops adaptations from happening. Read more in the full (free) article on Patreon.

In the same way that light, concentric exercise and aerobic exercise do not affect the rate of recovery from muscle-damaging exercise, static stretching does not affect the recovery rate either.

An individualized increase in weekly training volume of either 30% or 60% was unable to increase either strength gains or hypertrophy in strength-trained males. In fact, numerically the increased training volumes produced worse effects.