Note: This article was the MASS Research Review cover story for March 2023. If you want more content like this, subscribe to MASS. The principle of specificity, or “SAID” principle, is a fundamental tenet of exercise science that states that the body will make “Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands” (1). Every trainer and exercise science student becomes familiar with this principle very early in their education, along with other principles like overload and individuality. Before I go further, however, let me state clearly that I’m absolutely not going to frame this article as an “ever ..read more

When people hear the term “core muscles” in common usage, they often think of the abs and obliques. These are indeed core muscles, but the core musculature is comprised of so much more, and deepening your understanding of this topic may enhance your ability to reach strength and physique goals. Technically, many of the muscles that function exclusively at the hip joint, such as the gluteus medius, are classified as core muscles (20). However, I already discussed many of these hip muscles on Stronger By Science, so we will be specifically exploring the core’s trunk muscles that have lumbar and ..read more

Note: This article was the MASS Research Review cover story for February 2023 and is a review of a recent paper by Coleman et al. If you want more content like this, subscribe to MASS. Key Points Researchers conducted a meta-analysis to compare the magnitude of hypertrophy and strength gains between drop set training and traditional set training. Findings showed only trivial effect sizes (ES) slightly favoring drop sets for both hypertrophy (ES = 0.08) and strength gains (ES = 0.07), indicating that the drop sets and traditional sets were similarly effective. Although this meta-anal ..read more

Note: This article was the MASS Research Review cover story for January 2023 and is a review of a recent paper by Albarello et al. If you want more content like this, subscribe to MASS. Key Points  The present study (1) measured acute EMG and muscle swelling (thickness and cross-sectional area, assessed via ultrasound) responses in the upper and mid chest after flat and incline benching.  A previous study (2) reported greater longitudinal upper chest hypertrophy and similar mid chest hypertrophy when comparing incline to flat benching. EMG responses differed in a predictab ..read more

Note: This article was the MASS Research Review cover story for December 2022 and is a review of a recent paper by Kadlec et al. If you want more content like this, subscribe to MASS. Key Points The presently reviewed paper assessed the 20 most-cited meta-analyses in the field of strength and conditioning. After critically appraising these meta-analyses, the researchers found that 85% of them contained at least one statistical error. In exercise science and sports nutrition, it’s very common for meta-analyses to contain errors. The most common errors include ignoring outliers, conflating ..read more

Note: This article was the MASS Research Review cover story for November 2022. If you want more content like this, subscribe to MASS. When you walk into a commercial gym, you’ll see folks executing reps with every technique under the sun. Some people lift every rep explosively, and other folks move the bar at a snail’s pace. Some folks pause and squeeze at the bottom and top of each rep, and other folks treat biceps curls as if they’re plyometrics. And, notably for our purposes here, some folks move every rep through a maximal range of motion, while other folks stick to partial reps. Whe ..read more

If you walk into a commercial gym, strap on a head harness, and start performing a neck extension exercise, there is a decent chance that you will draw some looks and maybe some grins from the people around you. Direct neck training is uncommon for the general population, and it can easily look silly to someone who is unfamiliar with this type of exercise. However, unusual does not equate to ineffective, and no substitute exists for direct neck training if your objective is to grow and/or strengthen the neck musculature. Neck Muscle Hypertrophy Many athletes perform strength training to enhanc ..read more

Note: This article was originally published as the MASS Research Review cover story for October 2022 and is a review of two recent papers by Anderson et al and Dinyer et al. If you want more content like this, subscribe to MASS. Key Points Researchers split untrained men into two groups. Both groups performed leg extensions, seated shoulder presses, leg curls, and lat pulldowns for eight weeks. One group performed three sets to failure at 30% of 1RM (low-load group), and the other performed three sets to failure at 80% of 1RM (high-load group).  The researchers assessed 1RM strength ..read more

Note: This article was the MASS Research Review cover story for September 2022. If you want more content like this, subscribe to MASS. I assume that if you’re reading Stronger By Science, training is an important part of your life. However, most people either have to take some time off of training, or choose to take some time away from training, at some point. Even if you never miss a training session for any reason whatsoever, you’ll occasionally need to take time away from training a particular body part due to injury. So, what should you reasonably expect when you stop training for a ..read more

Note: This article was the MASS Research Review cover story for August 2022. If you want more content like this, subscribe to MASS. The fitness world is full of nutrition content related to fat loss, and for good reason.  Fat loss is a common objective among the general population, whether the underlying goal is health-related or aesthetic in nature. Furthermore, fat loss is a critical aspect of physique sports, and a noteworthy consideration for all strength sports involving weight classes. Nonetheless, there are ample reasons to optimize one’s diet for hypertrophy facilitation rat ..read more