Research shows it's how often you do it, not how much (Exercise 6 reps/day = 10% strength inc. in 4 weeks)

This latest research indicates a little bit of daily activity could well be the most beneficial approach, at least for muscle strength.

And happily, it also suggests you don't have to put in a mountain of work every day.

The four-week training study had three groups of participants performing an arm resistance exercise and changes in muscle strength and muscle thickness were measured and compared.

The exercise consisted of 'maximal voluntary eccentric bicep contractions' performed on a machine which measures muscle strength in each muscle contraction you would do at the gym.

An eccentric contraction is when the muscle is lengthening; in this case, like lowering a heavy dumbbell in a bicep curl.

Two groups performed 30 contractions per week, with one group doing six contractions a day for five days a week (6x5 group), while the other crammed all 30 into a single day, once a week (30x1 group).

After four weeks, the group doing 30 contractions in a single day did not show any increase in muscle strength, although muscle thickness increased 5.8 percent.

The group doing six contractions once a week did not show any changes in muscle strength and muscle thickness.

However, the 6x5 group saw significant increases in muscle strength—more than 10 percent—with an increase in muscle thickness similar to the 30x1 group.

Importantly, the increase in muscle strength of the 6x5 group was similar to the group in a previous study that performed only one three-second maximal eccentric contraction per day for five days a week for four weeks.

Professor Ken Nosaka said these studies continue to suggest very manageable amounts of exercise done regularly can have a real effect on people's strength.

Do not let people push you to the point of injuring yourself.

I just read this last week. Looks interesting. An alternative way of increasing muscle mass. (At this point I am probably “Elderly”)

https://takecontrol.substack.com/p/how-to-be-healthy-and-strong-in-old-age?ui=caf588cea4c7bc28f12ab639b4925c8d0f173e892347af91953b41668760cf31&sd=20220420&cid_source=dnl&cid_medium=email&cid_content=art4HL&cid=20220814_HL2

snip...

“There are loads of ways to increase your muscle mass but they mostly involve moving, pushing or pulling heavy weights or resistance bands. The problem with this strategy is that if you are not in good shape, and especially if you are elderly, there is a very high likelihood that you will get injured. In most cases, it is not if you will get injured but when.

The answer to this problem is an exercise strategy known as blood flow restriction training or BFR. As the name implies, BFR involves modifying the arterial inflow and venous outflow while you’re working the muscle by placing an inflatable band around the extremity.24

I have done many things in the last 10 years to help build muscle mass, but I believe combining TRE with mTOR activation and BFR is largely responsible for producing the changes you see in my videos above.”