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but that observation is consistent with the prevailing beliefs of powerlifters v bodybuilders on weight v volume for strength v hypertrophy, both get strong and

but that observation is consistent with the prevailing beliefs of powerlifters v bodybuilders on weight v volume for strength v hypertrophy, both get strong and both get big, but Powerlifters prioritising strength lift heavier weights at lower reps (1 - 6 reps to failure or near). Bodybuilders prioritising hypertrophy lift only slightly lower weights than powerlifters at slightly higher reps (e.g 6+ reps a set to failure or near) (source, random opinions of gym bros and sisters at doherty's and derrimut gyms)

throwaway22032 2y ago
I agree with all of this but the reality is that it's somewhere inbetween because you need both. Powerlifters are not doing one set and calling it a day.
- kelipso 2y ago
  It's one rep per set not one set, and they work up to the one rep starting from lighter weights, and do the one rep set for many sets.
  - throwaway22032 2y ago
    Yes, I agree. The article doesn't say that, though. "Doing four sets didn’t produce notably bigger strength gains than one set" - direct quote. Which is, frankly, complete bollocks. Maybe it can produce CNS gains sufficient to lift the maximum your muscles are capable of (basically newbie gains), but no serious competition lifter is going into the gym, doing one set of squats, one of bench, one of deads, and then going home.
    - kelipso 2y ago
      True, this is the experiment they did in the original paper: > Eighty-five older individuals [41M/44F, age = 68 ± 4 yr; body mass index (BMI) = 26.4 ± 3.7 kg/m2] had one leg randomly allocated to a single (1)-set and the contralateral leg allocated to four sets of unilateral knee-extension RT at 8-15 repetition maximum (RM) for 10-wk 2 days/wk. Pre- and postintervention, participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and unilateral knee-extension 1-RM strength testing. Which, okay, it's old people who will get fatigued quickly and their recovery will be worse. Looks like some of them got tired and didn't recover well, while for others more sets were better because they recovered well, so when averaging those out this result is seems pretty believable, but I wouldn't generalize it to everyone. My takeaway is if you get really exhausted/tired lifting, and you're doing 5 sets of 5 reps or 3 sets of 5 like you did when you were younger, maybe try 1 set of 5 instead, and you might find you recover better for the next lifting session. I personally have gone from 5 sets to 3 sets of my max weight a while ago because of exhaustion.
      - throwaway22032 2y ago
        Completely agree with this! :)
- dredmorbius 2y ago
  At a certain point, relatively little exercise (a single lifting session per week, regular walking) is remarkably effective at retaining overall strength and muscle mass. Senior lifter and bodybuilder Clarance Bass, now in his late 80s (born 1937) has followed this regime for the past few decades. I think he covers this somewhere on his website, though I wasn't able to track that down looking for it just now. You or others are welcome to read it: <https://www.cbass.com/ https://www.cbass.com/> I'll note that Bass doesn't claim that this is the only training modality, and peak-career bodybuilders will train differently. But for the general public, particularly in later years, it can be quite effective. If there's one scourge of fitness discussions, it's a One True Way or Best Exercise fixation. People, goals, potentials, and available resources vary considerably.

throwaway22032 2y ago

I agree with all of this but the reality is that it's somewhere inbetween because you need both. Powerlifters are not doing one set and calling it a day.

kelipso 2y ago
It's one rep per set not one set, and they work up to the one rep starting from lighter weights, and do the one rep set for many sets.
- throwaway22032 2y ago
  Yes, I agree. The article doesn't say that, though. "Doing four sets didn’t produce notably bigger strength gains than one set" - direct quote. Which is, frankly, complete bollocks. Maybe it can produce CNS gains sufficient to lift the maximum your muscles are capable of (basically newbie gains), but no serious competition lifter is going into the gym, doing one set of squats, one of bench, one of deads, and then going home.
  - kelipso 2y ago
    True, this is the experiment they did in the original paper: > Eighty-five older individuals [41M/44F, age = 68 ± 4 yr; body mass index (BMI) = 26.4 ± 3.7 kg/m2] had one leg randomly allocated to a single (1)-set and the contralateral leg allocated to four sets of unilateral knee-extension RT at 8-15 repetition maximum (RM) for 10-wk 2 days/wk. Pre- and postintervention, participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and unilateral knee-extension 1-RM strength testing. Which, okay, it's old people who will get fatigued quickly and their recovery will be worse. Looks like some of them got tired and didn't recover well, while for others more sets were better because they recovered well, so when averaging those out this result is seems pretty believable, but I wouldn't generalize it to everyone. My takeaway is if you get really exhausted/tired lifting, and you're doing 5 sets of 5 reps or 3 sets of 5 like you did when you were younger, maybe try 1 set of 5 instead, and you might find you recover better for the next lifting session. I personally have gone from 5 sets to 3 sets of my max weight a while ago because of exhaustion.
    - throwaway22032 2y ago
      Completely agree with this! :)
dredmorbius 2y ago
At a certain point, relatively little exercise (a single lifting session per week, regular walking) is remarkably effective at retaining overall strength and muscle mass. Senior lifter and bodybuilder Clarance Bass, now in his late 80s (born 1937) has followed this regime for the past few decades. I think he covers this somewhere on his website, though I wasn't able to track that down looking for it just now. You or others are welcome to read it: <https://www.cbass.com/ https://www.cbass.com/> I'll note that Bass doesn't claim that this is the only training modality, and peak-career bodybuilders will train differently. But for the general public, particularly in later years, it can be quite effective. If there's one scourge of fitness discussions, it's a One True Way or Best Exercise fixation. People, goals, potentials, and available resources vary considerably.