• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About Us
  • STEPS Virtual
  • FAQ
  • Links
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • 615.269.8844

STEPS Fitness

Nashville's Premier Personal Fitness Training Center

  • STEPS Virtual
  • Programs
    • STEPS Fitness Presents Events
    • DR. Irv’s Perfect Exercise Minute
    • Training Packages
    • Group Offerings
    • Corporate Wellness
    • Traveler’s Special
  • Personal Trainers
    • Dr. Irv Rubenstein
  • Testimonials
  • Fitness Blog
    • Dr Irv’s Fitness Blog
    • Exercise of the Month
  • Newsletters
    • Fit Happens
    • Real News Newsletter
  • Search

April 1, 2019 By Irv Rubenstein

REAL News – April 2019

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

REAL News March 2018

 April 2019

How Much Do You Have to Lift to Get Strong…or Big?

A study that evaluated the required volume of weight lifting exercises necessary to effect muscle strength and size (hypertrophy) made all the news at the end of 2018. In what might be considered a large study of this type, 45 healthy, young males who were experienced with regular weight training were divided into three groups: low- (1-Set), moderate-(3-Set, and high-volume (5-Set). They all did the same lifts and same percentage of loading 3/wk for 8 weeks.

Ultrasound measurements of muscle size were done for biceps, triceps, and quadriceps. Strength tests were only done for squats and bench presses. Only bench press endurance was used as a gage of muscle endurance.

Astoundingly, the results showed that 1-Set of 8-12 repetitions done 3 x a week was virtually as good as doing 3-Sets of an exercise thrice weekly.

Too, muscle endurance was similarly improved regardless of volume. Furthermore, biceps size was improved with multiple sets but triceps size was hardly different between groups. Mid- and lateral-thigh muscle sizes were improved more in the 5-Set group but there was not much difference between the 1-Set and 3-Set groups when it came to leg muscle size changes.

REAL News - April 20191

However, what did not get mentioned in the news reports, after touting the value of a 13-minute workout vs a 39- and 65-minute workouts, was that the dropout rate for the study underpowered the statistical results. That, and the fact that some of the subjects were unable to complete some of the strength tests.

Thus, while the overall message was positive – that three 13-minute sessions/wk of resistance training is sufficient to see strength and hypertrophy gains – you might want to do a little more to ensure benefits.                 

MSSE Jan. 2019

Female Bone Density Impacted by Muscle Mass

Bone mineral density (BMD) is a concern for aging women and for certain athletes who tend to keep body weight low by under-eating or over-exercising. Most of the literature on osteoporosis suggests that what we do up to age 30 or so lays the foundation for how much BMD we enter middle age with.

A large multi-year study followed over 1800 Iowan families over a 15-year period. Starting at age 5, up through 17, DXA scans were performed at ages 5, 8, 11, 13, 15 and 17 to determine BMD. Also, physical activity records – reported and measured with accelerometers – were assessed each testing age to gage how much moderate and vigorous activity and sedentary behavior each kid did. Finally, leg muscle mass was measured by DXA.

The results were noteworthy for two reasons. First, those who had maintained higher levels of physical activity from childhood into adolescence had higher whole-body and regional BMD. Significantly, those with more leg muscle tended to have better proximal femur bone quality; in fact, this was more notable among females than males.

This suggested that muscle loading, despite lower overall muscle mass, was more important for young females to build more bone than it was for males.

REAL News - April 20192

Activities with “strong (de)accelerations of the body or with maximal-force muscle contractions” have already been shown to be superior for “augment[ing] muscle mass and bond strength.” This lead to the other conclusion that muscle was a mediator for BMD and should be considered not just a mechanical factor but an endocrine organ capable of exerting independent influence on young kids’ bones.                           

MSSE Jan. 2019

Tid Bits

An analysis of the Women’s Health Study in the JAMA Network Open (12/18)  evaluated the diets of 26,000 subjects over 12 years to see how closely aligned they were to the Mediterranean diet. Those with high diet scores were ~25% less likely to have a heart attack or stroke, compared to those who had low scores. Even medium scorers had reduced risk, likely due to the overall reduced inflammation of this kind of diet.                                        UC-Berkeley Wellness Mar. 2019

 

Women tend to have more bladder and urinary tract infections, especially as they age. It is believed to be a function of reduced water intake. A Bulgarian study of 140 pre-menopausal women who had had recurrent infections (at least 3 the year prior) and did not drink lots of fluids were divided into two groups: one was supplied with 0.5 liter water bottles to be consumed with each of three meals daily, the other to just drink as usual. Over the next year, the water group had about half the number of infections than the drink-as-usual group. An easy fix: drink more water.                                                                                                                       UC-Berkeley Wellness Mar. 2019

 

Science has a way of saying, “I told you so” or “Duh”. In this study, the authors measured the biomechanics of experienced young (early-mid 30s) and old (mid 60s) runners. Subjects ran at the same speed of 7.5 mph (8 mins/mile) with 9 cameras filming marked segments of their lower extremities.  They calculated foot strike forces, vertical and joint stiffness values and their underlying components. And, yes, the youngsters had less vertical stiffness (more spring-like) with more dynamic joint stiffness at the ankles and knees.  The olders had less ankle plantar flexion and knee extension forces, with shorter steps, demonstrating that advancing age is associated with biomechanics that reduce speed and loading forces on the muscles and joints.    MSSE Dec. 2018

Related Posts:

  • REAL-News--October-2023
    REAL News - October 2023
  • REAL-News--April-2024
    REAL News - April 2024
  • REAL News - January 2024
    REAL News - January 2024
  • REAL-News --February-20251
    REAL News - September 2022
  • How-Hard-Do-You-REALLY-Have-to-Work?
    How Hard Do You REALLY Have to Work?
  • REAL-News--December-2023
    REAL News - December 2023
  • Real-News-- April-2025
    REAL News - April 2025
  • Part 2: If you’re doing GLP-1 meds for weight loss, then you gotta do Weight Lifting
    REAL News - June 2022

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Real News Tagged With: aging, bone density, hydration, mediterranean diet, running technique, strength training, urinary tract infections

sidebar

Blog Sidebar

FREE Consultation!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

  • Exercise of the Month
  • Fit Happens
  • Fitness Blog
  • General News
  • Newsletters
  • Real News
  • Trainers

Tags

achieve well-being aging Alzheimer's disease barefoot running body fat bone density burn off excess weight calories cardio cardiovascular childhood obesity covid diabetes diet dieting eating disorders Exercise exercise intensity field of health or exercise science fitness flexibility functional fitness health Heart Health higher risk of obesity lose weight low back pain mental health musculoskeletal improvements obesity osteoarthritis physical activity physically active protein reduce your risk of falling resistance training running Senior Training slows cognitive decline strength training Stretching training weight loss Weight loss vs Exercise gain weight management

Recent News

May 01

REAL News – May 2025

Apr 01

REAL News – April 2025

Mar 18

Fit Happens – Spring 2025

Mar 01

REAL News – March 2025

Feb 01

REAL News – February 2025

Reviews

Search Our Directory

Footer Widget Header

Affiliations

  • american-college-of-sports-medicine
  • american-council-on-exercise
  • biometrics
  • exercise-etc-inc
  • national-strength-and-conditioning-association
  • renewed-support

STEPS Fitness | 2424 21st Ave. S. Suite #100 | Nashville, TN 37212 | 615.269.8844 p

© 2025 Nashville's Premier Personal Fitness Training Center | Designed by Ponder Consulting ®

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok