Science of Muscle Growth, Increasing Strength & Muscular Recovery

Download free illustrated cold-exposure protocol PDF from thecoldplunge.com.

Subscribe to YouTube channel as zero-cost support for the podcast.

For about 10% of exercise effort, push to the burn so lactate is produced and acts as a hormonal signal benefiting brain, heart, and liver.

Follow Dr. Andy Galpin's YouTube channel and writings for in-depth exercise/muscle physiology.

Brad Schoenfeld's academic work on hypertrophy is highly recommended for further learning.

Most people, regardless of age, should do some form of resistance exercise (bands, weights, or bodyweight) to offset age-related loss of strength, posture, bone density.

Lift in 30–80% of 1RM range; full range of motion; near or to failure on some sets; biases hypertrophy at lower end, strength at upper end.

Performing ~30 sec hard isolated contractions of a target muscle between sets can enhance hypertrophy (but reduces strength performance).

6 sets of 10 reps of compound movements (squat, deadlift, chin-up) with 2-min rest to acutely boost testosterone; up to twice per week.

Cool palms (using ice/gel packs) between sets to enable more reps at the same weight and increase training volume.

Doing isolation work before compound movements (e.g. leg extensions before squats) better targets a muscle for hypertrophy, but hurts compound-lift performance.

Use HRV to assess recovery; higher variability is desirable.

Test morning grip strength (squeeze a scale or rubber donut) to monitor systemic recovery; >10-20% drops indicate incomplete recovery.

Morning test: 4 nasal inhale/mouth exhales, then big inhale and exhale as slowly as possible; longer discard time (60-120s) indicates better recovery/parasympathetic capacity.

Use NSDR after training to engage the parasympathetic nervous system and kickstart recovery.

Double inhale through nose followed by long exhale; useful between sets or after training to engage parasympathetic system or maintain focus.

Use Reveri hypnosis app to access deep rest states and reduce post-training inflammation.

Get >1000 mg EPA per day via food or supplements to keep systemic inflammation low.

Sufficient vitamin D is one of the foundational supplements to reduce inflammation and support training adaptation.

Magnesium malate appears particularly effective at reducing delayed onset muscle soreness.

Ensure adequate sodium (and potassium and magnesium) for nerve-to-muscle communication, both for physical performance and cognitive work.

Use examine.com (free) to look up evidence on supplements like creatine.

Creatine supplementation increases muscle creatine, power output (12-20%), reduces fatigue, supports cognition; dose by body weight.

Beta-alanine (2-5 g/day) supports performance in 60-240 second efforts (interval cardio, 8-15 rep weights), reduces fatigue.

Beet juice can improve long-duration endurance performance via vasodilation effects.

Get 700-3000 mg leucine per meal (from whole foods preferably) to support muscle protein synthesis (hypertrophy) and repair (strength).

For typical (non-drug-assisted) trainees, eating 2-4 times daily with sufficient amino acids is sufficient for muscle support.

On non-training days, do focused cognitive work at the time you normally train; the body's biological clock will be primed for focused effort.

Train at consistent time relative to waking — about 30 min, 3 hr, or 11 hr post-wake — for body-temperature/cortisol-aligned performance.