About this Video

• Video Title: This determines how much muscle you’ll gain from your training
• Channel: Menno Henselmans
• Speakers: Menno Henselmans
• Duration: 00:14:27

Introduction

This video explains the factors that determine muscle growth from training. Menno Henselmans presents a simplified model of hypertrophy, focusing on mechanical tension and its components: training intensity and time under tension (represented by total reps). He then evaluates this model's accuracy against existing research on various training variables.

Key Takeaways

• Mechanical tension is the primary driver of muscle growth. It can be broken down into intensity (weight lifted) and time under tension (total reps).
• Repetition tempo has a minimal effect on muscle growth. Its impact on time under tension is generally offset by its effect on the number of repetitions possible.
• Training intensity within the hypertrophy range (approximately 5-30 reps) shows little effect on muscle growth. The "hypertrophy zone myth" (6-12 reps) is debunked.
• Training volume (total reps or sets) is the primary predictor of muscle growth. Diminishing returns are observed with increasing volume. Training to failure only enhances growth when it increases total reps.
• Rest intervals and training frequency primarily impact muscle growth through their effect on training volume. Longer rest periods allow for more reps per set and potentially greater overall volume. Increased training frequency can lead to greater gains if it results in increased volume.

The transcript indicates that repetition tempo's effect on muscle growth is minimal because any increase in time under tension from slower reps is often offset by a decrease in the total number of reps you can perform. While the video doesn't explicitly recommend a specific tempo, it suggests that the choice of tempo is less critical than the total training volume. Therefore, performing reps slowly is not necessarily better or worse for muscle growth than performing them faster, as long as the total volume remains consistent.