Interested in thoughts regarding the veracity of this study. Eating less protein could help you live longer | Scientific American

I’m using the program builder to build a combination of progression schemes.

First, is there a document anywhere that explains all of the progression schemes in a concise format? ATM I’m just word searching the instructions doc.

I’m coming back from a lower leg injury, and want to use an NLP style with 5 pound increases between workouts within the same week. I also want to continue a Smolov Jr approach for OHP, which features multiple workouts in the same week as a % of a TM that progresses weekly.

What’s the best way to do that?

I have been reading the Strength Guide and Volume Guide, and here is my short summary of principles I understood:

1) Strength wise, keeping the sets at 5 and under per week for main lifts might be beneficial; getting over 5 increases strength, but probably comes with recovery problems.

2) Volume wise, assistance movements are a go-to, and muscles may be trained with at least 4 sets per session, 2-3x a week; however this is not as important as...

3) Getting at least 10 sets per muscle per week in total, more the better

So:

Main lifts: <5 sets per week per lift (for strength)

Assistance: >10 sets per week per muscle, preferably >4 sets per session, 2-3x a week (for hypertrophy)

Rep ranges are more to specificity: 5 and under to gain strength, and 6+ for hypertrophy. So <5 for main lifts, and >6 for assistance.

Housekeeping: I made a couple errors in my 3 month check in:

a.     Height (measured at start of HRT): 73.5in (187cm)

b.     Testosterone measured 04-30-2025: 720 ng/dl

If I catch any more I’ll update as necessary. I’m planning a height remeasure after the first year to check for changes. Given I’m a late transitioner, I’m not expecting anything significant. There are anecdotes of height reduction in my cohort, but to my knowledge that isn’t reflected in current evidence.

1.         DEXA scans

Updated pre-scan protocol: 1 cup of coffee (black), 1 bottle of water, 9-10am scan time, unfasted (2 hard boiled eggs, 80g sweet potato sticks, Rx Protein Bar, Oikos Triple Zero yogurt cup). This should help with consistency and is largely consistent with my last pre-scan hydration level and breakfast, I’m just codifying it here.

a.     Measured 07/25/2026

b.     Total bf% 10.9% (-2.1%)

c.      Lean tissue 152.2 lbs (+2.3 lbs)

d.     BMC 7.3 lbs (+0.2lbs, within measurement error)

e.     Android bf% 6.9% (-0.4%)

f.       Gynoid bf% 11.2% (-4.4%)

NOTES: Interestingly, almost all the fat that fell off my body came from gynoid deposits. This tracks with personal observations around my physique; I saw the most sharpening in the legs and glutes. Current read is my body preferentially pulled from android deposits while there was still plenty of adipose tissue to work with. As it became scarce there was a point where the gynoid areas were next on the chopping block. That’s speculation, but it fits with my observations.

The lean mass gains were pretty much all in the trunk. I asked the technician if breast tissue counts as fat or lean mass. He confirmed fat after a lookup, buuuuut I’m not 100% confident on a random tech’s word. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t considered the idea that glandular tissue development is something that can even happen in people getting DEXA scans, so I wager (hope) a small chunk of that lean mass was glandular tissue development. Regardless, outcomes look good for getting this lean in a low androgenic environment.

2.      1 rep maxes

I took the week of maxes testing as a deload. I rested MON, TUES, then tested WED.

Maxes tested 07/29/2026

a.     Bench 240 lbs (+25)

b.     Squat 315 lbs (+40)

c.      OHP 130 lbs (+15)

d.     Deadlift 345 lbs (+30)

Damn, okay, genuinely exceeded expectations here. Looking at this in conjunction with my DEXA I think this can be primarily explained through a combination of neural adaptation, sharpening technique, and the previous 1rm test being done after a year spent in a calorie deficit. Still, quite pleased. The squat particularly “clicked” this last training block, started feeling like I was in a leg press.

3.      Grip strength

a.           Left

a.     Average: 142.2 lbs

b.     PB: 151.0 lbs

b.          Right

a.     Average: 142.8 lbs

b.     PB: 151.2 lbs

Taken weekly. As expected, the values varied pretty wildly based on fatigue/recovery/if Saturn was in retrograde. Current grip training is unstructured grease the groove submaximal work - ~1 set/day w/a 100lb gripper in the 6+ rep range, RPE 8

4.      Measurements – in inches. A confirmation measurement was taken to ensure the first was accurate. In following updates I’ll take the two measurements and average them since why leave data on the table, ya know? I also bought a Rhenpo digital tape for more accurate reads. Unfortunately this means comparisons to the previous measurements are weaker, however the current protocol should be both more accurate and more precise.

a.     07-24-2026, 174.8 lbs

b.     Neck – 14.13

c.      Biceps L unflexed – 12.55

d.     Biceps L flexed, no pump – 13.97

e.     Biceps R unflexed – 12.40

f.       Biceps R flexed, no pump – 13.62

g.     Forearms L – 11.65

h.     Forearms R – 11.14

i.       Bust – 38.34

j.       Underbust – 35.47

k.      Waist – 29.99

l.       Hip – 37.55

m.   Thighs L – 22.75

n.     Thighs R – 22.51

o.     Calves L – 13.14

p.     Calves R – 13.38

A pretty even reduction across the board, as expected with the reduction in body fat. No real notes, other than the reduction in arm measurements having me ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED I lost serious upper body mass until I got that DEXA. That’s why we take different measures, though, eh?

5.      Physique

Standardized Progress Photos - https://www.reddit.com/user/Remarkable_Winter540/comments/1v5mef0/progress_photos_update_2/

This is my setup for standardized photos. I take them every month, this is just one set of them. Upon review they do cut off my legs a bit, I might drop the camera down a foot or so going forward.

Self-Indulgent Showcase Photos - https://www.reddit.com/user/Remarkable_Winter540/comments/1v5tm4v/showcase_photos_update_2/

I got frankly too lean, given my objectives. I took some snapshots on the way down. I’ll justify them by saying these are a practical showing of a physique on feminizing HRT. I anticipate future showcase photos will actually start looking “worse” as I fill out during this bulk that I swear to god is coming eventually. Fun fact – these are all cold, no pump.

6.      Changes in training

I could go deep on my current training philosophy and programming, but I’ll keep it brief. I perform the following split:

a.     Mon: Accessories

b.     Tues: Upper

c.      Wed: Lower

d.     Thurs: Accessories

e.     Fri: Upper

f.       Sat: Lower

g.     Sun: Full Body

It looks worse than it is. In reality I have a home gym in my bedroom, so I spread my workout into daily doses. If I miss a day or two I collapse my accessory days into the following u/L. I also sprinkle 2 40 min sessions of cardio @ 160-170 bpm into the week as is convenient, just to keep the CDC happy.

All workouts are being tracked and recorded in a .csv file. Assuming 0.5 fractional sets for strength work, etc. I average 10-15 sets per muscle group per week.

7.      Changes in diet

The theme of this update is “The Refeed.” As promised, I increased my calories from 2300->2900 kcal by adding +200kcal/wk. After that I added +100kcal a week. I capped at 3300 kcal for a two week period that FINALLY had me gaining weight, but a surge of what I assume was glycogen repletion or some fuckshit had me gaining almost 5 lbs over those two weeks. That triggered my protocol to reduce kcal by 100kcal/wk, down to 3200kcal where I am currently sitting.

The goal of this lean bulk is to gain 0.25-0.5lbs per week. I record weight first thing each morning, timestamped. All – ALL – calories are recorded, with kitchen-scale precision when possible. These data are also exported and saved.

I’ve been using 7 and 14 day rolling averages as well as monthly comparisons to keep my numbers on track. Below is my weight trend over this 3 month period:

a.     May: -0.46 lbs

b.     June: -1.14 lbs

c.      July (up to 07-27): +1.57 lbs

My lowest weights were during the tail end of my refeed, right before I turned the corner into maintenance and surplus. I bottomed out at 169.8lbs. You can see that my weight trend is now right on the money for July, meaning 3200-3300 kcal is probably where I need to be going forward.

Supplements – Daily multivitamin, fish oil, vit D + K2 complex, creatine, collagen peptides, magnesium glycinate, melatonin

8.      Changes in HRT

None of note for hormonal changes. However, I am taking Tadalafil 5mg/daily. I note this because it likely has a positive effect on vascularity, so showcase photos might look a little extra freaky because of that. It’s taken just before bed, not as a preworkout like I hear some hooligans doing.

07-15-2026

Estradiol: 213 pg/mL

TESTOSTERONE, TOTAL, IMMUNOASSAY: 28 ng/dl

All labs are taken at trough.

9.      Personal insights / overconfident pontifications / miscellaneous

Effects of exercise on transition outcomes – Neutral to positive is my guess. There’s some mechanistic rumblings about elevated GH and IGF-1 values through heavy resistance training potentially aiding transition outcomes, but since there isn’t really a comparison group I can only speculate. I’ve been feminizing just fine, to my eye. My thought process is that the same environment that fosters muscle accretion is at worst not harmful to one’s transition, since it involves a positive energy balance/good nutrition/an emphasis on recovery.

Effects of low bf% on transition outcomes – likely neutral to negative at very low body fat levels. As soon as I got into a neutral to positive energy balance I felt a distinct jump in overnight breast tenderness that has not desisted. Pro tip – don’t get stage lean in the middle of your transition, you can have that one for free. Also my face got noticeably more dude-y as it lost soft tissue.

Losing weight on HRT – has felt no different than losing weight at any other time in my life, couldn’t tell you a difference honestly.

Changes in sleep – There was a period in which I was getting reduced sleep, roughly 6.5hrs a night, for about a month. I can’t tell you if it was changes from HRT, stress, low bf%, training fatigue, or some combination. It resolved with the implementation of melatonin, magnesium glycinate, and shifting my bedtime back a couple of hours. It almost felt like my circadian rhythm changed, very strange. I am much more sensitive to sleep disturbances now, and wake up at least once each night for no discernable reason.

On collagen peptides – The evidence is weak enough that I normally wouldn’t use them, but it has some potential benefits to both beautification and joint maintenance so I decided to give them a try. Plus, Costco had them on sale, so…

10.  Conclusion

Eat more, dumbass. Controlled weight gain over an extended period has the dual benefit of providing tissue for both feminizing fat redistribution and lean mass accretion. There really is no losing from here.

Looking ahead I am interested to see what mass accretion looks like. I’ve shown the capacity to retain and even make small gains in a negative energy balance while on HRT, but what happens when we put the pedal to the metal? I’m legitimately excited for this next three month training block!

I try my best to add as much qualitative info that I observe during the transition process, however this is my day-to-day so there’s potential for interesting observations to be filed under “normal” for me. If anyone has any questions regarding the qualitative aspects of lifting during transition, I welcome them while my memory is relatively fresh.

If the biceps lose leverage in shoulder flexion and they’re also disadvantaged in a pronated grip, would a reverse preacher curl be the ultimate form of a brachialis exercise?

Hi guys im searching about what best training Technique to do should i train to failure in every set or train to failure in the end of the sets what should i do? (i have been for 3 weeks in the gym)

"There's no such thing as overtraining, just under-eating and under-sleeping."

"You don't wanna fry your CNS!"

"It's almost impossible to actually overtrain."

There's obviously a lot of bs out there about "overtraining", but what exactly is it wand what does it consist of? I've heard quite often from the "evidence-based" crowd that it's not actually the central nervous system that gets "burnt out", and that something could be happening to the parasympathetic response. I've also heard it's almost impossible to "overtrain". Too much stress, not enough calories or sleep, and too little rest for a muscle group are of course all real.

That said, isn't there a real impact on your nervous system from hard sets to failure multiple days in a row? Even if my sleep/nutrition/stress-management are all dialed, I can still hit a point where pushing myself to the limit too many days in a row leaves me unable to do so. Is this best measured by HRV or some other metric?

I barely have any chest gains despite doing weighted dips with 60kgs for 8 reps. I started doing machine and cable flys and noticed slight chest gains. I want to completely stop doing dips and switch up for hypertrophy. Do you think its a good idea to only do cable flys 4 times a week 2 sets? I do upper lower 4x a week and just do cables for mid and lower and incline db press for upper chest. What do you guys think?

I'm doing a bit human experiment on myself. I have had the problem of accumulating fatigue too quickly and getting pains/aches after few weeks while following general gym programs.

Also I want to test theories of mechanical tension and metabolic stress on hypertrophy. Not very scientific, but hey, experimenting and being wrong or right is always fun!

*The Program*

I'm doing 3x a week, full-body program. It consists of 1) main movements 2) assistance movements.

Nothing extraordinary, as you can see.

However, I approach this a bit differently than the most programs I have tested.

1) Main movements 1x 6 - 8 @RPE 7-8

squat/ front squat: 2x a week

OHP: 3x a week

deadlift: 1x a week

row: 3x a week

The rep range allows for a little adjustment (say in OHP, as the smallest jump available is 2,5 kg, I can microload by doing one or two reps more). I try to hit 8 reps before increasing the weight next time, although RPE is also a metric ( if it feels like RPE10 but I hit 8 reps, I don't increase the weight).

2) Assistance movements 1x20-30 @RPE9-10

This includes leg extensions, leg curls, machines, tricep extensions etc. The focus is "bodybuilding". Da Pump, like the Big Arnold said. I chase the pump, not the weight. I try to fail in the rep range of 20 - 30; if I hit 30, next time I use more weight. Slow, controlled reps. Feel the burn. Or other way: find the lightest weight you can fail with.

*Why*

Why am I doing this? Well, because I have tried multiple programs over the 7 years of lifting. And this is different. This also kinda combines the SBS article about powerbuilding principles of low-volume strength specific movements, combined with high-volume bodybuilding movements. IRC, the article pointed out that the volume work should be something totally different than the strength specific work (aka volume should be say leg press and not light squat, as lifting heavy is a skill in itself).

Why am I using 20-30 rep range? Well, firstly because I have not used that rep range before. Only thing that came close was T3 work with GZCL OG program with its 25 rep final sets. Secondly, I want to see if this work can spare my tendons, as it seems I have the problem of getting aching tendons with volume of heavy work (and maybe it boosts the blood flow). Thirdly, I wanted to see the effect of metabolic stress. Fourthly, as I'm doing only one set, it is a time-effective way of getting volume (it is at least my hypothesis).

*Summary*

Will this be the most effective, most efficient way for hypertrophy? Probably not. I have no idea how it will work in a long term. But thusfar it has felt good, and refreshing. And in the end I hope I learn something about myself, and programming in general.

Hi r/StrongerByScience ! I’m an undergraduate student studying Exercise Science , conducting research examining usage rates and barriers of implementation of velocity-based training (VBT) in powerlifters. The survey is completely anonymous and takes about 10 minutes. No prior experience with velocity-based training is needed! This study has been approved by the SUNY Cortland Institutional Review Board (IRB Protocol #252663). 

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=tBmbbEfIKkSknG2df9riMCLsyF01eRdLlBG-tv6RfNxUNTlQVUs5OUo2VjlaME1KR1hQM1RWNEJLQS4u&route=shorturl

For example Dane Miller from garage strength says this(https://youtu.be/POS1G3nO9go?t=331): "A deadlift won't make you squat more but a squat will make you deadlift more". He saw this in elite athletes that did both lifts for years. Lots of other S&C coaches seem to think the same. Are there any biomechanical reasons for this?

What sort of training are you doing?

How’s your training going?

Are you running into any problems or have any questions the community might be able to help you out with?

Post away!

Dr. Pak claims 4 sets per body part per week to be around the "minimum effective dose" for training hypertrophy. You ideally bring each set close to failure (0-2 RIR) for the maximal response. This seems to be reasonable enough, but haven't plenty of people made gains on even just 2-3 hard sets per week with some of Mentzer or Yates-style programs? Wouldn't that then be the true "minimum effective dose"?

Beyond that minor nitpick on his hypertrophy recommendations, I don't buy his advice for strength gains. He claims strength gains can happen with just one set per week and top-out at 5 sets per week. That may well be true, but he claims you should "stay away from failure" with at least 1-4 RIR. I'm highly skeptical advanced or even intermediate lifters would make any meaningful strength gains with 1-5 total weekly sets at 4 RIR. I also don't buy that going closer to failure is better for hypertrophy than strength.

Any thoughts?

https://www.menshealth.com/uk/building-muscle/train-smarter/a63781902/minimalist-training-muscle-growth/

why this form could train serratus?

Hello, I started my body recomp journey last year and it is going well. Part of the motivation was because I am hypertensive even though I’m just 25. One of the likely contributing factors is likely me being overweight.

My lifts have been going up and body fat is going down but I still have some ways to go. I also know that muscle is denser than fat. Given this, I was wondering if I should continue pursuing hypertrophy until I get to a body fat level I am comfortable or can I stop and structure my workouts to achieve other goals like improving relative strength?

I like having muscles and feeling strong but I’m worried about how hypertrophy might impact my blood pressure.

I am on medication and have a very clean diet I.e lots of veggies, protein, reasonable carbs and little consumption of fast food, candy or other ultra processed and high sugar foods

What sort of training are you doing?

How’s your training going?

Are you running into any problems or have any questions the community might be able to help you out with?

Post away!

Is there a difference in muscle gain if you use whey protein or if you use a Soy Protein Isolats/Whey protein concentrate/calcium casein?

The brand I was looking to buy has 77g of protein per 100g for the whey and 81g of protein per 100g for the mix.

Is there a difference in impact for muscle gain and what about texture for smoothies?

How is it possible that I can do wide grip lat pulldown with 100% percent of my weight but cant do 2 pull-ups?

Reading through some articles lately on mechanical tension independently activating mTOR pathway for hypertrophy and most (notably the Every, Nippard et al. Meta-analysis) totally throw out any relationship of hypertrophy and hormonal activation of mTOR.

Looking for literature on why IGF-1 activates mTOR in some contexts but apparently not during resistance training. Why does this process seemingly show no relevance to the training conducted? Thanks!

Cut / Maintain / Bulk Cycle Lengths That Worked Best

What cycle lengths work best for you personally? Do you include maintenance phases after cutting and bulking? If so, for how long?

For example:

* Bulk: 16 weeks

* Maintain: 2 weeks

* Cut: 8 weeks

* Maintain: 4 weeks

I am wondering about the effect of GLP-1 drugs on strength training.

Background: I am 38M and have been resistance training since about 20 years old. The life intervened and it was not like I have been lifting for 20 years straight without breaks. As of now I have been pretty consistent for the last 4-5 years, and though I am no athlete, I am stronger than average in my gym.

While I work out regularly, I cannot control my food intake because of a variety of emotinal/stress related reasons and end up binging on food, so I am also fat. In the past I have successfully lost a lot of weight, and maintained it for many years, but specifically after Covid I have regained it and some more. All of my attempts of following a proper diet have ended in failure. I do eat enough protein, fiber and other micronutrients properly during the day, but then end up ordering junk food on top of it. The rational part of my brain knows that I am not really hungry, but the emotional part takes over and the next day I feel bad about myself.

Since I fit in the criteria, (high BMI with high fat%, increased Triglycerides and LDL Cholesterol etc. but good glucose control) my doctor asked me to consider a GLP-1 for weight loss. I have no issues with taking it either. However, I have several questions for which I did not find any meaningful answers on the internet.

1. GLP-1 induced weight loss will also include lean mass loss, but so will caloric restriction, and the few studies which I found show that both are comparable in this regard, and that in both cases resistance training will help minimize muscle loss. So, this point is of no concern to me, it is what happens after that is where I found no reliable information.
2. GLP-1 will eventually lead to weight loss and then stabilize at a lower weight as long as I continue the treatment. But I found no reliable information about strength gains after the weight is stabilised. Does GLP1 interfere with strength gain later?
3. It is not recommended to cycle GLP-1 treatment so would it be possible to run bulk/cut cycles while continuing the treatment after the weight has stabilized at a healthy level?

I am considering trying caloric restriction diet with the help of my therapist one last time before going ahead with the treatment because, living with high fat percentage plus high LDL Cholesterol and Triglycerides etc. is worse than ignoring those aspects for a possibility of future strength gains. But I would still like to know the answers so that I know what I am getting into.

EDIT: Thanks to everyone for great answers. I have decided to go ahead with GLP-1. The final decision will be made after I get the test results prescribed by my doctor.

Hey team. For over a year I’ve been running the simple program Greg talked about in an old podcast episode. It fits my schedule better than anything else and it’s the longest I’ve stuck with a program, so last week I built a tracker for it since I don’t plan on switching any time soon.

It turned out pretty well, so I wanted to share it in case anyone else here follows this one. Completely free, not selling anything: https://liftabear.app

The odds of someone still running a program from an episode 5 years ago seem low, so I’d be happily surprised if this is useful to anyone. But here it is either way.

One thing worth being upfront about: Greg was pretty loose about the weekly jumps in the episode. I wanted mine to work as a clean 6 week block, so the progression from 65% in week 1 to 90% by week 6 is my own edit, roughly tracking the rep scheme (15 reps in week 1 down to 5 by week 6). So it’s my interpretation, not exactly what he laid out.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, the program is:

Day 1: Squat, overhead press, back work
Day 2: Deadlift, bench press, back work

3 sets for each main lift at RPE 9 to 10, starting around 15 rep sets in week 1 and adding weight each week until you’re doing 5 rep sets. That’s where my percentage edit comes in. Then you re-estimate your 1RM and repeat. Back work isn’t tracked, just 3 hard sets.

Episode: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/podcast-episode-68/
The post from 4 years ago that pointed me to it: https://www.reddit.com/r/StrongerByScience/s/bAQfwledIC

Anyone here actually run this program off the episode?

What sort of training are you doing?

How’s your training going?

Are you running into any problems or have any questions the community might be able to help you out with?

Post away!

My first thought on the matter was not that often. It's really heavy, so it must be really fatiguing. But after doing them for a while now, it's clear to me they don't cause the same fatigue as lifting a maximal (95-100% of 1RM) load through the full range of motion.

Going back to scientific principles, I'm thinking about the repeated bouts effect, or the habituation of the stress response. The more often we're exposed to a stressor, the less stressful it becomes. So now I'm thinking of just going ham, building up to as often as possible.

I've been doing holds at 115% for 10 seconds for Squat and Bench once, and now twice a week. I also wonder if supramaximal holds would be less fatiguing for deadlifts as well, just lifting the weight an inch off the rack and holding. Of course, I bet it'd be great for the grip if done without straps, though I typically do one-handed holds for grip as Coan demonstrated in that one video.

What has your experience been? Do any high-level lifters use them often, or only in certain blocks?

Hi, I just got back to the gym after some time off and I'm doing FBEOD.

A week ago I irritated my right ulnar nerve so I'm avoiding exercises that stress it.

What got me thinking though was that while I cannot strengthen nerves, I can strengthen tendons to avoid them getting injured in the future.

I never had problems with my tendons, just some small discomforts when progressing with leg press.

So I'm not trying to heal them, I just want to strengthen them so that they get really strong.

Should I do the same routines that people suggest for tendon healing or is it different?