
How to Grow Stronger Without Lifting Weights (2014) - cpncrunch
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-grow-stronger-without-lifting-weights/
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glangdale
The title doesn't match the research. The title suggests you can 'grow
stronger without lifting weights' while the research suggests more that you
can 'under circumstances of immobility, you can prevent some strength loss
from the condition of immobility by thinking about lifting weights'.

The other point is that neural factors have long been well-understood as a
part of the process of gaining strength (also transfer effects of unilateral
work for the unbroken side for injured athletes is well studied), and neural
improvements coming quickly has always been a disappointment for our young
bros seeking swoledom - "my bench press is now 70kg rather than 45kg and I'm
still no bigger"? (patience, broham).

The problem is that neural factors are pretty easy to train up in a big way
(when you are no longer weirdly 'shaking' as you lift, you've gotten most of
that) and then the hard work starts. It's nice that you can get this from
thinking about lifting, but it's serious beginner gains we're talking about,
and illustrating this article with a super-buff guy who has clearly put in
some hypertrophy is a bit sensational.

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rootusrootus
I still vividly remember learning years ago [the hard way] that after you
build the neural improvements, they stick around even if you stop lifting for
a while and your muscles get weaker. Which means when you go back to lifting
again you can inadvertently go much farther than you should as you get back
into it, and practically end up in traction as a result. Oh the pain...

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glangdale
Yes, indeed. At a no-illusions-about-it middle aged person (46!) I have this
in both weight training and Brazilian Jujitsu - it's very easy for my brain
and nerves to send my muscles a message that they really _shouldn 't_ have
acted on.

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zawerf
In all the newbie lifting programs (Starting Strength, StrongLifts etc) you'll
see that untrained individuals can achieve almost linear growth for the first
couple of months. Their size are definitely not growing linearly though. Most
of the gains is from what they call "Motor Unit Recruitment" where your brain
learns how to activate muscles you already have to complete increasingly
heavier lifts.

In that sense the experiment here makes sense. You're just making sure you
still remember how to fully utilize the muscles even if they are in cast. I
doubt there's any difference in terms of muscle atrophy (and of course don't
believe just thinking about it can lead to hypertrophy).

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mlevental
nothing like newb gains. but I'll say (and this is really just a random
comment) that it's possible to reproduce those gains later in your career
given good nutrition. I first did starting strength over a decade ago (circa
age 18) but last year I decided to really invest in nutrition (read: a double
scoop protein shake with every meal) and I had "linear growth" for 6 months
(5-10 lbs every lift every week). I've plateaued now and so I'm cutting but
man was it fun to stack plates again.

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paulhodge
> For 11 minutes a day, 5 days a week, they sat completely still and focused
> their entire mental effort on pretending to flex their muscles.

Maybe it depends on the person, but that actually sounds more difficult to me
than just lifting the weights.

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slumberlust
I just tried. Lasted 15 seconds before I flexed.

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trendia
With the recent replication crisis in psychology, I would want to see this
repeated to see whether it holds up to scrutiny.

It just seems "too good to be true", and with a sample size of 29, it could
be.

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anonymfus
>too good to be true

I am not sure that regularly thinking about exercises is easier than actually
doing these exercises.

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banku_brougham
None of this newly available data paints a roadmap to getting swole with your
mind.

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mdekkers
False: If this were true, I'd look like the Hulk by now

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Fjolsvith
Don't shower.

