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synergy · 2
The mechanical signal from a muscle being pulled and the nutrient signal from the rise in blood leucine after eating protein meet at a switch inside the cell called mTORC1, and together they start muscle protein synthesis. So eating protein without training barely grows muscle, and training without enough protein grows it slowly.
Phosphocreatine in muscle is the energy reserve for the first few seconds of an all-out effort. With a bigger reserve, the last few reps of a set hold up better and training volume builds up more easily, which indirectly gives the muscle enough tension. Creatine monohydrate is the most studied supplement for strength training.
cofactor · 5
Muscle cannot be confused into growing by switching exercises. What makes it grow is progressive overload and accumulated training volume; changing exercises constantly only changes the angle of the stimulus, not the amount of adaptation. Give a program enough time, measured in months rather than weeks.
Protein supplies the raw material and mechanical tension supplies the signal; without either, muscle does not grow. So the 30-minute post-workout window matters less than people think: keep the meals before and after training no more than about 3–4 hours apart, and focus on total daily protein and weekly training volume.
A load slightly beyond what you can currently handle triggers a cascade of signals, chief among them mechanical tension, telling muscle cells to grow bigger and stronger. Progressive overload is the way to keep that signal coming; what happens once the signal is inside the cell is the subject of how muscle growth works.
Skeletal muscle carries vitamin D receptors. People who are seriously short of vitamin D, especially older adults, have weaker muscles and fall more often, mainly as an observed association; whether vitamin D supplements make training build more muscle has no consistent answer. Correct a deficiency, but there is no need to push levels higher.
Waiting until the cut is over to start lifting gets the order backward: in a calorie deficit without mechanical tension, meaning muscles working against resistance, a sizable share of the weight you lose is muscle. Strength training tells the body that this tissue is still needed.
regulates · 2
The brief rise in growth hormone, IGF-1 and testosterone after training contributes little to muscle growth. Long-term hormone levels matter somewhat more, but muscle growth depends mainly on the tension of training itself and on eating enough protein. So claims that a workout sharply boosts testosterone mean little for building muscle.
Getting into cold water straight after strength training may damp down the anabolic signals that make muscle grow. In Roberts 2015, the group that took a cold soak after each session gained less muscle and less strength over 12 weeks than the group that did active recovery; after a single session, biopsies showed a smaller rise in p70S6K phosphorylation and in satellite cells. The evidence comes mainly from this one small study: the direction is clear, the size still needs confirming.