Dr. Mike from Renaissance Periodization explains the two-step process of muscle growth, using the analogy of Chuck-E-Cheese to illustrate the importance of allowing muscles to recover fully before training again.

Step one is to stimulate growth through hard training, which activates the chemical sequence of events that leads to muscle growth.

Step two is to allow for recovery and adaptation to take place, which occurs over several hours or days.

Recovery and adaptation are necessary for the muscle to heal, recover and grow. The process is repeated over and over again to stimulate muscle growth. The two steps are combined into a phenomenon called stimulus recovery adaptation (SRA).

The SRA principle is a structure that codes for the session rest session paradigm in sports science. This involves training hard and then resting until the body is ready to train again.

Recovery and adaptation happen on a similar timescale, and most recovery techniques help with adaptation. Understanding the basic process of muscle growth can help ensure that training programs check all the right boxes.

Mike Israetel ends off by discussing the role of hormones and genetics in muscle growth, acknowledging that while these factors are external and not within our control, we can focus on optimizing all aspects of our training and lifestyle to maximize our results.

Team Slated