Greg begins a weight training regimen and is focusing on strength gain

Question

His regimen calls for high intensity lifts at slow rates of movement. He completes 3-5 sets of each exercise. Greg sees rapid strength improvements over the first four weeks which slow in weeks 5-8. (15%)

To what can one attribute the strength gains in weeks 1-4?

Over the course of weeks 8-11 Greg beings to notice muscle size increases. What has happened to create these increases in muscle size?

Discuss the genotype and phenotype changes in the muscle fibers with this type of training.

Answer 1

His regimen calls for high intensity lifts at slow rates of movement. He completes 3-5 sets of each exercise. Greg sees rapid strength improvements over the first four weeks which slow in weeks 5-8. (15%)

To what can one attribute the strength gains in weeks 1-4?

1. Greg and most people that are beginners to the world of lifting weight will see massive muscle gains initially due to a term called general adaptation syndrome also known as G.A.S. This is where our muscles and central nervous system respond to the new stressor (lifting weights) by increasing muscle recruitment, fat metabolism, and done density (slightly). When you introduce the body to a new stimulus it responds by increasing the body's ability to recruit muscles, fat metabolizing, and improvement in caloric efficiency.
2. Week 8-11 we will still see some strength gains and increase in muscle thickness because as Greg is getting stronger, the body will notice that it needs to recruit more efficiently in order to lift the required demand. Since he is training more HIIT based workouts, his is training anaerobically where he will improve his Type-II muscles fibers growth.