Training Frequency & Its Impact on Strength & Size

Never RP et. al.
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Variables & Outcomes That Must Be Explored

Increased RT frequency should obligatorily raise glycogen synthesis demands as the muscle tissue seeks increased glycogen reserves to meet the heightened exercise demand. With every gram of glycogen stored, at least 3g of water accumulates2, and as such, increased RT frequency should lead to significant water-weight gain by virtue of the expanded glycogen storage. How the body responds to this newfound water load could be critical in determining how bodily testosterone levels are impacted. For instance, in many individuals rife w/ compromised blood vessels, like those w/ varicose veins, varicocele, kidney damage, longCOVID/MECFS, and so on, the body will not allow the water weight to go unchecked, as it poses a threat to the vulnerable & compromised vessels by way of increased blood volume & pressure (water is a major constituent of the blood). If the water-weight & accompanying increased blood volume triggers a resultant compensatory diuresis effect (water efflux) in the body in efforts to protect against the consequences of high blood volume & pressure, total blood volume will decline. As total blood volume declines, hematocrit, a measure of the percentage of hemoglobin in the blood, will automatically be rendered elevated, as the denominator in the calculation (total blood volume) has declined. To compensate for these now elevated hematocrit levels, the body should theoretically limit testosterone availability, be it by increased SHBG & other binding agents, be it by increasing testosterone metabolism, or be it by decreasing testosterone production. Why? Because as I’ve exhaustively detailed everywhere across this site, testosterone is intimately connected to hemoglobin & hematocrit measures;

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Since testosterone is critical to muscle hypertrophy, this presents a scenario wherein increased training frequency would limit testosterone bioavailability, thereby limiting the muscle’s hypertrophic potential despite theoretically increased muscle protein synthesis as a consequence of increased bouts of resistance training.

References

  1. Neves RP, Vechin FC, Teixeira EL, da Silva DD, Ugrinowitsch C, Roschel H, Aihara AY, Tricoli V. Effect of different training frequencies on maximal strength performance and muscle hypertrophy in trained individuals-a within-subject design. PLoS One. 2022 Oct 13;17(10):e0276154. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276154. PMID: 36228016; PMCID: PMC9560172.
  2. Fernández-Elías VE, Ortega JF, Nelson RK, Mora-Rodriguez R. Relationship between muscle water and glycogen recovery after prolonged exercise in the heat in humans. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2015 Sep;115(9):1919-26. doi: 10.1007/s00421-015-3175-z. Epub 2015 Apr 25. PMID: 25911631.
  3. Yarrow JF, McCoy SC, Borst SE. Tissue selectivity and potential clinical applications of trenbolone (17beta-hydroxyestra-4,9,11-trien-3-one): A potent anabolic steroid with reduced androgenic and estrogenic activity. Steroids. 2010 Jun;75(6):377-89. doi: 10.1016/j.steroids.2010.01.019. Epub 2010 Feb 4. PMID: 20138077.