They Knew Before Science-Based Lifting
“Bro science” gets mocked a lot lately, especially with the rise in evidence-based lifting; it’s just nonsense passed down over the years. But here’s the reality: a lot is actually good advice and backed by real research.
From chasing the pump to hitting muscles from different angles, a few classic bodybuilding beliefs turn out to have legitimate mechanisms behind them. Maybe the gym bros didn’t understand those mechanisms, but they knew what got results.
In this breakdown, we look at five pieces of bro science that are surprisingly true, why they work, and the science that makes them more than just gym folklore.
Key Points To Know!
Hitting the muscle from different angles can increase muscle size and fullness.
The mind-muscle connection is very real and can change your workout
“Chase The Pump” essentially means causing metabolic stress and cell swelling
Light weight can be used for hypertrophy-specific goals if you train to failure
There is an upper chest, and you can use exercises to increase its growth
1. Hit The Muscle From Different Angles To Maximize Growth
Bro Claim: “You gotta hit the muscle from all angles.”
Reality: Muscle growth is non-uniform when using a single exercise to train it. This means the entire muscle does not grow to the same degree. Instead, the part of the muscle that receives the greatest tension generally sees more growth.
Science-Backed Support: Research dating back to 2000 shows that muscles do not grow uniformly. In fact, this can occur;
Throughout the entire muscle
Across its different heads
Within individual muscle fibers (Antonio, 2000, and Zabaleta-Korta et. al, 2016).
The primary factor is where the muscle experiences the greatest stress. As this area sees more work, it tends to grow more.
Further, this seems to occur in both the upper and lower body. After an extensive review of literature, Zabaleta-Korta et al.(2020) concluded:
“Hypertrophy between and within muscle heads is not homogeneous, confirming that regional hypertrophy actually happens in the quadriceps femoris, triceps brachii, and biceps brachii muscles.”
Further, Antonio (2000) concluded his review saying:
“The author (Dr. Jose Antonio) speculates that no single exercise can maximize the hypertrophic response of all regions of a particular muscle.”
Take-Away: To optimize fuller muscle growth, use exercise variation systematically to target the muscle from different angles. This can include;
Using different exercises, i.e., flat and incline bench
Using different grips, such as wide or close
Using different angles such as high-to-low and low-to-high flyes
It’s important that this is done systematically. Follow these guidelines;
Don’t use similar movement patterns in the same session, i.e., bench press and dumbbell chest press. Rather pair bench press with incline dumbbell press
Swap out major movements every 6-8 weeks
Use slight variations in grips of accessory work, i.e., underhand and wide grip lat-pulldown
For small isolations, you can swap out every 1-2 weeks if wanted.
2. Concentrate On The Muscle: The Mind-Muscle Connection
Bro Claim: “Focus on the squeeze, bro.”
Reality: Focusing on the muscle does, in fact, increase muscle activation.
Try this: flex your muscles as hard as you can. You just did it. You increased muscle activation by thinking about it, and you did it with no load. The mind-muscle connection essentially does this, but while under load.
The primary misconception is that you have to use lights to build muscle or that the mind-muscle connection is somehow superior to using heavier loads. Rather, a mind-muscle connection simply helps optimize your training with light weights (75% 1RM or less).
Science-Backed Support: Schoenfeld & Contreras (2016) conducted a large review on attentional focus (mind-muscle connection) and its many uses. Part of this involves increasing activation, as observed in several studies. For example;
Women are increasing glute activation while deactivating the hamstrings.
Increasing activation in the core
Seen to increase activation of the latissimus dorsi, pectoralis major, biceps brachii, and triceps brachii in upper body exercises
Calatayud et al. (2016) also found that resistance-trained individuals could increase activation of the triceps and pecs.
The one caveat is that this is primarily seen with lower loads. When using loads of 80%1RM or higher, you automatically achieve maximal activation.
Take Away: When performing hypertrophy exercise with lighter loads, concentrate on the specific muscle you are targeting. This can be especially useful when doing compound movements, yet have issues feeling it where you want, i.e., you may want to target your quads or glutes on squat.
3. Chase The Pump
Bro Claim: “Chase the pump, bro.”
Reality: “Chasing the pump” essentially means performing high reps, which in turn causes the muscle to “pump up”. And in fact, it is. This is a combination of metabolic stress and cell swelling; both are anabolic and play a role in muscle growth (Schoenfeld, 2010, and Agentilho et. al, 2023).
In fact, this is the major mechanism behind BFR training.
Science-Backed Support: Hirono and his team of researchers (2022) conducted a very interesting study examining the relationship between muscle swelling and muscle growth. Over 6 weeks, 22 young men performed the same program with 80% of their 1RM. Researchers then measured;
Immediate hypertrophy after the session (cell swelling)
Chronic muscle growth after the program
Compared the relation of initial cell swelling and long-term muscle growth
They found that increased cell swelling was strongly correlated with long-term muscle growth.
“That the greater the muscle swelling immediately after the first session of RT, the greater the muscle hypertrophy after RT.”
Agentilho et al. (2023) conducted a study comparing low-load (50% 1RM) and high-load (85% 1RM) training and their effects on cellular swelling. They found that low-load training led to greater cellular swelling.
Take Away: When lifting for hypertrophy, include some targeted movements with lighter loads to increase the metabolic damage and cellular swelling. This may be 2 sets of biceps curls with 15-20 reps.
4. Light Weight Can Build Muscle If You Get Enough Tension
Bro Claim: “It’s all about the squeeze, not the weight.”
Reality: New research has found that when focusing on muscle growth (not strength), the primary variable is training to proximal failure. This means you can expect muscle growth when using light weights to focus on the muscle and bring sets to failure.
Science-Backed Support: Grgic J. (2020) conducted a large meta-analysis of all available data examining the effects of low-load and high-load training on muscle hypertrophy. He discovered that:
“…there were no significant differences between low-load and high-load resistance training on hypertrophy of type I or type II muscle fibers.”
In 2012, Mitchell and associates performed a study with young, healthy men. Two groups followed the same resistance program for 10 weeks; one used 30%1RM while the other used 80%1RM.
After the program, both groups showed similar increases in muscle mass. The only factor was intensity and bringing the sets to failure.
Take Away: Now, we won’t say load doesn’t matter at all, as you need heavier loads for strength. Further, using lighter loads means you need to perform a ton of reps.
However, when concentrating on building muscle, intensity and muscle activation seem to be the primary factors rather than load. Using heavier loads while performing fast, sloppy reps and stopping isn’t going to cut it.
Slow down and lift with intent rather than go through the motions.
5. You Can Target the Upper vs Lower Chest & Upper vs Lower Lats
Bro Claim: “Incline hits upper chest. Row low to hit lower lats.”
Reality: The chest does, in fact, have different heads; Clavicular Head (Upper Chest), Sternal Head (Mid–Upper Chest). These heads have slightly different functions and can be targeted using different exercises and angles.
Science-Backed Support: As we saw above, varying exercises can be effective for building fuller muscles. In addition, we have research that examined the chest specifically.
Trebs et. al (2010) looked at the muscle activation of various chest muscles at different angles. They found that using an angle of 44-56° produced significantly greater muscle activation than flat and 28°.
“…it would seem that performing both the flat and incline chest press exercises in a training program is necessary to optimize activation and thus gains in the strength and size of the involved musculature.“
Take Away: Ultimately, this is just doubling down on the need for methodical exercise selection. To fully develop your muscles, ensure you use proper exercise selection to target all areas of each muscle, especially your larger muscles.
References
Agentilho, G. I., de Lucena, E. G. P., Teixeira, L. F. M., Boas, V. V., Ribeiro, I. C., Barroso, R., Schoenfeld, B. J., & Uchida, M. C. (2023). Low-load × high-load resistance exercise: Greater cell swelling after a training session. International Journal of Exercise Science, 16(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.70252/UIYF2129
Antonio, J. (2000). Nonuniform response of skeletal muscle to heavy resistance training: Can bodybuilders induce regional muscle hypertrophy? Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 14(1), 102–113. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/abstract/2000/02000/Nonuniform_Response_of_Skeletal_Muscle_to_Heavy.18.aspx/
Calatayud, J., Vinstrup, J., Jakobsen, M. D., Sundstrup, E., & Andersen, L. L. (2016). Importance of mind–muscle connection during progressive resistance training. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 116, 527–533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3305-7
Diniz, R. C. R., Tourino, F. D., Lacerda, L. T., Martins-Costa, H. C., Lanza, M. B., Lima, F. V., & Chagas, M. H. (2022). Does the muscle action duration induce different regional muscle hypertrophy in matched resistance training protocols? Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 36(9), 2371–2380. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003883
Grgic J. (2020). The Effects of Low-Load Vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Fiber Hypertrophy: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of human kinetics, 74, 51–58. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2020-0013
Hirono, T., Ikezoe, T., Taniguchi, M., Tanaka, H., Saeki, J., Yagi, M., Umehara, J., & Ichihashi, N. (2022). Relationship between muscle swelling and hypertrophy induced by resistance training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 36(2), 359–364. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003478
Mitchell, C. J., Churchward-Venne, T. A., West, D. W. D., Burd, N. A., Breen, L., Baker, S. K., & Phillips, S. M. (2012). Resistance exercise load does not determine training-mediated hypertrophic gains in young men. Journal of Applied Physiology, 113(1), 71–77. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00307.2012
Schoenfeld, B. J., & Contreras, B. (2016). Attentional focus for maximizing muscle development: The mind–muscle connection. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 38(1), 27–29. https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0000000000000190
Trebs, A. A., Brandenburg, J. P., & Pitney, W. A. (2010). An electromyography analysis of three muscles surrounding the shoulder joint during the performance of a chest press exercise at several angles. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(7), 1925–1930. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181ddfae7
Zabaleta-Korta, A., Fernández-Peña, E., & Santos-Concejero, J. (2020). Regional hypertrophy, the inhomogeneous muscle growth: A systematic review. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 42(5), 94–101. https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0000000000000574
