In this episode, I’m joined by James Krieger, editor of REPS (Research Review for Exercise & Physique Science), to break down what the meta-analyses really say about building muscle.

We cover:

• The single most important driver of hypertrophy

• The dose–response relationship between volume and muscle growth

• Is there a cap to effective volume?

• Training to failure: necessary or overrated?

• Frequency: how often should you train a muscle?

• Stretch-mediated hypertrophy and long-length partials

• Why some volume studies appear to “disagree”

If you’re tired of social media hot takes and want to understand what the totality of evidence actually shows, this episode is for you.

James and I also discuss how we evaluate research quality and why context matters when interpreting studies, something we do every month inside the issues of REPS, where we break down the latest exercise and physique research so you don’t have to.