r/ScienceBasedLifting

Does muscular endurance matter, or is Science-Based Lifting strictly focused on just maximizing muscle hypertrophy? Because I tried high-rep training yesterday, and I can only do like 15 reps of squats without being so exhausted. I didnt even go to failure because it just burns since the tempo really doesnt change that much compared when I'm squatting within 8 reps. Does muscle endurance doesnt have any place in SBL?

I have a bad chest imbalance. My right pec i way smaller than the left one. And i already have a small chest so it just makes it look even worse. I have tried to do one sided variations but i find them uncomfortable. I currently have 2 upper days beacuse im doing up/lw. I do around 4-5 chest focused sets per workout. I just do 2-3 sets incline smith bench press or 2-3 sets of incline dumbell press. After i do 2 sets cable flies.

What exercises should i use instead so my chest imbalance will improve slower over time?

This is especially the case in incline seated curls and straight bar cable curl. Something about the incline seated curls means that at the end of the set I can’t get past the bottom bit of the movement and I reach failure, tho this doesn’t feel like it’s my biceps are reaching failure.

Same with straight bar cable curls movement gets harder and harder I reach failure but feel nothing in my biceps.

Dumbbell preacher curls feel better but I can feel my bicep tendon loads, so I’m not trynna go to failure on those .

This doesn’t happen for any other movement bar biceps.

This whole thing might sound silly but any help would be appreciated.

Been working out for a while now but I never understood which tricep heads works during certain movements. What I’ve heard some people say is that the Long Head is biased when your elbow is fixed onto your body, and the Medial and Lateral Head work more when your upper arm move. But i’ve also heard the exact opposite from people, and ChatGPT told me the Long Head is biased when the elbow isn’t fixed.

Knowing this won’t really affect my training and doesn’t really have a purpose at this point. I’m just really curious and confused because I’ve heard opposite things said.

I have asymmetrical pecs and every session of upper I do a multipower inclined bench and an isolateral chest press. Which one should I do first?

if i have a lat pulldown on pull and also on upper day, should i track the weight and reps progression differently? or just track it normally?

I have been trying to make some adjustments to my back routine. I’m currently doing 2 sets of lat pull down, 2 sets of a close grip low row and 2 sets of a wide grip normal row. Would it be more optimal to switch out one of the 2 row variations for a reverse fly? If so, which out of the two should I swap out?

In his pyramid book 3rd edition and even in general he talks abt training heavy compounds in lower rep ranges however when u go to the muscle and strength pyramid website where they have the sample programs based on his book

He has chest pressing, overhead pressing, rows etc in the 10-20 rep range

This isnt rlly in line with what he says nd also just seems impractical to do a 20 rep set of bench press yk

What are your thoughts on this

Should you take sets to failure or keep a few reps in reserve? I take every set to failure.
Also I have trouble calculating how much reps i have left. Some times i think i can push out 3 more but i can only do 1 other times i think i have 1 more but i push to 3 more.

I’ve been dealing with an interesting issue where my strength seems to be way ahead of my hypertrophy. I can sometimes push the same or even higher weights than people who are noticeably more muscular than (Naturally) me and have clearly spent much more time in the gym. Visually, I don’t look particularly strong, but my numbers seem to tell a different story.

I’ve been in and out of the gym for almost 6 years, but I was never really consistent. Over the last 8 months, though, I’ve finally been training consistently and have started noticing improvements both visually and mechanically. I’m also pretty strict with my diet and hit my protein target almost every day.

My current approach is usually 3 sets per exercise/muscle group:

• 1 warm-up set with around half the working weight, usually 5+ RIR
• 1 working set close to failure
• 1 working set to failure
• Sometimes I’ll do a second failure set if it’s a finisher

So I’m wondering if my strength-to-size ratio is mostly due to neural adaptations, technique, or body mechanics, especially given that I’ve spent so much time training inconsistently in the past.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? And if so, did you change anything about your training to get better hypertrophy despite already being relatively strong?

Sports science proves it: the key to maximum hypertrophy and total fiber recruitment lies not only in the weight lifted, but in the quality of the neural signal sent to the muscle. This is what we call the Mind-Muscle Connection.

🔬 When you cognitively focus on the correct contraction—like in this precisely executed cable fly—you increase the "neural drive," activating more motor units and optimizing each repetition.

Don't just train your muscles, train your nervous system. Evolution is based on evidence.

👇 Which exercise do you feel has the best mind-muscle connection? Share in the comments!

So I’m thinking of doing neutral-grip pull-ups every day. Is that okay if my goal is bigger forearms and overall hypertrophy?
Will daily neutral-grip pull-ups hurt recovery or slow down growth?
Also, is there a safe daily amount in terms of sets and reps?

I’ve been lifting naturally for about 4 years and I’d say I’m relatively pretty big, but I feel like I’ve hit a plateau. I haven’t put on much noticeable muscle in about a year.

I run a basic PPL split, train every muscle 2x a week, and take a lot of my sets to failure or very close to failure.

For anyone who’s been lifting naturally for a while, what helped you get past a plateau? Did you change your volume, split, diet, exercises, etc.?

Looking for any advice on how to start making progress again.

I'm having trouble programming a 3x full body routine. I see many people run FBEOD, but right now I'm looking to just train 3x per week max due having to balance training with martial arts and would like the extra rest days. Originally, I was running a ABC style full body routine, but realized it's better to just run an AB for my situation rather than having 3 full body sessions each with variations.

Routine each week would be: A rest B rest rest A rest

Full Body A — 12 exercises | 17 sets

• Preacher Curl — 2 x 6-8
• Lateral Raise — 2 x 8-10
• Chest Press — 2 x 6-8
• Triceps Ext — 1 x 8-10
• JM Press — 1 x 6-8
• Lat Pulldown — 2 x 6-8
• Upper Back Row — 1 x 8-10
• Calf Press — 1 x 8-10
• Leg Extension — 1 x 8-10
• Hamstring Curl — 1 x 8-10

* Leg Press (unilateral) — 1 x 6-8

• Weighted Back Ext — 2 x 6-8

Full Body B — 11 exercises | 17 sets

• Hammer Curl — 2 x 6-8
• Shoulder Press — 2 x 6-8
• Chest Fly — 2 x 6-8
• Triceps Ext — 1 x 8-10
• JM Press — 1 x 6-8
• Machine Lat Row — 2 x 6-8
• Upper Back Row — 1 x 8-10
• Calf Press — 2 x 8-10
• Leg Extension — 2 x 8-10
• Hamstring Curl — 1 x 8-10

* Leg Press (unilateral) — 1 x 6-8

• Hack Squat — 2 x 6-8

Edit: I should also mention that I try getting 2 sets of machine crunches in per week, but my abs to tend to get hit hard through martial arts training (submission grappling)

If i do upper lower 6x a week should i do 1 set per excercise , or still 2, because i think it might be too much volume for some muscle groups, especially if i go to failure

Thanks in advance