Cristian Menchero

The maintenance literature routinely shows that 3-4 sets, once per week can only maintain net hypertrophy across the week. In contrast, 1 set twice per week causes growth. This shows that atrophy happens within a training week and that frequency is important.

How many stimulating reps are there in a set to failure? For more details and citations, see the weekly free Patreon article.

Cooling a muscle while at rest causes a reduction in signaling in anabolic pathways and an increase in the signaling in catabolic pathways.

Although cold water is often viewed as a recovery enhancer, ice typically has the opposite effect. Yet, it does pretty much the same thing physiologically, which is to suppress and delay the post-injury or post-exercise inflammatory response that is responsible for repairing the damage.

Heavy (3-5RM) strength training is just as effective as light (20-25RM) strength training when doing the same number of sets to failure and the same rests between sets, despite massive differences in volume load. The idea that volume load has anything to do with hypertrophy needs to be retired.

Although cold water is often viewed as a recovery enhancer, ice typically has the opposite effect. Yet, it does pretty much the same thing physiologically, which is to suppress and delay the post-injury or post-exercise inflammatory response that is responsible for repairing the damage.

Cold application may produce different effects on post-workout recovery depending on the exact temperature and duration. For more details and citations, see the weekly free Patreon article.

Post-workout cold water immersion inhibits muscle growth during a strength training program, especially in the fast twitch fibers (which is reminiscent of what happens when glucocorticoids are elevated by stress).

Cold water immersion has historically been used to speed recovery. What is actually does is blunt the inflammatory response that causes the secondary muscle damage effect. While this may reduce fatigue temporarily, it may just be delaying necessary repair processes for later on.