I’ve been doing my exercises for two weeks religiously and I’m no stronger! This will never work!

ANSWER: Fiction

How Long Does It Actually Take?

How long does it take to have strength gains? The answer is actually in two parts. Increasing muscle size (hypertrophy) takes a minimum of 6 weeks, and repetitive exposures to fatiguing loads. BUT, neural adaptations can occur over the first 1-2 weeks.

What Are Neural Adaptations?

What the heck is neural adaptations? Imaging you have a small car battery trying to start a truck. It will struggle to do a good job again and again and fade easily. Now try using 10 of those same smaller batteries, which makes the engine start easier. A similar type of thing happens with our nervous system as we train. We become much more efficient with our neural firing to the muscle.

As you can see in the picture below, you have a long way to go in your strengthening after those first two weeks. That is often why we often need to see beyond when the pain goes away as we know that there is so much more work to be done!

If you have been troubled by niggles and pains, don’t hesitate to contact us to ensure we can help you prevent prepare perform! Book online or call us on (07) 3102 3337.

#factorfictionfriday #praxisphysio #physioeducation #knowledgeiskey

Sale, D. G. (1988). Neural adaptation to resistance training. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 20(5 Suppl), S135-145. doi:10.1249/00005768-198810001-00009

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