After recently answering pressing questions for Revive Stronger, Brad Schoenfeld did an “Ask Me Anything” session on communitysite Reddit this past weekend. Below some of the questions that are most interesting to us, plus the answers.
Brad Schoenfeld is a widely respected scientist specialized in optimizing body composition.
IS A CALORIE SURPLUS NECESSARY FOR MUSCLE GROWTH?
“For maximum muscle growth, yes. The lower your fat percentage and/or the more training experience you have, the more you need a calorie surplus for muscle growth. This doesn’t mean that you cannot build muscle mass with an energy deficit; body recomp (lose fat and build muscle at the same time) is possible, as has been shown several times in studies. But, again, an energy deficit is not suitable for maximum muscle growth and in advanced athletes with a low fat percentage, body recomp is probably next to impossible.”
HOW USEFUL ARE BCAAS AS A DIETARY SUPPLEMENT?
“If your daily protein intake is adequate, BCAA supplements have no added value and are probably nothing more than a placebo. Whole proteins, such as whey, already contain all the essential amino acids, including BCAAs, and have been proven to be more effective for muscle growth than isolating them. This is also apparent from a recent study on BCAA supplementation, which I participated in.”
WHICH IS BETTER FOR MUSCLE GROWTH: MACHINES OR FREE WEIGHTS?
“Both have their place in hypertrophy training. The advantage of free weights (the involvement of stabilizing muscles) is the disadvantage of machines, while the advantage of machines (the focus on individual muscles) is the disadvantage of free weights. But you don’t have to choose at all. Muscle growth actually benefits from a combination of free weights and equipment.”
WHICH KIND OF PROGRESSION IS MORE IMPORTANT: INTENSITY (TRAINING HARDER) OR VOLUME (DOING MORE SETS)?
“There’s no question that volume is the main driver of muscle growth. That’s why it’s important that you do more sets along the way. But intensity is also an important form of progressive overload. To achieve muscle growth in the long term you have to get stronger. So make sure that you gradually do more repetitions with a certain weight or the same number of repetitions with a heavier weight.”
THERE ARE MANY STUDIES ON WEEKLY OPTIMAL/MAXIMUM TRAINING VOLUME. BUT WHAT ABOUT VOLUME PER WORKOUT?
“I have not been able to find direct research into optimal/maximum training volume, but related studies indirectly show that 90 minutes of training is about the maximum. This is based on rest intervals around two minutes. If you gradually increase your training volume, at some point it would be a good idea to break it down to at least two training sessions per week.”
HOW EFFECTIVE ARE SHORT BULK AND CUT CYCLES, E.G. 4 WEEKS BULK / 2 WEEKS CUT? ARE LONGER CYCLES BETTER?
“There is some evidence that ‘diet breaks’ (or intermittent energy restriction , ed.) can help maintain metabolism. That evidence is still thin. Personally, I’ve always been in favor of refeeds – a single meal or even a few days. This is also because of the psychological effect.”
ARE HIGH EXERCISE FREQUENCIES HELPFUL FOR MUSCLE GROWTH?
“A large number of studies show that the benefit of higher training frequencies (2-3 times a week, ed.) is small if the training volume is equalized (i.e. if you do the same number of work sets, spread over several training sessions). In my opinion, frequency is a way to increase volume, which is beneficial for muscle growth.”
IF YOU CAN’T TRAIN HARDER THAN LAST TIME, ARE YOU STILL STIMULATING MUSCLE GROWTH? BECAUSE APPARENTLY THE BODY HAS NOT YET ADAPTED THE WEIGHT
“Progressive overload is more than just the weight you can lift. You have to challenge your body compared to your previous workout (overload, ed.). This can be done in many other ways, such as increasing the number of sets, increasing the number of reps, decreasing rest intervals, and so on. Which progression model works best is very personal; science has no ready-made answer to that.”
WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM POTENTIAL OF A NATURAL BODYBUILDER AND HOW QUICKLY CAN HE ACHIEVE IT?
“While there is no doubt that the ability to build muscle slows down significantly the longer you train, I dispute the theory that a person reaches his/her genetic potential. I’ve worked with high-level natural bodybuilders and we’ve been able to gain several pounds of muscle in a six-month period. It requires a lot more planning and micro-management of both training and nutrition, but it’s doable. So I think the so-called “genetic ceiling” is a hypothetical concept; you can get closer and closer to the ceiling, but you never reach it, because there are always opportunities for additional growth.”
Read all the questions and answers on Reddit.com.