But what is the best workout routine for you? Daniel Duane, a Men’s Journal editor, recently wrote in The New York Times that there are in fact no cutting-edge scientific studies on workout routines. Duane talked to Martin Gibala, an exercise physiologist at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, who said there’s not a lot of research money out there to fund applied studies. On matters as simple as how many sets and reps best promote muscle growth, Gibala explained, “We can’t nail down the answer.”
Physiologists do research, but they only study questions of basic science, like the relationship between protein and muscle adaptation.
Simple principle
Of course, physiologists are not the problem. The problem, according to Duane, is that everybody in the fitness industry uses basic science and then twists the results to come up with something that sounds like a scientific recommendation for whatever they’re selling.
Few personal trainers or gym coaches teach their clients to train independently by showing them basic barbell lifts and telling them to add weight each time. Instead, they invent confusing routines, so the clients never leave them.
The truth about the best workout routine is simple, says Duane. The human body is an adaptation machine. If you force it to do something a little harder than it has done recently, it will respond — afterward, while you rest — by changing enough to be able to do that new hard task more competently next time. This is known as the progressive *overload principle. All athletic training uses this principle through small, steady increases in weight, speed, or distance.
So if you run, run an extra 50 meters or a bit faster the next time. If you lift weight, add a half-kilo weight during the next workout. Always push yourself to your limits and you will be surprised at how strong you can become.
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