(English) Episode 47-Creatine for Muscle Growth - Separating Water Weight from Real Gains

This comprehensive review article critically re-examines the widely accepted "repetition continuum" theory in resistance training, which posits that specific load ranges (heavy, moderate, light) optimally stimulate distinct muscular adaptations like strength, hypertrophy, and endurance. The authors challenge some core assumptions of this traditional paradigm, presenting evidence that muscular growth (hypertrophy) can be achieved across a broad spectrum of loading intensities, sometimes even with very light loads if training is taken to muscular failure. While acknowledging that heavy loads remain superior for maximizing strength gains (especially when assessed with exercises similar to training), the review highlights the equivocal nature of evidence for a clear load-specific effect on muscular endurance. Ultimately, it proposes a new paradigm where muscular adaptations can occur across diverse loading zones, suggesting that the "ideal" zone for hypertrophy might be moderate loads due to practical factors like comfort and adherence, rather than a physiological superiority.(Burke R, Piñero A, Coleman M, Mohan A, Sapuppo M, Augustin F, et al. The effects of creatine supplementation combined with resistance training on regional measures of muscle hypertrophy: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Nutrients [Internet]. 2023;15(9). Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu15092116)