10 Things Nobody Tells You About Lifting Weights

Can you really lift Heavier Weights at Night than in the Morning? Are some people non-responders to exercise? These are 10 things nobody tells you about lifting weights and working out and I promise they will blow your mind. Break the chains of age-old fitness myths and muscle-building lies that you still believe in. If you want to build muscle faster and avoid wasting time make sure you know about these 10 muscle growth mistakes.

What if you could build more muscle by working out during a certain time of the day? What about if certain workouts are more likely to actually lead you to gain body fat? Wouldn't that be useful information to know if you're goal is to improve your body composition? Well, it turns out there are a lot of important things that most people simply don't understand about working out. So today I want to go over 10 major things that you probably don't know about in regard to lifting weights and exercising. 

First, let me start by answering that there actually is a better time of the day to work out in regard to strength and muscle-building purposes. According to science, you're likely to be stronger in the evening and you'll build more muscle with evening workouts compared to earlier workouts. You see your body has an "internal clock" known as the circadian rhythm. Due to this circadian rhythm, you're stronger, faster, and have a more beneficial hormonal status at certain times of the day. For example in a 24-week-long study researchers compared One group that did their workouts between 6:30 in the morning and 10:00 in the morning. And a second group that worked out between 4:30pm and 10pm. The results showed that those who trained later on in the day gained much more muscle and you can see that in the graph included in this study. (7)

Other studies have also found comparable results. (8) for example bodybuilders were divided into two groups. One that trained before 10 am and another that trained after 6 pm, and once again the bodybuilders that worked out later in the day gained significantly more muscle. So why are evening workouts more effective for strength and muscle growth? Well, first post-workout muscle anabolic signaling is higher later on in the day. Second you have a more favorable testosterone-to-cortisol ratio in the evening. Core body temperature also peaks later on in the day which enhances muscle activation, energy metabolism, nervous system efficiency, and blood flow to your muscles. All of this allows you to perform better, leading to faster progress. So if your schedule allows for it ideally you'll want to work out between 4 pm and 8 pm, although a more flexible guideline is to train between 2:30 pm and 11 pm.

Next something that most people don't realize is that strength training doesn't necessarily translate into making you better at other sports. Just because you have big muscles doesn’t mean you can now swing a hammer harder, throw a ball further, sprint faster, or land a harder punch. Sure, strength forms the foundation of many physical activities. For example, in order to sprint fast, you need to have at least a decent amount of relative strength. But strength isn’t the only component that's required in the real world. Once you’ve built a certain level of strength, improving your athletic performance from a physical perspective is oftentimes more about becoming more explosive than becoming stronger among many other attribute improvements. So if you're using resistance training to become better at another sport, make sure to also train for explosiveness, which you can do by performing workouts involving things like plyometrics, medicine ball tosses, or sprinting drills.  

Another thing that I bet you didn't know is that some people are "non-responders" to exercise. We have a study, where 585 people trained their non-dominant arm for 12 weeks. (1) And on average, the participants’ biceps got about 19 percent bigger and the maximum weight they could lift increased by about 54 percent. However, the range of different responses to the training was huge, as you can see from the graph on the screen, which shows the percentage changes in muscle mass for the participants of this study.(2) So you can see that the average participant increased their bicep size by 19 percent, but something else that this graph shows us is that some participants didn't gain muscle at all and others even lost some muscle. So even though they all followed the same plan, genetics played a big role in the results. Now, if you’ve been training for a while and you haven’t seen the amount of muscle growth you were hoping for, that doesn’t instantly mean that you are genetically cursed and you should throw in the towel because We have another study that showed that there were no nonresponders when people were put on personalized training programs instead of a one-size-fits-all...

[GravityTransformation]

References

1. In one study, 585 people trained their non-dominant arm for 12 weeks. The study involved 6 sets of curls and triceps extensions with six to twelve reps per set. (It wasn’t stated how many times per week they trained.) Some people gained a lot of muscle but a few others gained no muscle or even lost muscle.
See Figure 1 for results

2. Another study showed that there were way fewer nonresponders when people were put on personalized training programs instead of one-size-fits-all standardized programs.

3.Research indicates that, all else being equal, unilateral exercises generally have higher levels of muscle activity and force output per limb compared to bilateral ones.

4. A 2006 study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found a greater trend in muscle growth among females that did unilateral exercises compared to bilateral ones

5. A 2016 study compared the effectiveness of a 24-week workout program. Researchers compared One group that did their workouts between 6:30 in the morning and 10:00 in the morning. And a second group that worked out between 4:30pm and 10pm. The results showed that those who trained later on in the day gained much more muscle.
See Figure 5 graph

6. Tim Scheett from the University of Southern Mississippi found comparable results that evening workouts were better for strength.

7. Research indicates that active recovery speeds up tissue repair, one of the main reasons being that it improves blood flow to your connective tissues.

8. Tendons and ligaments (connective tissue) receive “7.5 times less than the means from skeletal muscles.”

9. Static stretches before exercise does not reduce injury risk, as found by a meta-analysis of 361 studies.

10. Static stretches are analgesic and create cellular damage within muscle.

11. One study found impaired muscle growth after static stretching for 50 seconds before lifting weights.

12. “Ninety percent (85/94) of belt users and 63% (55/88) of former belt users utilized belts to prevent injury”

13. When you lift heavy weights with a belt, there’ll be more stress on your spine and a heightened risk of injury.

[JoeDaddy]

Working out and getting fit is a lifelong thing. Don’t worry about how fast or slow you gain or lose weight and gain muscle or when you workout. It’s all about the lifelong journey of being and staying fit.

[redcenturion]

Gains from working out in the evening compared to morning is likely imperceptible. It's best to exercise when you have the most psychological energy to remain consistent.

[richardlehman]

Hey, just wanted to let you know how happy I have been to find your channel. Since I started watching I have lost 85lbs and my wife has lost around 45lbs. Love the information and how clear you are with everything.

[ELKapitan]

Gravity transformation always makes the perfect balance between informative and entertaining in these videos—thanks and keep them coming!

[SILVERCHARGEDS]

I've trained for 36 years. 30 years of that was in the evenings. 6 years ago I switched to 4am right out of bed workouts and not only does it get me charged for the day, I've got in the best shape of my life at 50 years old. I'll never go back to evenings.

[mukund]

Great content man! I reset my workout plan and schedule based on the contents of this channel before they lifted the lockdown and since then my gains and performance are waaay better than before lockdown

[vineasel]

Nearly five million followers. Every video is full of invaluable, practical information. Great job, Max!

[snmiller]

Key for me, is frequency, weekly volume, better diet and sleep. So many variables to figure out. I focused so long on progressive overload, technique, consistency...all important, but when I went to 3 days on weaker areas, upping reps-volume for the week, figuring out overall diet (calorie surplus, protein, etc) I saw far more gains. It's a comprehensive process.

[DEN]

#1 0:30 There is a better time of the day to workout
#2 2:05 Strength training does not necessarily make you better at other sports
#3 3:00 Some people are non-responders to exercise
#4 4:32 Weightlifting belts doesn't reducr risk of injury
#5 5:37 Unilateral exercises are better
#6 7:22 If you are injured you should take it easy
#7 8:30 Deloading is overrated
#8 9:41 Working out and getting fit is definitely not all sunshine and rainbows
#9 10:28 Static stretching before workout impair muscle growth
#10 11:29 There really is no secret

READ MY NAME PLEASE. THANK YOU❤

[katarh]

Sitting here with a deltoid tendon injury. I have been "taking it easy" too much... no reason I can't still do lower body work and some cardio, like you said. Thanks for the kick in the butt I needed!

[gabecamacho]

What I love about you, is the fact you give so much information for free. You truly are a blessing.

[EK-mxzb]

This is really helpful info, you’re right, it doesn’t get mentioned very often. I’ve always wondered about time of day, and now I know it’s possible to respond less to working out than other people - I’m in that boat.

[DecrepitBiden]

My best time to exercise seems to be around 3pm-7pm. Too early if in the morning, as my body isn't fully awake yet. Too late at night is a no-no as well.

[samuelmathew]

I love how he show sources for everything he says!
Also, in a fitness video if you are having a shirt on, you are mostly 99% genuine!

[FreeformSaiyan]

Dope video and great tips greatly appreciated

[saw]

I’m stronger in the morning, weak and tired in the afternoon after work.

[briang]

I believe this! I walk 30 minutes in the morning, and 30 minutes in the evening, and I've always noticed that I always walk a lot faster and more agressively in the evening, where in the morning I feel like I'm almost sleep walking. I always work out in the morning, but have been thinking about working out in the evening instead. After watching this video, I will from now on work out in the evening. Also, since January 1st I've lost 53 pounds this year, and added muscle. It's going good!!!

[lokidecat]

Gravity is the best exercise/workout/health channel on YouTube in my opinion. Honest, blunt, helpful and actually cites it's sources.
Keep up the great work!

[josephpeccerillo]

Thanks for this video. Very informative and definitely some good info that people don’t say and a lot don’t wish to hear. I’ve just gotten back into working out after taking several years off and this time around I’m trying more for strength and muscle building as opposed to before when it was all about cardio and stamina. I’m very happy to know that I’ve been following most of your advice already. The only one I need to work on is no more static stretching before a workout. I’ve always done a quick warmup and followed it with static stretching. Makes sense now that it’s probably not the best idea. Just curious though, what about static stretching in between sets? If I’m doing say dumbbell bench presses and after a set my chest feels very tight as it usually does, should I static stretch during the rest period or no?