Why Muscle Size Doesn’t Fully Explain Strength, with Professor Paul Comfort

Two people can have similar muscle mass and very different levels of strength. What accounts for the difference?

In this episode of Stronger With Time, Tony speaks with Professor Paul Comfort, one of the world’s leading strength and conditioning researchers, about what influences strength beyond muscle size, and what that means for training.

Paul is Professor of Strength and Conditioning at the University of Salford in the UK, where he leads the Master of Strength and Conditioning program. He also holds an adjunct professorship at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. His research focuses on strength training, force production and the assessment of physical performance.

In this episode, they discuss:

How strength is assessed, and whether a true one-repetition maximum is as fatiguing as people think
Whether bar speed matters as much as intent
When slow, controlled reps help, and when they may not
How psychology and neural inhibition can affect strength expression
What stability and unilateral work can reveal about a weak link
Why lowering a weight is different from lifting it
What happens when training frequency changes but weekly volume stays the same, and whether microdosing works
Whether strength, hypertrophy and power should be trained together or emphasised at different times
How strength training priorities change with age

Professor Paul Comfort

University of Salford https://www.salford.ac.uk/our-staff/paul-comfort
ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul-Comfort
Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xukgqDQAAAAJ&hl=en
ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1131-8626
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/paulcomfort1975/
X https://x.com/PaulComfort1975

Books

Advanced Strength and Conditioning https://www.routledge.com/Advanced-Strength-and-Conditioning-An-Evidence-based-Approach/Turner-Comfort/p/book/9780367491352

Performance Assessment in Strength and Conditioning https://www.routledge.com/Performance-Assessment-in-Strength-and-Conditioning/Comfort-Jones/p/book/9781032831497

Laboratory Manual for Strength and Conditioning https://www.routledge.com/Laboratory-Manual-for-Strength-and-Conditioning/Miller-Comfort-McMahon/p/book/9781032033259

NSCA Developing Power https://us.humankinetics.com/products/developing-power-2nd-edition

Dr Tony Boutagy / Stronger With Time

Website https://tonyboutagy.com/
Courses https://tonyboutagy.com/explore-the-courses-page
Weak Links in Movement https://tonyboutagy.com/weak-links-movement-full-course
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tonyboutagy/

Follow Stronger With Time for more evidence-informed conversations on training, health and performance.

This episode is for general educational purposes only and is not intended as individualised exercise advice.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(58)

You Don't Get Fitter During Your Workout, with Professor John Hawley

Most of the attention in training goes to the workout itself. But what happens after the workout that determines the result you get from it?In this episode of Stronger With Time, Tony speaks with Prof...

24 Elo 50min

Why More Sets, More Soreness and a New Program Every Month Aren't Building More Muscle

How many sets should you do? How often should you train a muscle? How close to failure should you go?Before answering any of those questions, I want to know what the program is trying to achieve and w...

20 Elo 1h 42min

Why the Shoulder Is So Vulnerable (And What Stabilises It), with Professor Donald Neumann

When you raise your arm, which muscles produce the movement, and which keep the shoulder stable enough for it to happen?In this episode of Stronger With Time, I speak with Professor Donald Neumann, PT...

10 Elo 58min

Training to Failure: How Close Is Close Enough? with Dr Martin Refalo

How close to failure do you need to train to build muscle?And how accurately can you judge how many repetitions you still have in reserve?In this episode of Stronger With Time, I speak with Dr Martin ...

20 Heinä 1h 11min

Zone 2, Fuelling and Bone Health for Women in Midlife, with Olympian Rachel Neylan

There is a lot of conflicting advice about how women should train and fuel through midlife.Should they prioritise high-intensity work over Zone 2? Train around the menstrual cycle? Cut back on carbohy...

15 Heinä 1h 6min

Stretching Before Training: When It Helps and How Much with Professor Dave Behm

Static stretching before training is one of the most debated habits in the gym.For years, many coaches were told to avoid it because it could impair performance. But as Professor Dave Behm explains in...

7 Heinä 1h

Hypertrophy Advice: What to Trust and What to Question with Dr Gerard McMahon

If you train for hypertrophy, you are probably not short on advice.The harder part is knowing which advice is worth trusting.In this episode of Stronger With Time, Tony speaks with Dr Gerard McMahon, ...

30 Kesä 1h 7min