Is Muscle Hyperplasia Real? (Science Explained) 

I love bringing on professionals in the field and scientists who aren't in the same media bubble as certain science communicators in fitness world. Casual viewers like me would never hear these names who are important in the fields otherwise, or get takes from a perspective of someone who has been working in the topic for potentially decades. I started weightlifting to damage my muscles for hyperplasia. Hitting the quads with a barbell a lot, getting bruises and stuff surely will grow it. Once I even dropped a 20 kg plate on my toe to grow it.

There might be another way to infer whether or not humans experience muscular hyperplasia, using methods from evolutionary biology/paleontology: phylogenetic bracketing, it allows you to statistically infer the likelihood that a taxon possesses a specific trait based on what (closely and distantly) related taxa possess. Basically, if hypothetically every other organism with muscle tissue experiences hyperplasia, including chimpanzees, the likelihood that humans were the only extant species to have lost this feature would be so astronomically small that it's far more reasonable to conclude that we do experience it, than that we don't.

I’m curious why we’d assume that hyperplasia doesn’t occur in humans if it’s been observed in animals. Even if it’s not a big mediator of growth, wouldn’t the baseline assumption be that it does happen, unless we find evidence to the contrary?

It seems absolutely insane to me that species as different as cats and quails both experience muscle hyperplasia from resistance and stretching protocols and yet somehow we assume humans are different. Why? Do we have any reason to think human skeletal muscle development is so wildly different? To me, the null hypothesis should be that it does occur in humans, since it seems to occur in all of the different species we’ve studied (animals as different as birds and as similar as other mammals).

Ooh fancy name. Where do I inject it?

Cats can add muscle real easily because they’ve evolved to maintain muscle while living a sedentary lifestyle.

Why not just look at a pair of deceased twins, where one lifted weights and the other did some other form of exercise (or was mostly sedentary)?

Maybe those Seal Rows and Reverse Nordic Curls we added will add some fibers!!!

That is, it makes sense to periodically arrange heavy workouts when the muscles hurt for a week. At best, this will cause hyperplasia, at worst a slight hypertrophy (compared to the one I could get from 3 workouts in a week)

god damn this has quite a few implications i might start experimenting with training very heavy for only ecentrics maybe i could make entire training blocks only training that way

Have we seen muscle hyperplasia in pigs?

Have you looked into deactivation of the myostatin gene?

What if I am punching my muscles during exercise? Say I am doing reverse Nordic curls and I am using my hands to punch my quads?

Has anyone ever told you how awkward camera 2 feels? Can we like get the camera moved back and at a higher angle? Just for kicks for a video or two?

Dr Wolf, have they looked at tissue density along with circumference? I would point at training along with things like TMG that have been observed to increase muscle density - that could be a sign?

They taught a cat to pump iron?

Is there something that only muscle fibers would absorb when repairing? Wouldn't it be neat if you could make them stick out like celery fibers when it absorbs colored dye?

Great stuff

Is there any evidence for hgh intluencing hyperplasia ?

Kevin says that if hyperplasia does happen in resistance training then it's under extreme conditions. So why has there been no studies comparing two groups of bodybuilders, one group on anabolic steroids and the other natural, at the beginning and end of several months of training ? Several such studies may indicate whether Kevin's hunch is right - hopefully despite the problems mentioned in checking if hyperplasia has actually occurred in humans.

He said “Dragon Ball” as opposed to DBZ, is he a real og? Were you digging into DB manga as a youngster? These are also questions that need answers

Yo, Milo, I've been going around some science based channels asking for somethign (if anyone will do some brief insight on this) I have hypermobility with EDS and when I train weights and things overall seems to be "different" (like ranges of motions and stuff). I saw progres in my current first year of traning (6xW), but my joints are pretty fagile even though my ranges of motion are kinda mad (plus the problem of joint stabilization). Question is : Is there any relatable source for traning with EDS? What should I have to consider ? Can you explain in detail (if possible) info that I might not know ( because I have almost no info except my own experience) on a video? or at least some key things that I have to consider Example of joints issues : I started benchpressing ike only the bar 20kg. Now almost 1year I can do it with 80kg BUT depending on how stressed (mentally) I'm because some times both of my shoulders dislocate (or my wrists) so I have to perform most of my excercises with very small (to my proportion) weights and lots of reps (20 or more) because sometimes just a lilbit more of weight I feel the joint close to dislocate or just it does. So also knowing which type of exercises I can perform (that needs less stabilization) are good. (dumbbell chest press sucks for me, but barbell is ok, machine sucks because I have 0 range of motion (for my issue)

Milo - have you asked King Nuckols 👑 whether he will agree to the production of Stronger By Science t-shirts & sweatshirts? You promised to ask earlier this year. I can't understand why this isn't already being done. Selling t-shirts etc., is a good revenue stream - come on Greg it's the 21st century.

Well done episode milo, i liked how you interviewed the scientist and put it in the video, it gets kinda dry listening to you speaking the way you do sometimes. Especially when you try to sound too academic. Good stuff.

Sick wheels bro

What do you think about the use of a Neubie with training using it at high intensities inconjuction with the training techniques and methods?

Are there any animals confirmed to have NO hyperplasia? If not, then it seems strange that humans woube the only ones, on priors.

Hello sir. I have more wisdom than intelligence, so forgive my medical ignorance to the science as it applies here. Thanks first of all for vastly opening my eyes to scientific terminology that applies to my belief and application towards my training. Ignorantly I have rehabbed multiple injuries without any medical direction, I believe in my case I have experienced muscular hyperplasia. In reference to scientific application for proof. Idk about actual biopsies or on paper measurement.. but isn’t there a similar phenomena within the Muay Thai community. The body adapting to repeated micro fractures, and developing new bone density, and calcification. I wouldn’t doubt that the surrounding musculature would do the same. Tendons, ligaments etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if the meninges themselves were more dense than a normal subject. I’m sure that strength and density play a huge part in the restructure, but these examples to me would be a clear situation of damage that: if hyperplasia occurs in adult humans, it would occur. Thanks for your continued work and sharing with the community. You have provided immense knowledge that has helped me beyond measure. 🙏🏼

Thank you

This guy has been watching genetic beast

As long as my muscle gets bigger when training, I don’t care if it’s because my fibers get bigger or because I create more fibers. Just grow!!

i think dr milo wolf needs some occlusion training

For the algorithm

Alternatively, stop being obsessed with the size of your muscles. It's not healthy. Increase strength and endurance.

True Overload eccentric do it. But it's not that what you think. It's practically very difficult and dangerous. True eccentric overload leads by definition to injury! It's for example jumping down a box with a relative heavy barbell on your back. 😮

Great

Those animal studies are insanely unethical jesus Christ. 😢

Actually first :)

Train every muscle x3 per week 10 sets per muscle per workout? Rest 1-2 min between sets? Sets 5-50 close to failure 1-2 ???????

2nd

You owe us 14 minutes of our life back

Why are scientists doing studies on animal muscle growth.....what a waste of time and money and attention....

10:30