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They also show that the total calf muscle volume is made of soleus mainly (43.7%), then medial gastroc (34.3%), then lateral gastroc (22.1%). This fits in withthe very high physiological cross sectional area of the soleus (Lieber 2011) and much higher forces (x bodyweight) in the soleus versus the gastroc in running (see table below showing predicted muscle forces in running at increasing speed, adapted from Dorn 2012) and
TL;DR (but please read the whole review, it's very interesting and it subverts your expectations on multiple occasions as you go through it):
Your testosterone levels affect how much muscle you carry around, whether you train or not. Then, when you begin to train, your responsiveness to training is mostly similar regardless of whether you have low or high testosterone levels. It may be a bit less with lower testosterone, but the biggest impact is on your baseline.
For example, let's say you have a baseline lean mass of 50 kg, and you have a testosterone level in the low end (say around 300 ng/dL). You [by training] gain 10% over 6 months, which is 5 kg.
Now, take this same situation, but the person has a baseline testosterone to 600 ng/dL. Your baseline lean mass now may be 52 kg. You still gain 10% over 6 months, which is 5.2 kg. Thus, the relative gain is similar. However, the starting point, and the absolute gain, is larger because of the higher testosterone. [How larger?] The data suggests that fat-free mass will increase by 0.7 - 1.3 lbs (0.3 - 0.6 kg) for every 100 ng/dL increase in blood levels of testosterone within the physiological range. Thus, if you went from 300 ng/dL to 600 ng/dL, that would be 0.9 - 1.8 kg or about 2.1 - 4 lbs.
Let's consider another example. Let's say a person goes on some type of testosterone replacement, boosting testosterone from 250 ng/dL to 500 or 600 ng/dL. That person will initially experience some higher-than-normal relative gains, as he moves towards his new baseline for his new testosterone level. It will feel like "newbie" gains. However, once that person has reached his new baseline, his relative gains will be similar to when he had lower testosterone.
Key Takeaways:
We make the argument that the force production of a repetition is a vital and often underemphasized aspect to training specificity for maximal strength. Training with heavy loads and low intraset fatigue/velocity loss results in force production the most specific to a 1RM.
For short to moderate term strength gains, performing sets to or close to failure doesn’t offer an additional training effect but can cause other detrimental changes. We also discuss the interplay between muscle growth and proximity to failure for long term strength gains.
The available research suggests that when training with 65-85% of 1RM, staying far from failure allows for the accumulation of repetitions that provide the majority of the strength stimulus. This means that sets can be terminated before large decreases in bar velocity occur (roughly 10-20% velocity loss) while still maximizing the strength stimulus. We also recommend incorporating regular heavy top sets (>85% of 1RM) for skill practice at velocities similar to a 1RM.