Stronger with Time

Dr Tony Boutagy

Stronger With Time is a channel for coaches, health and fitness professionals, and lifters who want their training and body composition decisions to be guided by evidence and long-term coaching experience, not trends. Hosted by Dr Tony Boutagy, exercise scientist and strength coach, this channel features conversations with researchers and practitioners in exercise science, along with discussions on how findings can inform real‑world programming. Topics include strength training, body composition, program design, women’s health and menopause, aging and muscle, endurance training and recovery.

  1. Sep 21

    There Are No “Fast-Twitch” Motor Units, with Professor Roger Enoka

    Professor Roger Enoka is one of the world’s leading authorities on the neuromuscular system and has spent more than four decades studying how the nervous system produces movement, strength and fatigue. He is the author of Neuromechanics of Human Movement, now in its sixth edition. In this episode of Stronger With Time, we discuss why Type II muscle fibres are not simply high-threshold motor units, why light and heavy loads taken to failure can produce similar muscle growth despite differences in motor unit activity, and what can limit your ability to continue a set as you approach failure. In this episode, we discuss: What a motor unit is, and why muscle fibre type and recruitment threshold are not the same thing How motor unit recruitment and rate coding change as force demands increase Light versus heavy loads to failure, and the relationship between motor unit activity and muscle growth Fatigue, fatigability and why the distinction matters when we talk about training to failure How mechanical tension is generated and what we can measure in human muscle Free weights versus machines, and how balance and stability change the demands on the nervous system Lengthening contractions and the neural demands of controlling a load Neuromechanical matching and regional hypertrophy Motor neuron loss, rate coding and the role of resistance training as we age Sex differences in fatigability and what they may mean for exercise prescription Resistance training, balance and the role of impact exercise as we age Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 00:52 What is a motor unit? 03:20 Recruitment thresholds and the size principle 04:11 Muscle fibre type versus motor unit type 05:50 Fatigue, fatigability and failure 14:13 Light versus heavy loads and muscle growth 17:55 Mechanical tension and what we can measure in humans 25:40 What happens from brain to muscle across a set 29:01 Free weights versus machines 30:58 Lengthening contractions 34:34 Neuromechanical matching and regional growth 38:15 Ageing and the nervous system 42:19 Sex differences 46:52 Resistance training, balance and impact exercise 49:00 Where to find Roger’s work Resources Professor Roger Enoka University of Colorado Boulder: https://www.colorado.edu/iphy/people/faculty/roger-m-enoka Neuromechanics of Human Movement, 6th Edition: https://us.humankinetics.com/products/neuromechanics-of-human-movement-6th-edition The Science of Movement on Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/science-of-movement Dr Tony Boutagy / Stronger With Time Website: https://tonyboutagy.com/ Explore Tony’s courses: https://tonyboutagy.com/explore-the-courses-page Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyboutagy/ This episode is for general educational purposes only and is not intended as individualised exercise advice.

  2. Sep 16

    The History of Strength Training: What Still Works Today with Dr Connor Heffernan

    How much of what we do in the gym today is genuinely new, and how much has been around for decades? In this episode of Stronger With Time, I speak with Dr Conor Heffernan about where many of the training ideas we now take for granted came from, how they changed over time, and what their history can teach us about how we train today. Conor is a historian and sociologist of sport at Ulster University whose work focuses on the history of strength training and physical culture. He is the author of The History of Physical Culture and When Fitness Went Global, and writes at Physical Culture Study. In this episode: How physical culture evolved into modern bodybuilding and gym culture Eugen Sandow, the first modern physique star, and why he sold light dumbbells while training heavy himself Where the squat, three sets of ten and body-part splits came from What lifters already understood about progressive overload by the 1930s The steroid era, and what changed in training once anabolic steroids arrived Where single-set and high-intensity training came from The history of women in strength, from calisthenics and “toning” to progressive strength training What Conor takes from more than a century of strength-training history into how he thinks about training today Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 00:57 Physical culture and the origins of modern gym culture 06:28 Where three sets of ten and body-part splits came from 13:08 What lifters already knew by the 1930s 16:50 Eugen Sandow and early fitness marketing 21:39 What a 1930s lifter would recognise today 31:33 Silver Era training and the pre-steroid physique 39:18 When anabolic steroids entered strength sports 43:01 How steroids changed training 49:18 Single-set and high-intensity training 52:49 The history of women in strength 59:53 Where “toning” and light weights for women came from 01:06:15 What Conor takes from strength-training history 01:11:23 Where to learn more Dr Conor Heffernan Ulster University: https://www.ulster.ac.uk/staff/c-heffernan Physical Culture Study: https://physicalculturestudy.com/ Physical Culture Study Substack: https://physicalculture.substack.com/ Books The History of Physical Culture: https://cgscholar.com/publishers/books/the-history-of-physical-culture When Fitness Went Global: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/when-fitness-went-global-9781350500785/ Dr Tony Boutagy / Stronger With Time Website: https://tonyboutagy.com/ Explore Tony’s courses: https://tonyboutagy.com/explore-the-courses-page Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyboutagy/ This episode is for general educational purposes only and is not intended as individualised exercise advice.

  3. Sep 7

    VO2 Max, Zone 2 and What Drives Endurance, with Professor Andy Jones

    VO2 max matters, but what else determines endurance, and how should you train for it? In this episode of Stronger With Time, I sit down with Professor Andy Jones to explore where zone two and intervals fit, what elite endurance athletes can teach us, and what this means for training, performance and healthy ageing. Andy is Professor of Applied Physiology at the University of Exeter and one of the world's leading endurance physiologists. He served as a scientific editor on Nike's Breaking2 project, worked with marathon world-record holder Paula Radcliffe for more than a decade, and has helped shape research on critical power, dietary nitrate and physiological resilience. In this episode: What VO2 max can and cannot tell you about endurance Where zone two fits within aerobic training Whether you should avoid the middle ground between easy work and hard intervals How Andy approaches intervals for improving VO2 max How to combine aerobic training with three weekly strength sessions Whether men and women need different endurance training What Breaking2 and Paula Radcliffe reveal about endurance beyond VO2 max What Andy's research shows about nitrate, beetroot and carbohydrate fuelling Resources: Professor Andy Jones University of Exeter academic profile: https://experts.exeter.ac.uk/1327-andy-jones University of Exeter Sports Physiology & Exercise Testing: https://sites.exeter.ac.uk/spet/meet-the-team/ Dr Tony Boutagy / Stronger With Time Website: https://tonyboutagy.com/ Explore Tony's courses: https://tonyboutagy.com/explore-the-courses-page 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 a training prescription or medical advice.

  4. Aug 31

    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.

  5. Aug 24

    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 Professor John Hawley, one of the most influential figures in exercise metabolism, about what four decades of research can teach us about how we train, fuel and recover. John is a Distinguished Professor at Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, where he directs the Centre for Human Metabolism and Performance. His research spans how exercise and diet regulate fat and carbohydrate metabolism in skeletal muscle, the molecular basis of training adaptation, circadian biology and nutrient timing, and how exercise improves insulin action. John helped run some of the pioneering interval-training studies in Cape Town in the 1990s and has spent the decades since studying the mechanisms behind how training works. In this episode: What happens inside the muscle after the workout ends How short, hard intervals compare with longer intervals for improving VO₂max and performance What high-intensity training does differently from steady-state exercise How often to go hard, and where lower-intensity training fits Why carbohydrate availability matters when the work gets hard When training with low carbohydrate availability may have a place What the carbohydrate mouth rinse reveals about the brain’s role in performance Concurrent training, the interference effect and when it matters How exercise changes insulin sensitivity and glucose disposal What John’s research on time-restricted eating is finding Whether sex meaningfully changes the metabolic response to exercise Where the search for an exercise mimetic stands How John thinks about consistency, recovery and making exercise a priority This conversation is for anyone who wants to train with more intent and understand what is driving the results. Resources Professor John Hawley ACU profile: https://www.acu.edu.au/research-and-enterprise/our-research-institutes/mary-mackillop-institute-for-health-research/our-people/professor-john-hawley Research and publications: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22John+Hawley%22+exercise+metabolism On PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Hawley+JA+exercise+metabolism Book: Peak Performance: Training and Nutritional Strategies for Sport, by John Hawley and Louise Burke https://books.google.com/books/about/Peak_Performance.html?id=3P5qQgAACAAJ Dr Tony Boutagy / Stronger With Time Website: https://tonyboutagy.com/ Explore Tony’s courses: https://tonyboutagy.com/explore-the-courses-page Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyboutagy/ Subscribe to 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 or nutrition advice.

  6. Aug 20

    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 what the person can recover from. In this episode of Stronger With Time, I'm resharing a conversation I had with Ariel and Matt from Raise the Bar about the way I think about exercise programming after more than 30 years of coaching and studying exercise science. We start with how I moved from endurance sport into strength and conditioning, why I have remained a student of the field, and what decades of coaching have taught me about translating research into practice. From there, we get into the programming questions that matter in the gym, including several areas where I have changed my mind. We discuss: Why the goal and the person’s ability to recover come before sets and reps Why the first sets of an exercise appear to give the most benefit, what my new meta-analysis changed about how quickly returns diminish, and what that means for how much you do Why strength and hypertrophy are related, but not the same adaptation Why mechanical tension is central to muscle growth What soreness, muscle damage and metabolic stress do, and do not, tell us about hypertrophy Rep ranges, proximity to failure and muscle fibre recruitment Exercise selection and why some muscles benefit from biomechanically different movements Training frequency versus doing more volume in one session Why I often favour total-body training two or three times per week How I approach strength training for women who want to get stronger without maximising muscle size How long to keep a program and why changing exercises too quickly can matter Progressive overload, periodisation and where the evidence is still developing Where research can guide programming and where coaching judgement still matters Why I'd question any program that needs a deload, and what a drop in performance is actually telling you This conversation is for coaches, trainers and serious lifters who want to make better programming decisions without reducing exercise science to a set of universal rules. I am building a short course on the science of hypertrophy: I'm building a short course on the science of hypertrophy. Over the past year I've reviewed the hypertrophy research in full and spoken with many of the researchers behind it on this podcast, and that work has changed a few things about how I program for muscle. The short course covers exactly those changes. Join the interest list to be the first to hear when it opens: https://go.tonyboutagy.com/register-you-interest-page If you want the complete foundation on program design, that is Advanced Program Mastery. After all of this work, very little in it has needed to change: https://tonyboutagy.com/advanced-program-mastery-course-page

  7. Aug 10

    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, PhD, FAPTA, about how muscles produce, control and stabilise movement as part of a coordinated system, using the shoulder as the primary example. Don is Professor Emeritus of Physical Therapy at Marquette University and the author of Neumann’s Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System. We discuss: What it means for a muscle to be functioning well Why few muscles perform a meaningful action independently How muscular force couples produce and control movement Why the shoulder’s mobility places greater demands on muscular control How the deltoid and rotator cuff share the work of raising the arm How the serratus anterior and trapezius contribute to scapular movement What the commonly cited two-to-one scapulohumeral rhythm describes When scapular dyskinesis may warrant closer attention Why external-rotation strength depends partly on the muscles anchoring the scapula Whether the lower trapezius and serratus anterior should be trained separately or within larger movements How anatomical variation influences the way we assess the shoulder and hip What Don’s current research may reveal about the actions of individual scapular muscles This conversation is for coaches, trainers, physiotherapists and serious lifters who want a clearer understanding of what produces, controls and stabilises shoulder movement, and what this means for assessment and training. See how these principles apply to movement assessment and program design in Weak Links & Movement: https://tonyboutagy.com/weak-links-movement-full-course Professor Donald Neumann Marquette University profile:https://www.marquette.edu/physical-therapy/directory/donald-neumann.php Neumann’s Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System, Fourth Edition:https://shop.elsevier.com/books/neumann-s-kinesiology-of-the-musculoskeletal-system/neumann/978-0-323-71859-2 Review of the serratus anterior:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30737019/ Review of the trapezius:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30797676/ Professor Neumann’s publications on PubMed:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Neumann+DA%5BAuthor%5D Tony Boutagy / Stronger With Time Website:https://tonyboutagy.com/ Explore the courses:https://tonyboutagy.com/explore-the-courses-page Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/tonyboutagy/ Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stronger-with-time/id1815428150 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/5Yydg6y3dA8OiA8hyHcJON

  8. Jul 20

    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 Refalo about how accurately lifters can judge repetitions in reserve, how close to failure a set needs to be, and when training to failure may be useful. Martin is Co-Owner and Education Manager at JPS Health & Fitness. He holds a PhD in Exercise Science, has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and has more than a decade of practical coaching experience. Proximity to failure and its relationship with hypertrophy, fatigue and discomfort have been central areas of his research. We discuss: Why lifters can misjudge how close they are to failure How to develop a more accurate sense of repetitions in reserve How close to failure Martin generally recommends training When recording a set may help calibrate effort How fatigue across a session can affect performance When training to failure may be more appropriate in lower-volume programmes Whether load and repetition range affect muscle growth Why higher-repetition sets can be more difficult to judge What the evidence suggests about sex differences in fatigue, recovery and hypertrophy Whether women require fundamentally different resistance-training programmes How Martin designs studies around practical training questions This conversation is for coaches and serious lifters who want to prescribe effort with greater accuracy and understand how proximity-to-failure research applies in the gym. Timestamps: 00:05 Introduction to Dr. Martin Rafalo and His Expertise 01:03 Exploring Resistance Training and Training to Failure 01:31 Practical Applications of Exercise Science 01:56 Introduction and guest introduction 02:30 Why study training to failure? The research focus 05:10 Context-dependent nature of training intensity 08:39 The strike zone: 2 reps shy of failure 09:45 Is it worth pushing to true failure? Practical tips 12:02 Perception of effort and actual proximity to failure 13:46 Muscle tension, fatigue, and hypertrophy mechanisms 18:04 Monitoring progress and fatigue through performance 20:40 Fatigue impact across sessions and exercises 25:17 Research findings on proximity to failure and growth 27:31 Programming considerations: volume, load, and recovery 30:54 Training to failure in beginners vs. advanced 33:42 Sex differences in fatigue and recovery 36:25 Applying science to coaching practice 47:04 Designing research studies in exercise science 51:05 Within-subject vs. group studies on failure 54:08 Gender responses to resistance training 58:22 Hormonal influences and muscle growth in females 01:01:27 Bridging science and coaching practice 01:05:10 Program design for different athlete goals 01:08:10 Program duration and auto-regulation 01:10:26 Where to find more about Martin Refalo Dr Martin Refalo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrfitness__/ JPS profile: https://www.jpshealthandfitness.com.au/team/martin-refalo/ JPS Education: https://www.instagram.com/jps_education/ JPS Health & Fitness: https://www.jpshealthandfitness.com.au/ JPS YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi6aTw95QXJHjv8ucdxnL7Q Tony Boutagy / Stronger With Time Website: https://tonyboutagy.com/ Explore Tony’s courses: https://tonyboutagy.com/explore-the-courses-page Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyboutagy/ Subscribe to Stronger With Time for more evidence-informed conversations on training, health and performance. This episode is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualised training advice.

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About

Stronger With Time is a channel for coaches, health and fitness professionals, and lifters who want their training and body composition decisions to be guided by evidence and long-term coaching experience, not trends. Hosted by Dr Tony Boutagy, exercise scientist and strength coach, this channel features conversations with researchers and practitioners in exercise science, along with discussions on how findings can inform real‑world programming. Topics include strength training, body composition, program design, women’s health and menopause, aging and muscle, endurance training and recovery.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr Tony Boutagy
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    61
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Dr Tony Boutagy
  • Show Website
    Stronger with Time