Research comparing different loading ranges has consistently found that muscle growth can occur across a much broader spectrum when sets are performed with a high level of effort. A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis found similar hypertrophy across very low, low, moderate, and high loads when volume was matched, while the heavier loads produced greater gains in dynamic strength.

A recent study found that lifters who completed a short strength phase before transitioning into a traditional muscle building phase gained more muscle than those who spent the entire time training only for hypertrophy.