fairlift Blog

Evidence-led strength training, explained

NutritionOctober 20, 2026

Tirzepatide weight loss: 10–30% may be lean mass, but strength is unclear

A 10-study review found weight loss was mostly fat, with some lean-tissue loss in every study. Strength and physical function were not assessed.

NutritionOctober 19, 2026

Extra protein only raised strength when people lifted — 2.01% vs 0.13%

A rapid review screening 7,544 records found added protein raised strength by 2.01% alongside resistance training but only 0.13% without it. Protein supports lifting; it does not replace it.

NutritionOctober 15, 2026

Whey prices are surging: buy concentrate if you tolerate lactose

A US whey tub rose from $59.95 to $102.95. Compare concentrate, protein density and unit prices before paying more for isolate.

NutritionOctober 14, 2026

Pea and egg protein ranked close to whey after lifting in a 51-study network meta-analysis

Comparing single post-workout protein doses, native whey, pea, whole egg and mycoprotein all ranked near the top for muscle protein synthesis. Only regular whey showed a statistically clear effect.

NutritionOctober 14, 2026

Beetroot juice did not add reps for women lifters on bench or leg press

Sixteen resistance-trained women drank nitrate-rich beetroot juice and lifted 60% of their max to failure, but total reps matched the days they drank nothing. Heart rate, blood pressure, lactate and effort ratings did not change either.

NutritionOctober 12, 2026

Creatine lean mass isn't all muscle — the growth comes through extra training work

Creatine supports muscle growth mainly by letting you do more high-intensity work. Part of the lean mass it adds is water held inside cells and alongside glycogen.

NutritionOctober 12, 2026

Beetroot juice added nothing to 12 weeks of strength training in middle-aged adults

Twenty-seven adults around 56 years old did full-body resistance training for 12 weeks while drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice or a placebo daily. Training raised strength and muscle mitochondria; the juice added nothing.

NutritionOctober 8, 2026

Beta-alanine may help you sustain reps, but it is not creatine

Beta-alanine supports muscle carnosine, a fatigue buffer. Judge a trial by repeatable sets over 4 or more weeks, not an expected jump in your one-rep max.

NutritionOctober 7, 2026

A 2.2 g/kg protein target showed no extra muscle benefit over 12 weeks

Higher protein targets showed no muscle-mass advantage in women aged 40–77. Adding cycling shifted the balance between leg strength and aerobic fitness.

NutritionOctober 5, 2026

Does creatine add strength and lean mass? A 63-study meta-analysis

Pooling 63 trials and 1,489 people, adding creatine to resistance training beat training alone for upper- and lower-body strength and lean mass. Fat mass did not change.

NutritionSeptember 6, 2026

Body recomposition runs on a 250-calorie daily deficit, not a bigger one

What separates a recomp from a bulk-and-cut is the rate. Eat 250 calories below maintenance and lose about half a pound a week, so there is energy left to push heavy weight.

NutritionSeptember 4, 2026

Milk after training beat Greek yogurt on bone markers

In a crossover trial rotating milk, Greek yogurt, a carbohydrate drink and water through the same people, only milk raised the bone formation marker above water at 24 hours — and it lowered the bone resorption signal below all three.

NutritionAugust 26, 2026

Grip strength rose 18-21% while 21 kg came off on tirzepatide

Twelve months of records from 93 men. Body weight fell about 21 kg and lean body mass fell 4-6 kg, yet estimated skeletal muscle mass rose 1.6-3.7 kg and grip strength rose 18-21%.

NutritionAugust 26, 2026

Supplement doping cases cluster in pre-workouts and boosters

Contamination risk is not spread evenly across supplements. It concentrates in multi-ingredient products, pre-workouts, weight-loss and muscle-building products, and testosterone boosters.

NutritionAugust 26, 2026

On GLP-1 drugs, protein percentage holds while grams collapse

Protein as a share of total energy is largely preserved on GLP-1 therapy. The problem is that total energy falls, dragging absolute grams below the threshold that stimulates muscle protein synthesis.

NutritionAugust 26, 2026

12mg of capsaicin moved neither strength endurance nor jump height

In a double-blind crossover trial with 16 advanced lifters, capsaicin changed nothing in leg press repetitions or countermovement jump height.

NutritionAugust 25, 2026

Twelve weeks of a Western diet enlarged fat cells inside the bone, not just under the skin

Rats fed 42% of calories as fat for 12 weeks grew larger fat cells in humeral bone marrow. At the gene level, marrow fat responded more strongly than ordinary white fat.

NutritionAugust 25, 2026

Same quercetin, different wrapper, different result — the bottleneck is absorption, not dose

Loading quercetin and anthocyanins into nanoparticles beat feeding the identical mixture plain in obese mice. The milligrams on the label are not the milligrams that arrive.

NutritionAugust 25, 2026

A seaweed compound browned fat cells — in a dish

Dieckol at 5–25 µM raised UCP1 and suppressed PPARγ in cultured adipocytes. Nothing in this study shows the same thing happens when a person swallows a supplement.

NutritionAugust 25, 2026

Fish twice a week — a low bar that only one adult in four clears

About 24% of US adults eat seafood at least twice a week. The failure looks less like a knowledge problem and more like a cooking-repertoire problem.

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