What's funny is, that research clearly speaks about "work" and "resistance", this doesn't mean weight on the bar... at all. Which is what I guess intenceman is wanting to say it does?
It only means, try to train harder, not heavier. (although it can just as well still) Which will almost automatically happen throughout the years as you become more and more proficient at contracting muscles.
It's been said an experienced bodybuilder should be able to get a good biceps workout in with a can of Coca-Cola, while it may be exaggerated, the premise holds true nonetheless.
The research is saying this:
More powerful training leads to hypertrophy. Power is expressed as load lifted in a unit of time. To do a more powerful working and stimulate hypertrophy, you must move greater loads in the same period of time.
More intense training leads to hypertrophy. Standard scientific definition (the one the researchers are talking about in this case) of intensity is percent of 1 rep max. So, more intense lifting (i.e. greater number of reps at greater 1RM thresholds) leads to hypertrophy.
You can't lift a can of coke and get big. The researchers are stating precisely that this is not possible. That time worked does not appear to be correlated to hypertrophy. Which makes sense. Otherwise, walking down the street for more hours each night would lead to massive Tom Platz-like quads.
It's about power, and intensity. Nothing else. How we cycle, and use those priniciples, with our own given genetic make-up, while avoiding injury, determines peak physical development as it pertains to training modalities. That's about it.
In short: if you aren't hypertrophying, add more intensity, or more power, or both. Or maybe you've max'd out. Of maybe you don't eat well enough. Or maybe you don't rest enough. Or maybe you need more/better drugs.
