@thehpm | Creator profile on Nutcake

What kind of content does Dr. Nicholas Rolnick make?

Dr. Nicholas Rolnick breaks down complex exercise science and physical therapy topics for his audience on Instagram. He offers in-depth analysis of muscle hypertrophy, injury prevention, and pain management, often referencing scientific studies to support his insights. Brands looking to connect with an engaged audience interested in evidence-based fitness and recovery will find his practical, research-backed approach highly valuable.

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If the eccentric contraction duration is so important for #musclegain, wouldn’t more be better? Like protein right...oh wait, more protein isn’t actually better PAST A CERTAIN POINT. So the people who preach the importance of the eccentric have to rectify how more of it (2 v. 4 seconds, PMID: 35309524) doesn’t actually increase overall growth of the quads but both had similar strength gains. Got it Ok. But thats not a META? Well one (PMID 40692176) showed negligible differences in #musclegrowth of shorter (2 or less sec) v longer (> 2 sec) on #hypertrophy outcomes in 9 studies in trained and untrained. Now, Nick, that says nothing of longer eccentrics though, since most were around 4 seconds max eccentric. And you’re 👍🏻

Ok ok, what about the concentric duration, since clearly you’re saying that the concentric is more important. Well, durations of time up to 8 seconds, including both the concentric and eccentric phases have shown to produce similar growth levels in an older meta (PMID 25601394), with a stronger by science article showing slow eccentrics don’t benefit except for maybe some failure conditions (which makes sense TBH, because that forces the tension stimulus and makes up for any suboptimal loading issues).

Now the next argument is OK, that says nothing about the issues with eccentrics because concentrics are grouped in. Yes, the issue is not that eccentrics are pointless (they’re not, and its a strawman if you think I am saying this), it’s that the main growth stimulus in a long-term program will come from the concentric portion of the contraction WHEN HIGH LEVELS OF EFFORT ARE CONSISTENTLY USED. This optimizes the tension stimulus, artificially slowing down the speed of contraction which allows for optimal actin/myosin overlap and effective power strokes. This is the growth stimulus because it adds predominantly radial growth (the stuff we want). So slowing down the concentric artificially is also not good because it leads to suboptimal effort levels as well UNLESS it’s to failure (or close to it).

TLDR: Explode on your concentrics, don’t go too slow on the lowering ( > 4 sec) and you’re gonna be OK.

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#Shoulderpain is avoidable in most cases, and once the neck has been ruled out, before I seriously even consider #shouldermobility, we have to look at #hypertrophy programming. Even from a #bodybuilding perspective, adding two presses in a workout is a little bit redundant. For example, in this video I showed an incline press which is a little LESS redundant than the flat bench/smith machine press, but still hits largely the same muscles. When we look into unpacking the program, one of the first cardinal sins I look for is multiple exercises involving pressing movements in the same workout. These are great by themselves, but chained together, the risk v. benefit for most people is NEGATIVE, especially if there is compounded #shoulder mobility issues.

But let’s take this from a bodybuilding angle, whatever angle you choose to press around up to 30 degrees, you will probably be getting a large amount of the same muscle tissue (sternal pec to clavicular pec with higher angles), with angles above 45 degrees largely trading the pecmajor activation for deltoid. For alternate pressing angles, I'll swap in one of the many side deltoid raises to reduce anterior shoulder strain while getting the capped delt look. If it is triceps you'’e aiming to hit, there'’ also movements for that which will avoid anterior shoulder loading.

Quick strategies: Pick one press, swap out either the tricep or deltoid movement in the 1-2 other sets you’re gaining for these movements which will help distribute forces on the shoulder and not sacrifice the gains.

Who else screens for multiple pressing patterns in their shoulder pain clients/patients? What do you do?

I’m still struggling with this one myself.

In actuality, while the whole #bodybuilding and #personaltraining culture accepts these as part of training, I’m unsure it always has to be the case. Some periods where you push volume and/or intensity could bring temporary aches and pains, but if you find yourself constantly trying to manage #backpain #shoulderpain or other types of pains and have to consistently adjust your routine because of it. Maybe it’s your routine, no?

You see how silly that sounds?

#Lowbackpain is multi factorial and while these exercises are amazing for a number of reasons, including development of #corestability #corestrengthening and #glutes🍑 , no exercise is curative for any back problem.

Even with a directional preference, it still takes consistency over time and a progressive program to reprogram your body for better balance.

The reverse hyper is amazing for providing a stimulus for back training because it is an isometric of the lower back. But pay attention, if you have any neural tension, this movement may provoke the pain because you are in essence performing a loaded nerve slider.

How do you like this exercise in your own practice?

Who is Dr. Nicholas Rolnick’s audience?

Dr. Rolnick's audience is likely composed of individuals actively seeking to improve their physical health and performance, ranging from fitness enthusiasts to those managing chronic pain or recovering from injuries. Their intent signals are strong, indicated by high engagement rates (2.14% ER on Instagram, exceeding the benchmark of 1.5%). This suggests a highly receptive and invested community, eager for expert advice on exercise science, muscle growth, and injury prevention. The quality of engagement is expected to be high, with followers likely to actively consume, comment on, and share content that directly addresses their health and fitness goals.

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