Holly T. Baxter

10/03/2026

Can just ONE set per exercise build impressive muscle in trained lifters? 🤔

A recent study had resistance-trained men and women perform:

🏋️ One set per exercise
📅 Twice per week
⏱️ For 8 weeks

The result? 📊
Both groups gained muscle, regardless of whether they trained to failure or stopped two reps short.
But here’s what I found most interesting...
The amount of muscle growth reported.

The failure group increased mid-quadriceps muscle thickness by about 0.37 cm while performing just six weekly sets for the quadriceps. That’s substantially more growth than many studies have reported despite using much higher training volumes. That doesn’t automatically make these findings incorrect.
It simply means we should place them in the context of the broader literature before dramatically changing our recommendations.

Some important questions remain:
👉🏼Why do some labs consistently report much larger hypertrophy responses than others?
👉🏼Are methodological differences influencing the results?
👉🏼Should these findings be replicated before we conclude that very low volumes produce this magnitude of muscle growth?

In the full YouTube video 🎥 I discuss:
• The study design
• Why the hypertrophy results caught my attention
• How these findings compare with previous research
• Why context matters when interpreting a single paper
• Practical takeaways for your own training 💪🏽

Now… A question for you!
🧐Do you think four to six weekly sets are enough to maximize muscle growth in trained lifters, or would you like to see these findings replicated first? Let me know in the comments below! 💬

10/02/2026

Do you really need to “confuse” your muscles to keep growing? 🤔

A 2022 study compared a traditional progressive resistance training program with one that constantly manipulated training variables like load, volume, rest intervals, and contraction type.

📊The Result?
✅ Similar muscle fiber growth
✅ Similar molecular adaptations
✅ The biggest differences appeared to be between individuals—not between the training programs.

That doesn’t mean programming doesn’t matter. But it does raise an interesting question: 🙋‍♀️

Are we sometimes overemphasizing variation when consistent progressive overload may be doing most of the heavy lifting?

In the full YouTube video 🎥, we dive into:
• The unique within-subject study design
• The muscle biopsy findings
• Satellite cells and gene expression
• Why individual biology may explain more than program variation
• Practical implications (and important limitations)

Question for YOU 👉🏼Do you intentionally change your training variables every workout or training block, or do you prefer sticking with a consistent progressive plan? Let me know in the comments below! 💬

10/01/2026

Do you really need to eat before lifting to build muscle? 🍳💪

A recent 12-week randomized trial compared resistance training performed:

🥣 After eating a carbohydrate-rich meal
vs.
🌅 After a 10–12 hour overnight fast

Researchers carefully controlled training, calories, and protein intake so the only difference between groups was whether they ate before training.

📊Here’s what they found:
✅ Nearly identical increases in quadriceps muscle thickness
✅ Similar improvements in strength
✅ Similar improvements in lower-body power
✅ Training volume was also similar between groups

🤷‍♀️What does this mean?
For most people, your long-term progress appears to depend much more on:
👉🏼Consistent resistance training
👉🏼Adequate daily protein
👉🏼Sufficient total calories
👉🏼Progressive overload

NOT whether you ate breakfast before your workout.

That said, fasted training isn’t necessarily better, either. Some participants did report a slight dizziness or nausea while training fasted, so if eating beforehand helps you feel stronger or train harder, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing that.

⚠️☝🏼One important caveat: these participants trained twice per week and were relatively untrained. We still need more research to know whether the same conclusions apply to highly trained individuals or folks performing much higher training volumes or frequencies.

🙋‍♀️Do you prefer training fasted or after eating? Let me know in the comments below, and check out the full YouTube video 🎥 for the complete breakdown of the study, including the methods, results, and limitations.

09/30/2026

Is DXA Sensitive Enough to Detect Small Gains in Muscle? 🤔

A recent study compared DXA with MRI—one of the gold-standard methods for measuring muscle size—and found that:

✅ DXA and MRI agreed well at a single point in time
📈 But their agreement became much weaker when tracking changes over a 10-week training program
📉 Fewer than half of participants had DXA and MRI results that agreed within 3%
💪 Some participants showed muscle growth on MRI but little change—or even a decrease—on DXA!

🧐Why the difference?

MRI measures muscle volume directly. DXA estimates lean mass, which includes muscle but also water, connective tissue, glycogen, water and other lean tissues.

That doesn’t make DXA useless. It’s still a valuable tool for assessing overall body composition and estimating lean mass trends.

But when you’re trying to evaluate small changes in muscle growth over a short period, DXA may unfortunately not tell the whole story.

In the full YouTube video, I cover:

👉🏼Why DXA and MRI can agree at one point in time but differ when tracking change
👉🏼Why lean mass isn’t the same as muscle mass
👉🏼How this affects research and coaching
👉🏼Whether DXA should be part of your progress-tracking toolkit

Have you ever had a DXA result that didn’t agree with what you were seeing in the mirror 💬 Comment below 👇🏼

09/29/2026

🤤 Who wants to make these GIANT cinnamon rolls?! 🙋‍♀️

If there’s one smell that instantly makes it feel like fall 🍂—it has to be freshly baked cinnamon rolls.

So today, I’m sharing this brand-new recipe, along with the full nutrition breakdown.
They’re made completely from scratch—including the dough—but trust me, they’re surprisingly easy to make and absolutely worth it.

🍴Ingredients

Dough
- 7g yeast (1 pk)
- 25g sugar
- 343 ml 1% milk
- 450 g all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 60 g softened butter

Filling
- 140 g softened sweet cream salted butter
- 140 g brown sugar
- 28g ground cinnamon
- 1 scoop Cinnamon Roll Whey Dragon Pharma

Butter-Vanilla Frosting
- 75 g softened butter
- 180 g powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Pre heat the over to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, mix the yeast, sugar, and milk. Add flour and mix until combined. Mix using a spoon or a stand mixer.
2. Add the salt and softened butter. Stretch and fold the dough until the butter is fully incorporated.
3. Cover the dough in cling wrap and let it rise for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
4. Sprinkle 1 tbsp flour over a clean counter. Roll the dough into a large rectangle.
5. Spread the combined softened butter, brown sugar, whey isolate, and cinnamon.
6. Cut the dough into 6 long strips, then roll each strip into a cinnamon roll.
7. Sprinkle a little cinnamon into the bottom of a baking pan and place the rolls on top.
8. Cover and let the rolls rise for 15 minutes.
9. Mix a little milk with melted butter & spoon ~1 tbsp over each roll.
10. Bake at 350°F for 25–30 minutes, or until golden brown.
11. Remove the rolls and cover them with a clean kitchen towel (this keeps them soft).
12. In a medium size bowl, cream together the frosting ingredients using an electric mixer until smooth, then layer over the warm rolls.

Macros Per Roll (these are HUGE🤗)
864 calories
Protein: ~11 g
Carbohydrates: ~122 g
Fat: ~39 g

09/26/2026

Does the timing of your protein shake actually matter? 🥤💪

We’ve all heard about the importance of getting protein immediately after training—or even before bed to maximize overnight muscle growth.

🤔But does when you consume your protein actually make a meaningful difference?

🔬A recent study compared older, previously untrained adults who consumed:

🥛 40 g of protein immediately after training
🌙 40 g of protein before bed
🏋️ No supplemental protein

Everyone completed the same resistance-training program for 12 weeks.

📊The result?

All three groups gained muscle and became substantially stronger—but neither post-workout nor pre-sleep protein resulted in greater muscle growth or strength compared with resistance training alone.

But. . .☝🏼Before you throw away your post-workout shake, though, there’s an important detail...

👉🏼These participants were already consuming around 1 g/kg of protein per day before the study began.

So this study doesn’t tell us that protein isn’t important. Instead, it raises an interesting question about whether precisely timing additional protein provides much benefit when someone is already consuming an adequate amount throughout the day.

At least in these older, previously untrained adults, the exact timing of that additional protein didn’t appear to make much difference.

And personally, I think that’s good news!

Rather than stressing about racing to get your shake in within some tiny “anabolic window,” focus first on the bigger picture: consistent resistance training and getting enough protein across the day.

🎥In my full YouTub3 video, I break down why the researchers used 40 g of protein, how they measured muscle growth, the important limitations of the study, and whether we can apply these findings to younger or resistance-trained lifters.

What about you—do you intentionally time your protein, or do you mostly focus on hitting your daily target? 👇

09/24/2026

Dragon Pharma 👉🏼 has officially dropped THREE new additions to the Derek Lunsford Signature Series
🍬Sour Gummy Venom Essential
🥛Cinnamon Roll IsoPhorm
🥣 Cinnamon Roll Creamy Rice Cereal

The full lineup is available NOW, just ahead of Derek’s return to the Mr. Olympia stage 💪🏽🔥

Shop now and use code HOLLY at checkout to save!

Which one are you most excited to try first? 🤗

09/19/2026

09/16/2026

Hey guys, I have another training VLOG for you! 🥰

In this weeks video, I venture back to Champs Elysium Gym after being away almost the entire month of August, juggling back to back shows and a spontaneous vacation I’d planned months before I was even certain I’d be competing this season!

🙏It feels amazing to be home, sleeping on my own bed, snuggling with my pets, and giving some love to my poor dehydrated plants!🌱 😆
Admittedly I lost a few members 🙈 Florida is too jhot 🥵

It’s funny, we often overlook the little things in life, and there’s nothing quite like settling back into your normal routine. I can tell you now, I’m definitely ready to train the way I love, in a great gym environment, instead of the 45 minute circuit workouts that have been my go-to during back to back shows.

Honestly, they can feel pretty lackluster when you typically enjoy training hard and pushing yourself.

🙋‍♀️Today, I walk through some of the key changes I’ve made to this new program which is now live in the BiaFit app 👉🏼 Hyper Focused Glutes - Part 8 🔥📱If you’re subscribed to the app, take a look on the new programs section.

Can you guess which muscle groups I’m adding to this program? Drop a comment below 👇🏼

I’ve also added part 2 of the “4 Day Bodybuilding“ program 💪🏽

I also take you to brunch after my workout and try our luck at PuraVida, which was celebrating their first day open, walking distance to my home.

🎥To catch the full video— head over to my YouTube

Holly 💗

09/11/2026

🍔Do calorie labels actually change what we order?

🔬A study analyzing more than 67 million fast-food transactions suggests they do, but probably not as much as many people think.

👉🏼The researchers estimated that calorie labeling was associated with about 73 fewer calories per transaction, or roughly a 4.7% reduction in purchased calories.

One finding I found particularly interesting was that there was very little evidence restaurants substantially reformulated their existing menu items after labeling. Instead, the reductions appeared to come mostly from customers purchasing slightly fewer items.

🤷‍♀️So, do calorie labels work?

The evidence suggests they may have a modest effect, but they’re unlikely to dramatically improve overall diet quality on their own.

I cover the study design, results, limitations, and practical implications in much more detail in the full YouTube video 🎥

🔗 Link in Bio

Have calorie labels ever changed what you ordered? 🍟

Drop your comments below👇