The Functional Code Podcast

Guest Episode: Dr. Cooper Dykstra, DC
Topic: Functional Neurology, Concussions, POTS, Dysautonomia, Gut-Brain Health, and Brain Recovery

What if lingering concussion symptoms, dizziness, migraines, POTS, dysautonomia, gut issues, and fatigue are all connected through the nervous system?

In this episode of The Functional Code, Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy sit down with Dr. Cooper Dykstra, a functional neurology-focused chiropractor whose clinic emphasizes complex neurological cases including post-concussion syndrome, TBI, POTS, dysautonomia, chronic dizziness, migraines, ADHD, sensory development, gut-brain health, inflammation, nutrient status, blood sugar regulation, and neurological recovery.

Dr. Cooper shares his personal health story, including childhood seizures, a major car accident, his path into chiropractic, and how functional neurology changed the way he looks at healing.

In this episode, we cover:

Dr. Cooper’s story and path into chiropractic
Functional neurology and complex neurological cases
Concussions and post-concussion syndrome
Why sensory avoidance is not always enough
Eye posture, visual tracking, and vestibular function
Gravity, balance, and the brainstem
POTS, dysautonomia, and autonomic fatigue
COVID as a possible “chemical concussion” trigger
Electrolytes, protein, fats, and brain recovery
Screens, scrolling, convergence, and fight-or-flight activation
Tilt-table exposure and rebuilding tolerance
Low-histamine diet and mast cell activation
Compression boots, isometrics, and blood flow support
Recumbent bike progressions and threshold management
Vagus nerve exercises, gargling, and breathing
CCI, EDS, neck instability, and vestibular feedback
Gut-brain health and functional testing
GI-MAP patterns, dysbiosis, and gut severity
Low-level laser therapy, PEMF, and vagus nerve settings
Hyperbaric oxygen and complex recovery cases
Optimization, professional athletes, and the extra 5%
Functional neurology for kids and parenting presence

Key takeaway:
Complex neurological symptoms are rarely just one thing.

Concussion, dizziness, migraines, POTS, dysautonomia, gut dysfunction, cervical instability, screen sensitivity, inflammation, and fatigue can all overlap through the brainstem, vestibular system, eyes, autonomic nervous system, gut, and recovery capacity.

The goal is not to overload the system. The goal is to find the right input, at the right dose, in the right order, so the nervous system can start adapting again.

Find Dr. Cooper:
Website: https://www.brainhealthandchiro.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-cooper-dykstra-dc-fibfn-fn-cfmp-b40686b1/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brainhealthandchiro
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.cooperdykstra/

Mentioned by Dr. Cooper:
The Brain Reset Podcast
Personal doctor page: drcooperdijkstra.com

Follow The Functional Code:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefunctionalcode
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFunctionalCode
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aY5zkhwg5Rzk2q33cbIlf
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-functional-code-podcast/id1754585557

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.

Episode 143: Can We Predict Elite Athletes?
Topic: Genetics, Training, Sport Selection, Talent ID, and Athletic Development

Can you actually predict which athletes will make it?

In this episode of The Functional Code, Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy close out the athlete series by bringing together the full debate: are athletes born, built, or selected into the right sport at the right time?

After covering genetics and trainability in the first two episodes, this final episode asks whether we can use what we know to choose, guide, or predict future elite athletes. The answer is complicated. Genetics matter. Training matters. Sport selection matters. Environment matters. So do psychology, injury history, opportunity, support systems, recovery, health, luck, and whether the athlete is solving the right sport problem.

In this episode, we cover:

Born vs. built vs. selected
Why 10,000 hours is not the answer
Intentional training vs. arbitrary training time
Ceilings, thresholds, and trainability
Dose-response and why athletes adapt differently
Genetics, lineage, and natural athletic traits
Why genetics still require effort
Height and NBA probability
Muggsy Bogues and rare unicorn traits
Gymnastics, figure skating, and sport fit
Why early sport selection can backfire
Multi-sport athletes and injury risk
Honest skill assessment around ages 10–14
Puberty, body changes, and specialization windows
Family background and athletic probability
Building the movement foundation
Gymnastics, hand-eye sports, and team sports
Nervous system and musculoskeletal variability
Free play, organized training, and burnout risk
The full athletic success equation
Genetics, environment, opportunity, psychology, training, health, and luck
Why pros did not simply train harder
Intentional training vs. unintentional work ethic
Finding strengths, weaknesses, and sport fit
Support systems and improving 1% at a time
Genetic testing and talent ID myths
Early specialization myths
Talent vs. hard work
Why almost everyone will not go pro but everyone can improve

Key takeaway:
There is no single formula that guarantees an elite athlete.

Success is the interaction of genetics, environment, opportunity, psychology, training, health, injury risk, sport fit, support, timing, and luck.

The goal is not to obsess over one metric. Not genetics alone. Not hours alone. Not early rankings alone. Not genetic testing alone. Not work ethic alone.

The goal is to build the widest foundation possible, identify strengths honestly, train intentionally, choose the right sport or position, protect health, develop resilience, and support the person first.

Almost everyone will not go pro.

But almost everyone can get dramatically better at something.

Find what you are good at.
Build what you can train.
Respect your limits.
Develop your strengths.
Support the person first.
Then build the athlete.

Follow The Functional Code:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefunctionalcode
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFunctionalCode
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aY5zkhwg5Rzk2q33cbIlf
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-functional-code-podcast/id1754585557

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.

Episode 142: Can Athletes Be Built?
Topic: Youth Sports, Trainability, Practice, Mental Skill, and Athletic Development

Are athletes born, or can they be built?

In this episode of The Functional Code, Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy continue the athlete series by shifting from genetics to development: how environment, coaching, practice quality, mental processing, multi-sport exposure, trainability, failure, opportunity, and support systems shape the athlete over time.

This episode challenges the idea that early youth success always predicts future greatness. A kid who dominates at age 12 is not guaranteed to become a world-class adult, and a kid who struggles early is not automatically out.

In this episode, we cover:

Are athletes born or built?
Building the athlete through environment and maturity
Why youth systems often select who can win today
Why it is okay for kids to lose
Building the person before building the athlete
Jamie Vardy and late development
Tom Brady, opportunity, and mental preparation
Mental vs. physical traits in sport
Pattern recognition and mental reps
Junior rankings and why early success misleads
Why world-class adults often start later
Multi-sport exposure and injury risk
Early specialization and when it may make sense
Work ethic, success, and the feedback loop
Talent, desire to train, and the Ferrari analogy
Why sixth-grade dominance does not predict the pros
The 10,000-hour rule and why it is incomplete
Practice quality vs. practice quantity
Michael Jordan and early failure
Free play and letting kids be kids
Intentional practice vs. going through the motions
Training strengths, weaknesses, and role-player excellence
Dennis Rodman, Gronk, and finding your advantage
Meaningful reps and sport-specific transfer
Why youth games are part of long-term practice
Mental safety, fun, and failure tolerance
Why two athletes can train the same and get different outcomes
The HERITAGE Family Study and trainability
VO2 max response and genetic variation
Ceilings, thresholds, and dose-response
Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady, and mental processing
Connor McDavid and the full athletic specimen
Identical twins, different lives, and endurance training
Helen Glover and being matched to rowing
Olympic rowing, trainability, and skill replication
What coaches and parents should look for

Key takeaway:
Athletes can be built, but not every athlete builds the same way.

Development is not just about doing more hours. It is about the right environment, the right feedback, the right sport fit, the right mindset, and the right type of practice at the right time.

The athlete is not merely executing the program.
The athlete is interacting with it.

And that interaction changes across age, season, training history, psychology, and environment.

Follow The Functional Code:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefunctionalcode
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFunctionalCode
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aY5zkhwg5Rzk2q33cbIlf
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-functional-code-podcast/id1754585557

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.

Episode 141: Athlete — Born, Built, or Selected?
Topic: Genetics, Trainability, Heritability, Youth Sports, and Athletic Potential

Are elite athletes born, built, or selected into the right sport?

In this episode of The Functional Code, Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy launch a new series on the athlete — exploring whether professional athletes are created through training, born with rare genetic advantages, or shaped by the right environment, sport selection, coaching, timing, and opportunity.

Athletic performance is not one thing. It is genetics, environment, physiology, trainability, health, luck, family culture, access to coaching, injury history, psychology, and whether the athlete is matched to the right sport at the right time.

In this episode, we cover:

Are athletes born or built?
What heritability actually means
Why genetics do not tell the whole story
Height, basketball, and sport thresholds
Why being under 6'3" changes NBA odds
Why being over 7 feet creates a massive advantage
Genetic variance vs. environmental influence
Why athletic performance is hard to study
Why tracking athletes from birth is nearly impossible
Trainability and why some people respond faster
VO2 max, lung size, explosive power, and lean mass
Twin studies and athletic traits
Donald Thomas, Stefan Holm, and high-jump genetics
Athletic families and sibling environments
The Staal brothers and hockey development
ACTN3 and the “sprint gene”
Why athletic performance is polygenic
Why genetic testing cannot predict pro athletes yet
Tim Duncan, swimming, and basketball
Hakeem Olajuwon and late sport specialization
Why the right sport matters
Early sport specialization vs. multi-sport development
Gymnastics, figure skating, and early-peaking sports
Why gymnastics can build a movement foundation
Kucherov, handball, hockey, and skill transfer
Multi-sport athletes and injury risk reduction
Birth month, NHL trends, and relative age effects
Early motor learning and neuroplasticity
Proprioception, crawling patterns, and coordination
How parents can build foundations without forcing outcomes

Key takeaway:
Elite athletes are not only born. They are not only built.

They are born with certain traits, shaped by their environment, trained through repetition, influenced by opportunity, challenged by injury, and often selected into the sport that best matches their body and skill set.

The goal is not to force every child into one sport early. The goal is to build the widest foundation possible, expose them to different movements, watch what they naturally respond to, and help match the athlete to the game where their traits can thrive.

You cannot choose the hand.
But you can radically change whether that hand is recognized, developed, and matched to the right game.

Follow The Functional Code:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefunctionalcode
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFunctionalCode
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aY5zkhwg5Rzk2q33cbIlf
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-functional-code-podcast/id1754585557

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.

Performance Series — The Engine
Topic: Conditioning, Energy Systems, VO2 Max, Recovery, and Cardiovascular Capacity

Conditioning is the engine behind performance.

In this episode of The Functional Code, Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy close out the Performance Series by breaking down how to build the engine — the conditioning, aerobic capacity, recovery ability, and energy systems that allow the body to keep performing when fatigue starts to separate athletes.

Two athletes may have the same jump, sprint, strength, and power in the first quarter. But by the fourth quarter, one still has it and the other does not. That difference is often conditioning: how well the body regenerates ATP, manages fatigue, delivers oxygen, clears waste, restores energy, and recovers fast enough to repeat high-quality effort.

In this episode, we cover:

The engine behind performance
Conditioning and fourth-quarter capacity
ATP-PC, glycolytic, and oxidative energy systems
ATP as the body’s energy currency
Zone 2 training and heart-rate zones
Why zone 2 is useful but not magic
Low-intensity cardio and endurance foundations
Blood flow, mitochondria, lymphatics, and heart capacity
Sprints and higher-intensity conditioning
VO2 max and longevity
Nordic 4x4s and interval training
Regional conditioning and rehab applications
Soleus, calf work, and venous return
Lactate myths and lactate as a usable metabolite
Oxygen delivery and tissue extraction
MICT, HIIT, and sprint interval training
Recovery, immune system cost, and overtraining risk
HIIT vs. resistance training goals
Marathon training and reducing neurological cost
Running volume, joint load, and injury risk
Concurrent training and the interference effect
Cardio before lifting vs. after lifting
How to combine hypertrophy, strength, power, athleticism, and conditioning
Choosing the right conditioning modality
Why low intensity earns its place through low cost
The conditioning pyramid
Cooling tools, breathing tools, and recovery between efforts

Key takeaway:
Performance is not one adaptation.

Performance is the ability to build capacity, express it quickly, apply it to the environment, and recover fast enough to do it again.

The goal is not just to work harder. The goal is to build an engine that can recharge faster, recover better, and keep producing when everyone else fades.

Build the tissue.
Connect the nervous system.
Add speed and skill.
Then build the engine that lets you repeat it.

Follow The Functional Code:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefunctionalcode
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFunctionalCode
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aY5zkhwg5Rzk2q33cbIlf
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-functional-code-podcast/id1754585557

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.

Performance Series — Athleticism
Topic: Agility, Coordination, Motor Learning, Change of Direction, and Skill Development

Athleticism is where strength, power, speed, and muscle finally become movement.

In this episode of The Functional Code, Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy continue the Performance Series by breaking down athleticism — how the body takes hypertrophy, strength, power, and speed and turns them into usable sport skill, coordination, reaction, adaptability, and real-world movement.

This episode explores why being strong does not automatically make someone athletic. A bodybuilder may curl massive weight but still struggle to throw a baseball 100 miles per hour. A lifter may squat heavy but not jump, cut, react, or change direction like an elite athlete.

Athleticism requires more than force. It requires timing, coordination, perception, reflexes, deceleration, multi-planar movement, and brain-to-body communication.

In this episode, we cover:

Athleticism as the next layer of performance
Turning strength, speed, power, and muscle into movement
Agility vs. change of direction
Why strength does not automatically translate to sport
Brain-to-body communication
Timing, precision, reaction, and adaptation
Multi-planar training
Sport-specific skill development
Outfielders, depth perception, and ball tracking
Deceleration and injury risk
Counteractive movement patterns
Running backs, stopping, cutting, and force absorption
Golf step-swing drills and force transfer
Boxing, short-range power, and recovery after missing
Gait mechanics and foot translation
Ankle mobility, dorsiflexion, and compensation
Sprinting gait vs. football gait
Why speed should come after movement quality
Eye training and reaction speed
Coordination beyond physical strength
Intermuscular and intramuscular coordination
Variability, practice reps, and motor learning
Reflexes and early athletic development
Passive movement, proprioception, and children
Games, obstacle courses, and gamified learning
Internal vs. external cues
Athletic development vs. rehab cueing
Elite athletes, route running, and real-time adaptation
Studying the best athletes in the world

Key takeaway:
Athleticism is not just strength.

Athleticism is the ability to express strength, power, speed, coordination, perception, and adaptability in the right movement at the right time.

The goal is not just to build a stronger body. The goal is to build a body that can react, adapt, control force, transfer power, and solve movement problems in real time.

Build the tissue.
Connect the nervous system.
Add speed.
Then teach the body to adapt.

Follow The Functional Code:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefunctionalcode
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFunctionalCode
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aY5zkhwg5Rzk2q33cbIlf
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-functional-code-podcast/id1754585557

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.

Guest Episode: Dr. Garrett Shelby, DC — Dr. G
Topic: Chiropractic, Upper Cervical Care, Functional Neurology, Vestibular Health, and Adapting to Gravity

What if chiropractic is not just about pain relief or “putting bones back in place”?

In this episode of The Functional Code, Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy sit down with Dr. Garrett Shelby, better known as Dr. G, a chiropractor in Cincinnati whose work sits at the intersection of precise adjusting, upper cervical analysis, vestibular function, neurological testing, and helping the body adapt better to gravity.

Dr. G works with patients dealing with migraines, dizziness, POTS-like symptoms, dysautonomia patterns, postural imbalances, athletic performance issues, and complex neurological presentations. He is also the author of The Vital Balance: The Blueprint to Heal From Anything and Living Superhuman.

This conversation explores how chiropractic can evolve beyond the outdated “bone out of place” explanation and into a more accurate model of neuromuscular control, spinal reflexes, vestibular integration, eye movements, muscle tone, and brain-body communication.

In this episode, we cover:

Upper cervical chiropractic
Blair and advanced orthogonal analysis
C1, the occiput, and the upper cervical spine
Functional neurology and brain-body communication
Vestibular function and adapting to gravity
Eye movements and neurological testing
Leg checks, muscle testing, and reflex patterns
Migraines, dizziness, POTS-like symptoms, and dysautonomia
Cranial cervical instability, EDS, and mast cell patterns
Pupil reflex testing and red saturation testing
Saccades, eye tracking, and frontal lobe function
Gait analysis, cerebellum, and coordination
Cervical ocular, vestibulo-ocular, and vestibulospinal reflexes
At-home vestibular exercises and gaze training
Why “out of alignment” may be incomplete
Subluxation as a neuromuscular control problem
Pediatric chiropractic, primitive reflexes, ADHD, and brain development
Vagus nerve stimulation, medulla, and appropriate neurological input
The future of chiropractic

Key takeaway:
Chiropractic is not just about chasing pain. It is about how the brain controls the body, how the body adapts to gravity, and how the spine, eyes, vestibular system, muscles, joints, and nervous system communicate.

Better input can create better output.

Resources / Find Dr. G:
Website: https://www.vitalbalancecincy.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/g.the.dc/
Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F332R9Q7
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/garrett.shelby.52/

Dr. Garrett Shelby, DC — Dr. G
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, east side / Montgomery area

Books mentioned:
The Vital Balance: The Blueprint to Heal From Anything
Living Superhuman

Follow The Functional Code:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefunctionalcode
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFunctionalCode
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aY5zkhwg5Rzk2q33cbIlf
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-functional-code-podcast/id1754585557

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.

Performance Series — Power & Speed
Topic: Force-Velocity Curve, Plyometrics, Sprinting, Elasticity, and Athletic Performance

Power and speed are where the body you built finally has to perform.

In this episode of The Functional Code, Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy continue the Performance Training Series by breaking down power and speed training — how athletes create force fast, why speed is skill-specific, and why the body must build enough tissue capacity to safely express explosive movement.

After covering hypertrophy and strength, this episode moves into the force-velocity curve: how much force you can produce, how quickly you can express it, and how that changes depending on whether you are sprinting, jumping, throwing, skating, swinging, cutting, or changing direction.

Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy explain why power and speed are not just about “trying harder.” They are about biomechanics, nervous system timing, elastic recoil, tendon capacity, tissue absorption, skill acquisition, and full-body force transfer.

In this episode, we cover:

Power vs. speed
The force-velocity curve
Why strength must become speed
MLB pitching velocity and full-body force transfer
Core, legs, torso rotation, and arm whip
Kinetic energy and elastic recoil
The Z-axis and vertical force production
Ground contact, sprinting, and propulsion
Foot, fascia, Achilles, calf, quad, and glute contribution
Bounding, stiffness, jumping, and landing
Change of direction and athletic movement
Why plyometrics should not always come first
Coordination, compensation, and injury risk
Plyometric volume and tendon load
How to train power safely
Lower resistance with higher speed
Explosive reps and longer rest periods
Task-specific power and skill sequencing
Downhill sprinting and assisted speed work
Bands, assisted jumping, and vertical speed
Bryson DeChambeau and golf speed training
Connor McDavid, skating speed, and puck-handling skill
Genetics, body type, and elite athletic development
How to master the human spring

Key takeaway:
Power and speed are trained expressions of tissue capacity, nervous system timing, biomechanics, elasticity, and skill.

The goal is not just to move fast. The goal is to build a body that can absorb force, store energy, recoil efficiently, and express speed without breaking down.

Build the machine.
Connect the nervous system.
Then teach the body to move faster.

Resources:
Force-Velocity Curve — The Movement System
https://www.themovementsystem.com/blog/force-velocity-curve

Coordinate System / X, Y, Z-Axis Reference
https://www.bem.fi/book/aa/aa.htm

Bryson DeChambeau Speed Training — GOLF.com
https://golf.com/instruction/bryson-dechambeau-explains-secret-speed-training/

Bryson DeChambeau Ball Speed & Yardage — GOLF.com
https://golf.com/instruction/bryson-explains-ball-speed-yardage/

Connor McDavid Player Profile — Elite Prospects
https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/183442/connor-mcdavid

The Sports Gene: What Makes the Perfect Athlete
David Epstein, Yellow Jersey, 352 pp.

Follow The Functional Code:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefunctionalcode
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFunctionalCode
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aY5zkhwg5Rzk2q33cbIlf
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-functional-code-podcast/id1754585557

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.

Performance Series — Strength Training
Topic: Strength, Motor Units, Nervous System Recruitment, and Injury Prevention

Strength is not just muscle size.

In this episode of The Functional Code Podcast, Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy continue the Performance Training Series with a deep dive into strength training — what strength actually is, why bigger muscles are not always stronger, and how the nervous system learns to recruit the tissue you have already built.

After the hypertrophy episode focused on building the “factory,” this episode explains how strength training fills that factory with workers. Strength depends on motor unit recruitment, neurological drive, coordination, tendon capacity, joint control, and the ability to express force with intent.

Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy break down why strength is task-specific, why isometrics are powerful for rehab and performance, why strength and speed are connected, and why many injuries happen when the muscle can produce more force than the tendon, ligament, or joint can absorb.

In this episode, we cover:

Strength training vs. hypertrophy training
Why size does not always equal strength
Motor units and neural recruitment
Brain-to-muscle communication
Strength as a task-specific skill
Isometrics for strength and rehab
Motor unit recruitment and rate coding
Why strength can improve before muscle size changes
Rep ranges for strength training
Heavy, high-quality reps
Longer rest between working sets
Push-pull supersets
CARs and joint communication between sets
Eccentric loading and tendon preparation
Isometric, eccentric, and concentric sequencing
Diminishing returns and overtraining risk
Detrain, retrain, and stimulate days
Six-to-twelve-week strength blocks
Strength is speed and speed is strength
Adding faster intent into strength work
Medicine ball throws and athletic carryover
Training variability and real-life strength

Key takeaway:
Strength is not just how big the muscle is. Strength is how well your nervous system can recruit muscle, coordinate force, protect joints, and express power in the task you are asking the body to perform.

The goal is not just to lift more weight. The goal is to build force that the body can control, absorb, and eventually express faster.

Research References:
Cross-education: motor unit adaptations mediate the strength increase in non-trained muscles following 8 weeks of unilateral resistance training
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2024.1512309/full

The increase in muscle force after 4 weeks of strength training is mediated by adaptations in motor unit recruitment and rate coding
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6441907/

Follow The Functional Code:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefunctionalcode
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFunctionalCode
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aY5zkhwg5Rzk2q33cbIlf
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-functional-code-podcast/id1754585557

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.

How does muscle actually grow?

In this episode of The Functional Code, Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy launch a new Performance Series by breaking down hypertrophy — the science of building muscle size, improving tissue capacity, and training smarter for long-term strength, athletic performance, and injury prevention.

This episode goes beyond “lift heavy and get sore.” Muscle growth is not just about damage. It is about remodeling, mechanical tension, protein synthesis, recovery, rep ranges, tendon preparation, nervous system signaling, and how the body adapts to repeated stress over time.

Dr. Jace and Dr. Addy explain why hypertrophy training should not only focus on the muscle belly, but also the tendon, musculotendinous junction, fascia, capillary beds, motor units, and joint capacity. They also discuss why training angles matter, why full range of motion must be earned, why failure training is not always necessary, and why recovery is where growth actually happens.

In this episode, we cover:

Hypertrophy and how muscle actually grows
Muscle belly vs. tendon training
The musculotendinous junction
Mechanical tension and protein synthesis
Muscle remodeling vs. muscle damage
Why “no pain, no gain” is incomplete
Sliding filament theory and movement angles
Sarcomeres, muscle fibers, fascia, and ribosomes
Type 1, Type 2, and Type 2X muscle fibers
Rep ranges for hypertrophy
Why 6–15 reps is a practical starting point
Training close to failure without always going to failure
Weekly volume and sets per muscle
Diminishing returns and overtraining risk
Tendon warm-ups and short-to-long loading
Full range of motion vs. controlled range of motion
Hypertrophy vs. strength, power, and athletic performance
Rate of perceived exertion
Stimulate, retrain, and detrain phases
Recovery, sleep, nutrition, and long-term adaptation

Key takeaway:
Hypertrophy is not just muscle damage. Hypertrophy is remodeling.

The goal is to create enough mechanical tension to signal growth, then give the body enough recovery, nutrition, sleep, and time to adapt.

The muscle belly matters.
The tendon matters.
The nervous system matters.
The joint matters.
And recovery matters more than most people think.

If you want to build muscle that lasts, stop only chasing soreness and start training the entire system.

Resources:

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/myonuclear-muscle-memory/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-025-02344-w?utm

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/15/11/1041?utm

https://simplifaster.com/articles/keep-getting-faster-on-your-own-four-more-weeks-of-speed-training/

Follow The Functional Code:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefunctionalcode
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFunctionalCode
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3aY5zkhwg5Rzk2q33cbIlf
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-functional-code-podcast/id1754585557

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.