Yep, newbie gains will be almost entirely about the nervous system. You'll get stronger without adding much if any bulk. Then as you continue over time, you need to add rest to your routine. It's counterintuitive to a degree.
It's not all about that. It's also about building muscle which is about training over time with appropriate rest and diet and can't really be short circuited without steroids.
It's all tied to the nervous system. But given a certain muscle mass, there's a limit to how much weight you can move, even with optimal technique and an optimally trained nervous system. Eventually, you'll need to add more muscle in order to move more weight. Of course, more realistically, beginners will add more muscle over the course of normal training. Intermediate and advanced lifters will need to schedule muscle-building blocks into their training to add muscle.
