Strength vs. hypertrophy: Which one should you focus on?
- When and how to include strength training & hypertrophy training in your routine,
- If you should do strength or hypertrophy first, and
- The most important thing you can do to maintain long-term progress.
What Is The Difference Between Strength And Hypertrophy?
Hypertrophy training is exercising to grow bigger muscles. (i.e., increasing muscular size).
Why Should You Train For Hypertrophy?
- Hypertrophy causes your muscle fibers to grow.
- More size means more potential strength and athleticism.
- More muscle size means more metabolically active tissue. More metabolically active tissue means more fat-burning potential.
Strength training is exercising to make your muscles stronger.
While they might sound similar, you can change your training style to target different goals. This is done by changing the number of sets, reps, and amount of weight you lift.
Which Is Better?
Neither strength nor hypertrophy is better, as both are necessary to improve your health and fitness.
Hypertrophy training involves the use of lighter weight and more repetitions. This will allow you to learn proper form and build up muscular endurance. Strength training requires using heavier weight, which decreases the number of repetitions you can do. The one you should do depends on your lifting experience and your training goals.
Should I Train For Strength Or Hypertrophy First?
So what should you do as a beginner? Strength or hypertrophy first?
If you are a beginner, you should always train for hypertrophy first. By using the hypertrophy rep range in your early career, you will be building muscle AND gaining strength.
Take time to develop muscle mass, learn the proper technique, and gain confidence under the bar. The loads required for strength training can challenge your technique and may lead to muscular and joint injuries if not used properly.
With that said, once you become an intermediate – you can train for both strength and hypertrophy.
Do You Need to Train for Muscle Failure for Hypertrophy?
In The Science and Practice of Strength Training, Vladimir Zatsiorsky stated that “a muscle fiber that is recruited but not fatigued is not being trained.” This concept of training for muscle failure for hypertrophy has been a well-established practice in the lifting community for some time, and Zatsiorsky’s work serves to confirm its efficacy. Indeed, bodybuilders and others seeking impressive hypertrophy gains had been training for muscle failure before the book’s publication, demonstrating that the principle had become a widely accepted truth.
One often hears professional bodybuilders discuss the importance of training with maximum effort daily, with a focus on those last few reps. It is worth considering whether there is an alternate approach to achieving hypertrophy other than training to the point of muscle fatigue.
Go Big or Go Home
It is encouraging to observe that bodybuilding is still held in high regard in the traditional sense. Weightlifting communities often show signs of admiration towards individuals with a well-developed physique, recognizing the effort and dedication that such a feat requires. Therefore it’s only natural to get the results most respected and maybe go hard is, on the face of it, what it takes anyway.
How Much Should I Be Training?
It is quite impressive how quickly muscles can develop with minimal effort. We often observe this with new gym-goers who, after only a short period of dedication and hard work, can achieve remarkable results.
Once it is evident that the original strategies are no longer as effective, the rest of us can then greet them with a positive sentiment, “Welcome to the club.”
Despite a limited number of studies relating to training volume and its impact on hypertrophy in more experienced trainees, we can still draw a relatively clear conclusion on our objectives.
After a comprehensive review of more than sixty studies, it was concluded that while there is insufficient data to suggest a specific approach for advanced lifters, lower-level lifters will benefit from more frequent training per muscle group. Specifically, novice trainees should aim to train a muscle group four times a week, while intermediate trainees should strive for two to three times per week.
The correlation between performance and results appears to be linked to the extent of effort expended, and the amount of muscle worked in each session. The suggested volume of muscle groups per week lies within two to three sessions.
Despite the lack of perfect data, it is advised to include several exercises per muscle group throughout the week rather than performing two to three full training sessions. Now, onto the exciting aspect.
More Pain, Less Gain
If you’re looking to get the most out of your workouts then you need to be ready to not only move some weight but be able to do so often. Think about the last time you either started a new program or had an extremely high volume training session to failure – how did you feel the following days?
It was first believed that to get the highest amount of hypertrophy; you needed to achieve the highest amount of muscle damage. “No pain, no gain,” right?
However, when researchers took a closer look at what was happening during the hours post-training from resistance training with a high degree of muscle damage, they found that the post-exercise increases in CSA (cross-sectional area) were mainly due to swelling and MyoPS (myofibrillar protein synthesis) elevations were directed more towards muscle repair and remodeling but not associated with muscle hypertrophy. It looks like increases in muscle hypertrophy tend to be inversely related to high levels of muscle damage.
This effect isn’t very long-lasting. Since we’re adaptation machines and due to the repeated bout effect, our bodies start to attenuate muscle damage, and the ratio of muscle hypertrophy increases.
So if we eventually get used to the muscle damage a given training session creates, how does training for muscle failure fit in?
Muscle Failure versus Gains
You might already be seeing the counter intuitive nature of always training to failure, as the whole point of that training style is to promote the highest amount of muscle damage possible.
That’s not to say that you should never train to failure, just that the mechanisms might not always be conducive to growth.
For example, if you tend to train primarily with heavy loads there doesn’t seem to be any additional benefit to taking those sets to failure versus non-failure when the volume is equated.
However, when using low loads (around 30% 1RM) then, a higher amount of effort is required to induce a hypertrophy response, and that’s where training to failure has been shown to have a benefit.
In another study by Lacerda et al., participants were separated into two groups; muscle failure and non-muscle failure. The purpose of this study was to determine if repetitions to failure were less important than the total volume for hypertrophy and strength (which is the name of the study, evidently).
The results were similar to several other papers showing that training to failure or 2-3 reps shy produced similar strength and hypertrophy results.
Does Hypertrophy Make You Stronger?
As muscular hypertrophy increases, so too may strength. However, this will only be taken to its highest potential if heavy weight is included in the training regimen. This is why weightlifters and powerlifters exhibit greater strength than bodybuilders, even when the latter have larger muscles.
Which Is Better For Fat Loss?
When all things are taken into account, hypertrophy training is more beneficial for fat loss compared to strength training. This is mainly due to the possibility to take on a higher total workload when performing hypertrophy exercises, resulting in more calories being burned.
However, it is important to remember that exercise alone is not enough to burn fat. To achieve maximum fat loss, a well-balanced diet must be considered.
Does Strength Matter For Hypertrophy?
Strength training is an effective way to increase muscular size, as it trains the nervous system to utilize more motor units to get stronger. However, once a certain level of strength has been reached, further progress in terms of muscle size will plateau. The key factor in muscle growth is total volume – and this will be limited if the primary focus is strength training.
Can I Do Both Strength And Hypertrophy At The Same Time?
It is feasible to incorporate both muscular strength and muscular hypertrophy into one training session.
Do This:
- For today’s workout, your primary focus should be on performing heavy sets in the 4-6 repetition range.This will certainly be the most demanding physical compound choice for the day.
- Subsequent exercises should be conducted in the hypertrophy range, usually between 8 and 15 repetitions.These exercises are typically less strenuous and usually do not require the use of a barbell. Such exercises include dumbbell presses, goblet squats, and dumbbell Romanian deadlifts. These could be referred to as accessory or supplemental exercises.
Strength Vs Hypertrophy Physique
The most muscular individuals do not necessarily possess the most strength. For example, the muscularity of professional bodybuilders can be much greater than that of powerlifters, Olympic lifters, and strongmen, yet their maximal strength output is often lower. It is possible to observe this phenomenon by comparing the physiques of athletes who train for hypertrophy against those who train for maximal strength.
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Given the fact that strength is a desired physical attribute, it is imperative that an individual’s training regimen includes a component of strength training to promote optimal physical development.
The Most Important Strategy To Make Long-Term Progress
A progressive overload approach could be utilized to maximize the efficacy of this endeavor. This could involve gradually increasing the load or the number of repetitions performed with a given weight.
The principle of progressive overload entails increasing the demands placed on the body beyond previous levels, although caution should be exercised to avoid stagnation or risk of injury.
What strategies could we employ to circumvent this obstacle?
The optimal approach to mitigate risks associated with an overuse injury and pain is to regularly vary the exercises included in weight training over 8-12 week intervals. Prolonged repetition of the same exercise with increasing intensity can increase the potential of developing overuse injuries and pain.
It is recommended to concentrate on 1-2 exercise variations for a period of 8-12 weeks, after which time they should be substituted.
For Example
- The first eight weeks of the program consist of Bench Press and Incline Dumbbell Bench Press exercises.
- The ninth week of the program entailed the execution of Close Grip Bench Press and Wide Grip Push-ups, providing contrast in muscle activation and range of motion.
- During Weeks 20-28 of the program, switch it up again with the Inclined Bench Press and Dumbbell Bench Press.
- From Week 29 to 36, Weighted Push-ups and 3-count paused Bench Press.
- Reset: Week 37
In regards to the Squat Pattern.
- For Weeks 1-12, a combination of Squat and Reverse Lunge.
- Between Weeks 13 and 20, Box Squatting and Leg Presses.
- During Weeks 21-32, Front Squats and Step-Ups.
- During Weeks 33-40, Back Squat along with Goblet Squat.
- Week Forty-One: Reboot
By periodically altering your exercise regimens, you are providing your muscles with a novel stimulus every 2-3 months. This will lead to an increase in overall muscular strength and ensure that your workout routine remains stimulating and engaging.
Maximize strength gains in multiple contexts. Consider the long-term implications.
Establishing A Strength & Hypertrophy Split For Long-Term Success
Optimizing long-term muscular hypertrophy necessitates a well-designed exercise regimen. By incorporating a balanced mix of strength and hypertrophy exercises into a regular training cycle, it is possible to ensure that muscle tissues are adequately stimulated and provided sufficient rest and recuperation. Through judicious planning and commitment, one can incrementally progress towards their goals and attain optimal outcomes.
Maximizing the benefits of an exercise program requires both an increase in muscle mass and muscle strength.
To Sum Up:
- Strength and hypertrophy can be achieved through an exercise program that incorporates the proper number of repetitions.
- Focus your training on hypertrophy exercises, particularly if you are new to strength and conditioning.
- The incorporation of strength training should be implemented as part of your routine once you have developed proficiency in the fundamental movements.
- As weight increases, the number of repetitions decreases, resulting in a lower overall volume.
- It is important to remember the value of diversifying your workout regimen. To ensure optimal results, we recommend that you vary the exercises you perform every 2-3 months to target all 6 movement patterns.
Final Word
It is essential to bear in mind the relevance of having a balanced workout regimen. To further progress in all 6 motion patterns, rotate the exercises you are participating in every 2-3 months.
Most of your training should focus on attaining the highest quality of work in the gym with the least amount of downtime.
Excessive training volume may lead to elevated levels of muscle damage, central fatigue and impede the likelihood of making consistent progress.
It has been suggested that a suitable strategy for introducing these sets would be to increase the intensity of the exercise across successive weeks gradually; for instance, beginning at three repetitions from muscle failure and progressing either through the addition of load or additional repetitions towards failure.
Maximizing long-term muscle growth requires a well-structured training program. By incorporating a combination of strength and hypertrophy exercises into a regularly scheduled routine, you can ensure that your muscles are being adequately challenged and given enough time to rest and recover. With proper planning and dedication, you can make steady progress toward your goals and achieve optimal results.