So you wanna get uuuuuuuuge? Or maybe you wanna not get uuuuuuge but you wanna be strong AF? Cool. Let's get you there. Training for size is different than training for strength (in case the title of the article didn't tip you off). If you missed my Specificity article be sure to check it out so you can fully appreciate how important it is to match your training style to your performance and aesthetic goals. I promise, there's only a small amount of ranting involved....
Today's article is the first of a two-part series about the difference between training for size vs. strength. After reading today's article you will understand how to select the most effective set, rep, and rest scheme to increase the size and shape of your muscles. If you are already familiar with hypertrophy training, you will still want to read on as we cover some new and exciting research that challenges long-standing body building dogma.
Training for Size
The goal of training for size, otherwise known as "hypertrophy training", is to increase the cross-sectional area of the muscle. For nerds (like myself) there are actually two types of hypertrophy: one that results from a net increase or growth of the contractile proteins (myofibrillar hypertrophy), and one from a net increase in glycogen and intracellular fluids (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy) (Clayton, 2015). For the rest of us, all that matters is that hypertrophy training ultimately leads to an increase in the size of the muscle being trained. Before I scare all the women away with words like "growth" and "size"....hear this: hypertrophy training does not make you swell up like a balloon. Nor do you instantly turn into a man. Hypertrophy training can be used to increase the size of shapely delts, a nice round arse, and a wider back to accentuate that elusive "V-shape". By no means do changes in muscle cross-sectional area come easy though....You don't get to train your delts once and start referring to your "boulder shoulders"....so please, female friends, read on.
Usually, hypertrophy training involves lifting moderate loads (~65-85% of your 1 rep max) for between 6 to 12 repetitions. However, some interesting research has reported that the number of reps required to stimulate muscular hypertrophy is not as important as we once thought (Morton et al., 2016). Instead, training to failure should be the focus. In this study, trained men were randomly assigned to a higher-repetition group who lifted 30-50% of their 1 rep max (1RM) for 20-25 reps/set or a lower-repetition group who lifted 75-90% of their 1RM for 8-12 reps/set (Morton et al., 2016). All sets were performed to failure. Both groups experienced an increase in fat-free mass and muscle fibre cross-sectional area with no significant difference between groups. Say what? It didn't matter if the participants lifted heavy or light loads for more or less reps....as long as they performed the exercises to failure, they saw an increase in muscular hypertrophy! So cool.
Time under tension
You will often hear the term "time under tension" when discussing muscular hypertrophy training. Time under tension (TUT) refers to the amount of time the muscle(s) spend under load. For example, 10 squats lasting 4 seconds each = 40s of TUT. To increase muscular hypertrophy, a greater TUT is usually recommended (Burd et al., 2012). Interestingly, a recent study compared slow contractions to faster ones and found no difference in the amount of muscular growth (Schoenfeld, Ogborn, & Krieger, 2015)! Though it may sound contradictory to what we just said about TUT being important, the practical implications are that you don't have to spend forever under the bar to realize hypertrophy gains. Which is GREAT news because anyone who has ever done exceptionally slow squats knows that 10 seconds feels more like 10 minutes when you're under load. It's also good to know you don't have to spend hours in the gym training for hypertrophy.....0.5 second reps can reap similar benefits as 8 second reps (Schoenfeld, Ogborn, & Krieger, 2015).
Frequency
To maximize your hypertrophy gains it is recommended you train the same muscle groups a minimum of two times per week (Schoenfeld, Ogborn, & Krieger, 2016). Yes, that means you may see more benefit if you train more frequently but only up to a point beyond which you may experience diminishing returns from overtraining. Remember that time we talked about RECOVERY? Yeah, still matters. To maximize your training week, most body builders (who love their hypertrophy training....and for good reason) train body part "splits" where one day you train upper body and the next you train lower body. This way, you can get back to training a muscle group (chest and back for example) within the same week. Split training also forces you to select isolated exercises that target specific muscle groups while leaving other muscles alone to recover. The difference being, compound exercises like squats and deadlifts are multi-joint and thus generate a lot of fatigue...and subsequently a longer recovery time...whereas bicep curls and tricep extensions are isolated exercises focusing on one muscle group at a time. Ultimately, split training lets the one half of your body rest while you train the other meaning you can train back to back days while allowing adequate recovery between similar training sessions.
Intensity
The general theme of hypertrophy training is to lift a sub-maximal load, slowly, until technique failure. If you can lift the weight more than 12 times easily I would recommend going heavier. As we discussed earlier, the research says the rep range is not important, but for the sake of time...go a bit heavier and try to hit failure within that 6-12 range. If you have nothing but time, feel free to lift a lighter weight until you reach failure at 25+ reps....just don't blame me when you miss dinner. A sub-maximal load is anywhere below 85% of your 1 repetition max. Your goal is to pick a weight that you can barely lift for a full 12 reps....oh and take your sweet time lifting it too. Hypertrophy training is not about the maximum amount of weight you can lift, nor is it about how fast you can lift it (save that for next week's article on strength). So take your time, focus on the muscle groups you are using and really celebrate this new found mind-muscle connection. Woah, even I rolled my eyes at that one...but seriously...focus on the muscles you are using instead of staring at that girl with the see-through yoga pants.
Rest
When training for hypertrophy it is important you don't rest too much between sets. Sad, I know. You actually want to start the next set before you are adequately recovered. Ouch. This means no more than 2.5min of rest...ideally closer to 90 seconds between sets. Otherwise, we may lose out on the benefit we receive from an increased endocrine response (Clayton, 2015). We want as much circulating testosterone and growth hormone as we can get! So set your watch to beep after 90 seconds so you don't get caught talking to stringer-tank guy about how much he be benchin'. At minimum, you'll want to hit 3 sets of 6-12 reps of each exercise, the most you'd probably want to do (and be able to walk the next day) is 5 sets.
Training strategies:
Here are some tried-and-true methods for training hypertrophy...
Supersets: grouping exercises for opposing muscle groups together into a single set. Ex: bench press (chest, shoulders, triceps) with bent over row (lats, rhomboids) no rest in between exercises.
Compound sets: performing multiple exercises for the same muscle group within the same set. Ex. bench press, push-ups, cable-flyes (all....chest....ouch....) with no rest in between exercises.
Drop sets: Performing one set to failure at a given load, reducing the load, then immediately performing another set to failure....and so on. Ex. 10 back squats @ 75% of 1RM, followed by 10 back squats @ 72% of 1RM, followed by 10 back squats @ 70% of 1RM.....lay on the floor in a puddle
Forced reps: Using assistance to continue a set beyond failure. Ex. 5 front squats @ 85% of 1RM + 3 reps with help from a spotter.....so much fun to be had as a trainer or training partner!
Heavy negatives: Performing only the eccentric portion of the exercise with a load that exceeds your concentric 1RM. Ex. If you can't perform a single pull-up you can jump your chin to the bar and practice lowering slowly. Another example would be if your squat 1RM is 160lbs you would load the bar with 175lbs, unrack it and lower it slowly down to the safeties....have a friend help you lift it back on the rack or strip the weight and lift the bar yourself (#independence).
In summary,
To increase the size and improve the natural shape of your muscles here is what the evidence says to do:
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Focus on lifting to fatigue (or technique failure) regardless of the load used
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Rest no more than 2.5 minutes between sets (remember inadequate recovery is the goal)
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Don't take longer than 10 seconds to perform a single repetition (you're just beating yourself up)
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Use drop sets, heavy negatives, forced reps, drop sets, compound sets, and super sets to maximize your training time
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Buy bigger jeans (ok maybe this one is anecdotal)
I hope today's article was helpful. To see more articles like this make sure to subscribe below and like, comment, and share this article with anyone who could use the info.
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As always, happy to continue the conversation here or via email at: [email protected]
Cheers,
Coach P.
References
Burd, N.A., Andrews, R.J., West, D.W.D., Little, J.P., Cochran, A.J.R.,…Phillips, S.M. (2012). Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. The Journal of Physiology, 590(2): 351-362.
Clayton. N., Drake, J., Larkin, S., Linkul, R., Martino, M., Nutting, M., & Tumminello, N. (2015). Foundations of fitness programming. Available from: https://www.nsca.com/.../NSCA/.../FoundationsofFitnessProgramming_201508.pdf
Morton, R.W., Oikawa, S.Y., Wavell, C.G., Mazara, N., McGlory, C., Quadrilatero, J.,…Phillips, S.M. (2016). Neither load nor systemic hormones determine resistance training-mediated hypertrophy or strength gains in resistance-trained young men. Journal of Applied Physiology, 121(1): 129-138.
Schoenfeld, B.J., Ogborn, D.I., & Krieger, J. (2015). Effect of repetition duration during resistance training on muscle hypertrophy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 45(4): 577-585.
Schoenfeld, B.J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J.W. (2016). Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy: A systematic review and meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 46: 1689-1697
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