HYPERTROPHY. WHAT IS IT

Hypertrophy is the incremental growth of muscle fibers, the opposite of atrophy.

HOW TO PRODUCE MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY

For a muscle to hypertrophy, muscle tissue must be broken down, to then grow back larger. In order for muscle hypertrophy to occur, one of three mechanisms of hypertrophy, if not more, must be programmed within a session. These three mechanisms are progressive overload, metabolic stress, and eccentric damage. In general hypertrophy training is higher in the volume of sets and repetitions, increased time under tension and has reduced rest periods. When programming these are components of training you will be altering for desired effects.
Hypertrophy can but doesn’t always coincide with an increase of strength, increases of strength come from an increase of motor neuron activation and efficiency of contraction. High weight, lower repetitions and higher rest periods, are great for increasing strength, but rather lackluster for increasing hypertrophy.

MECHANISMS OF HYPERTROPHY

All three of these methods should be trained and adjusted regularly, as a single method will eventually plateau and put you at risk of burnout and or injury.

Progressive overload- The process of increasing weight lifted. Progressively increasing weight will allow you to get stronger, thus placing your muscles under more and more duress, causing you’re the muscle to grow. Adding weight to the bar is a great way to make sure you are making progress from week to week, however, if used as the sole method of facilitating hypertrophy, you run a risk of plateauing or obtaining an acute injury as weights increase to high echelons.

The metabolic stress-The process of increasing total volume of repetitions and or sets. By increasing the total number of repetitions, whether through increasing total number of sets and or by increasing the number of repetitions within a set, one can increase the stress placed upon a muscle, causing micro tears of the muscle fibers and the build-up of metabolites which both help facilitate growth.

Eccentric damage- Increase the time spent under tension, within the eccentric portion of a lift. As we are approximately 40% stronger during the eccentric phase of a lift, a slowed lowering is preferred. By further exaggerating the slowed lowering of the eccentric phase, we can increase the damage caused by the muscle fiber, facilitating a high level of muscle growth. Whilst longer eccentric phases and negative reps are tremendous tools for growth, the extensive damage caused can take to recover from, thus can only be training at a low frequency.

RECOVERY

Tearing the muscles fibers is one half the hypertrophy equation. In order for the muscle to repair and grow larger, a period of recovery must be taken, in which diet plays a vital role in recovering a growing the muscle to a larger state. Glycogen is needed to refuel the muscle post exercise, Protein is important for the repair and growth process and total energy consumption must be at or preferably above energy expenditure. For dietary specifics I recommend working with a nutritionist, however at the basic level, upping total calorie/kilojoule consumption until you see incremental increases in weight and consuming a meal high in protein and carbohydrate post exercise, are both general rules of thumb for assisting hypertrophy.

HOW TO PROGRAM FOR HYPERTROPHY

TESTING

Testing is an integral part of any program. It is important to understand what your current body composition is and where you are in terms of strength. Body composition tests will allow you to calculate your current weight, body fat percentage, muscle sizing and fat-free mass, depending on what tests you apply. Calculating your body composition will allow you to now measure improvements in muscle hypertrophy. While max strength may not be the most integral part of hypertrophy training, strength testing results will allow you to calculate training percentages and to measure progressive overload.

Example tests:

Big 3 (squat, bench, deadlift)- by testing strength, you can now program exact percentages. By applying your one rep max to Prilepin’s Table, you can select exact training weights for any given lift.

Prilepin’s Table:

Percentage of 1RM	Reps Per Set	Optimal # of Reps	Total Range of Reps
<70%	3-6	24	18-30
70-80%	3-6	18	12-24
81-90%	2-4	15	10-20
<90%	1-2	7	4-10

Skin folds- Skin folds, depending on the accuracy of the measurer, will give you an idea of your body fat percentage. In combination with weighting regular skinfolds, can give you an idea of how much pure muscle you are gaining.

Muscle circumferences- Whilst this test doesn’t differentiate whether the increased circumference is from muscle or fat gain, it does give you an idea of whether you are improving in size or not. It also allows you to differentiate the gains made from body part to body part.

Weight- increasing your weight isn’t necessarily the most informative measure of testing, as it doesn’t differentiate whether the weight gained, is muscle or fat, however, it is the easiest test to apply and can give you a basic idea of whether you are improving hypertrophy.

REPETITIONS

Repetitions are the number of times a weight is lifted and then lowered in repetition until failure or until a particular number is reached. To achieve hypertrophy, the muscle must be sufficiently overloaded until a point of muscular tears. To do so, the number of repetitions a given muscle is subject to, in any one set must be as low as 6 and generally as high as 15. On occasion, it has been seen for repetitions as high as between 25 and 50 to be performed in single sets. This is a tactic that can be explored, however possibly shouldn’t be the norm. Repetitions under 6, if performed in a high volume of sets, can still promote hypertrophy, however, lower repetitions generally stimulate the nervous system to promote strength gains as opposed to tear the muscles to promote hypertrophy.

SETS

Repetitions performed of a given exercise, for a given number, complete what is called a set. The number of sets you will perform for a single exercise, Depends on the experience of the lifter, the number of exercises performed in a single session and the session length. Generally, you will perform 2-6 sets per exercise, although in some cases, you may perform a single large set, or in the case of German Volume Training (explained later), perform as many as 10 sets per a single exercise. The number of sets you perform in an entire session, depends generally on the total time it will take to complete the entire workout and how long it takes to achieve desired effects. Between 8-30 sets over a single session is the general norm.

TEMPO/TIME UNDER TENSION

Time under tension is as the name suggests, the total time under which a muscle is concentrically and or eccentrically loaded for a single set. When programming, selecting a tempo for a which a repetition is to be lifted at, is important for increasing the time a muscle under tension. Tempo is read as the following, 3:0:1, the first number being the time taken to complete the eccentric (lowering of the weight) portion of the lift, the middle number being the pause held between contractions and the final number being the time taken to complete the concentric (lifting of the weight) portion of the lift. To best achieve hypertrophy, you want to place the muscle under tension for a period of 30-70 seconds per a single set and for the eccentric portion of the lift to be at least 50% longer than the concentric portion of the lift. To program this, you will select a given number of repetitions performed per a set (for this example we will be doing 12 repetitions), select a tempo (for this example we will use a tempo of 3:0:1) and finally calculate the total time the muscle is under tension for the given set (12 repetitions x 4 seconds tempo= 48 seconds of TUT).

REST

Resting between sets is important as it allows for the muscle and nervous system to recover at least enough to perform a similar if not the exact number of repetitions as the set prior. However as the goal is hypertrophy, the rest period must be short enough that the blood doesn’t begin to flow out of the muscle, that lactate can be produced and that a hormone production increased. For hypertrophy, rest periods of 60-120 seconds are the most beneficial.

SESSION LENGTH

The session length should be long enough to produce enough muscular damage for adaptation, but not long enough that a sharp decrease in energy is suffered, excessive muscular damage occurs and that cortisol levels begin to increase dramatically. The optimal time period for a single session appears to be anywhere from roughly 30-60 minutes and should include a warm-up and some form of a cooldown or stretch.

FREQUENCY

Frequency is how often you train the whole body, a particular group muscles, a single muscle or a particular type of session. When selecting a particular training frequency you have to take into account what your weekly schedule can account for, adequate periods of rest and training goals. Once you have calculated roughly how often you can train, you can now either schedule 2-3 whole body sessions a week or devise a what is referred to as a split. Training splits are ways of dividing up your workload, in which body parts will be trained in isolation or conjunction with one or two other body parts, for multiple or single sessions per a week. Training splits allow you to apply more volume to individual body parts and to train more often without affecting the recovery of other body parts.
Example training splits

-Upper body/lower body split- perform two workouts per a week for each the lower body and the upper body.

-Upper body/lower body/arms split- perform a workout for each, within a 5 day period. I.e. Lower body, upper body, off, arms, off and repeat.

-pairing assisting muscles- perform a workout for chest/triceps, Back bicep, legs/core, and shoulders, spread out over a 5-7 day period.

-agonist/antagonist- Complete a session for each of the following; chest/horizontal rowing, shoulders/vertical pulling and quads/hamstrings, over a 5-7 day period.

WARM-UPS

The warm-up should focus specifically the on muscles to be trained and should include Active Range of Movement Stretches (AROMS), lightweight prehabilitation exercises, a single or multiple warm-up sets of your primary lifts and lastly should raise body temperature to that of a light sweat.

An example warm-up for an upper body session:

-30 seconds of arm swings
-30 seconds of iron crosses
-30 seconds of scorpions

3 rounds of 10 repetitions for the following
A1. Scapula push ups
A2. Band external rotations
A3. Band face pulls

2 warm-up sets of 10 repetitions for the following @40-60% 1RM
B1. Single arm DB row
B2. DB flat bench press

COOLDOWNS

Cooldowns for hypertrophy sessions mostly consist of performing static or partner assisted stretches to release tension in the muscles trained during the session. Stretches should be specific to the bodyparts trained and should be held for up to 1 minute. It is important to note, stretching post exercise is mostly for maintenance, and will generally not facilitate improvements in flexibility. 10 stretches over 10 minutes, should be sufficient for maintenance.

PROGRESSION

Progression in hypertrophy can be measured using the tests listed above. However, in order to progress upon your hypertrophy goals, programming weekly incremental increases in volume or weight are necessary to improve and avoid stagnation. Progressions can be a 2% increase in weight, an additional repetition per a set, an additional set per an exercise or a change in training method.

TRAINING METHODS

Methods of training are various creations of very talented and insightful strength coaches and scientists. Each training method has a particular desired outcome, in terms of what mechanisms of hypertrophy it incorporates and what balance of strength and hypertrophy it intends to strike. Training methods can be applied to a single exercise within a program, be the basis of a 6 to 12 block of programming or a variety can be performed within a single session. I recommend only beginners sticking to the usual method of straight sets and that anyone over the training age of 1 year should look to apply a multitude of different training methods.

Supersets- Superset training is a method of either pairing an agonist and antagonist exercise together or a string of exercises of the same muscle group. Exercises are to be performed in quick succession, then followed by a rest period in between supersets. Supersets are great for fitting more exercise in a lesser time frame, increasing hypertrophy, and stretches the previous muscle trained.

Example workout: (exercises of the same lettering, are performed as a superset)
A1. Barbell bench press
A2. Wide grip, pronated, Chin up
B1. Dumbbell Incline bench press
B2. Dumbell single arm row

Pyramid method- The pyramid method incorporates a pattern of increasing weight lifted per set, coinciding with a decrease in a number of repetitions per set, then repeated in the opposite manner, by increasing number of repetitions per a set, coinciding with a decrease in weight. The pyramid method is great for those who wish to manifest an increase in strength alongside their hypertrophy gains. By working in higher weight sets, and progressively increasing strength from week to week, you trigger one of the three mechanisms of hypertrophy, progressive overload.

Example workout:

Barbell squat-
10 reps @60kg
8 reps @70kg
6 reps @80kg,
4 reps @90kg
2 reps @100kg
4 reps @90kg
6 reps @80kg,
8 reps @70kg
10 reps @60kg

Matric system- The matrix system incorporates a blend of a partial and full range of movement repetitions. The effectiveness of this method comes from the addition of partial reps increasing the possible volume of a single set, compared to an entire set of full repetitions, and the varying ranges of motion, target the muscle fibers in differing ways. A matrix system set, blend a full range of movement reps, the top half of a movement and the bottom half of a movement. To add variety, pauses can be held to various degrees of motion, grip changes and by performing half reps.

Example Exercise:

A. Barbell bicep curls, 3 sets of, 5 full reps, 5 top half ½ reps, 5 bottom half ½ reps and another 5 full reps.

Negatives- The negative repetition method, incorporates a participant lifting a weight for a given number of reps, followed by a partner then assisting the concentric portion of the lift for 2-3 additional repetitions and providing additional eccentric resistance, for these additional repetitions. This method fatigues both the eccentric and concentric contractions. The increased muscle tension and eccentric damage promote a higher level of muscular hypertrophy.

Example exercise:

A. Barbell bench press, perform 8 reps or until concentric failure, followed by 3 more reps, assisted concentrically (spotter assists heavily in lifting the bar to the top) and resisted eccentrically (spotter gently pulls on the bar for resistance, as you lower the weight to your chest). Perform 3 sets.

German volume training- German volume training, also referred to as the 10 set method, is a training program that creates metabolic damage through a high volume of repetitions and sets. 10 sets of a single exercise or two exercises performed as a superset are completed using a rep range of 6-10, 10 being the most polarized choice. This split is best performed on a 5-day split of upper body/ lower body/shoulders and arms, 3 days on, 2 days off. You can choose to descend in repetitions and increase weight from week to week, on a 4-6 week cycle, if you wish to incorporate a moderate amount of strength training.

Example Workout:

A1. Barbell squat, 10 sets of 10 reps, 4:1:2 tempo
A2. Barbell Romanian deadlift, 10 sets of 10 reps, 4:1:2 tempo

Drop sets- Drop sets are a single, continuous set, in which you select a weight, to lift until failure, then strip weight (usually remove one plate from the bar or machine at a time, or drop to a lower Dumbbell weight, usually in increments of roughly 5kg), perform another set until failure and repeat to until the weight becomes to light to continue or until a given number of sets is reached (usually 3-5 sets). Drop sets cause a high amount of metabolic stress and work a wide variety of muscle fibers, by place the muscle under tension for a long period time, trains the muscle until contractional failure and the variation in weight means different, lesser muscle fibers will also be recruited.

An example Exercise:

Barbell bench press-
Set 1. 80kg until failure (aim for 6-8 repetitions in your first set)
Set 2. 70kg until failure
Set 3. 60kg until failure
Set 4. 50kg until failure
Set 5. 40kg until failure

Eccentric method- The eccentric method is as the name suggests, this workout focuses on exaggerating the eccentric portion of a lift. Since the eccentric portion of the lift is vital for hypertrophy and in general we as humans are roughly 50% percent strong in the eccentric portion a lift, scheduling in the occasional workout, that focuses on overloading the eccentric is great for breaking strength and hypertrophy plateaus. I say occasional, as the eccentric method causes high muscular damage, thus takes a long time to recover from, and can put you at risk of injury or overtraining if performed regularly.The eccentric method includes an exercise performed for 1-5 repetitions, with the concentric portion of the lift negated completely or heavily assisted and the eccentric portion of the lift performed at a tempo of 10-30 seconds.

Example exercise:

A. Wide grip, pronated, pull-ups, 5 reps for 3 sets, @ a 10:0:0 tempo (jump or use a box to neglect the concentric).

Isometric method- The isometric method involves attempting to lift or to resist a particular movement at a weight higher than your 1RM (an immovable object) or by holding a weight in a fixed position. It is important to be strong in various degrees of the movement, so varying the point of hold, is recommended. Contractions should be held for 6-30 seconds. Whilst isometrics may not be the most optimal for improving strength or hypertrophy, they are a great tool to be filtered into you programming on occasion.

Example exercise:

A. Close grip, supinated, pull up, hold at top of rep for 10 seconds, followed by a hold at 30 degrees elbow flexion for 10 seconds and lastly a 10-second hold at 60 degrees elbow flexion. Complete 5 sets.

VARIETY

Variety is important in all things in life, this is no truer than when applied to weight training and exercise in general. By following the exact same training method and regime week after week, for years on end, you will likely run into plateaus in strength and hypertrophy, acute and or repetitive use injuries and also a lack of motivation. This is why I recommend varying exercises on a bi-weekly basis and varying training methods on a 6-12 week basis. It also can be beneficial to run a 6-12 week cycle of strength training every now and again, as the strength increases can have a carryover effect on your next cycle of hypertrophy training.

FINAL WORDS

I hope the above blog piece, is informative, easy to understand and that you can successfully apply its teachings. I urge all readers and gym goers to pay special attention, to the section on variety and testing, as I feel they are both topics that are very much neglected by most gym goers and may fix many roadblocks you may suffer in terms of progression and motivation. Lastly, strength training is an ever-evolving topic, all current information may become one day become outdated and is also a topic that is heavily opinionated, therefore I recommend everyone to not take any single blog piece or article, as gospel and to constantly be on the lookout for new opinions and ideas. Thank you for reading :)

SOURCES:

• Resource manual, book 1, Certificate 3 in fitness SIS303310, Southbank Institute of technology (2013)
• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 2017. No page title. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5489423/. [Accessed 25 November 2017].
• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 2017. No page title. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2231221/. [Accessed 25 November 2017].
• The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training, Schoenfeld, Brad J, Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research: October 2010 - Volume 24 - Issue 10 - pp 2857-2872