What is Hypertrophy and How Can It Make You Stronger?

Do you consider yourself a skinny guy and feel a need to gain some (or a lot) of muscle? Welcome to the club! There are thousands of other guys that are in your shoes. You have probably come across hypertrophy training during your research to building more muscle.

That is exactly how I started my fitness journey. I was a skinny guy and wanted desperately to become bigger, stronger and more muscular. Fast forward many years later and I can say I have done it. I am 40lbs heavier and have less body fat than when I first started. I know about what it takes to gain muscle and build strength.

The journey never ends though, I still am chasing updated goals that seem to change every so often. I like to push the limits of what I can do with my body.

I would bet that you would too and that is probably why you’re here reading this.

In this article we will break down what hypertrophy training really is. We will define what the different types are and talk about the best was to induce muscle hypertrophy for the most muscle and strength gains.

Let’s get started.

What is Hypertrophy Training?

If you are reading this, then you probably have heard of hypertrophy training. You may know what it is or have no clue. That’s okay, we are going to tell you what it is.

The definition of hypertrophy is: “the enlargement of an organ or tissue from the increase in size of its cells”. Therefore, muscle hypertrophy is the scientific term for an increase in muscle size through the growth of muscle cells.

Therefore, training for muscle hypertrophy is training with the intention of increasing muscle size.

However, this is not to be confused with hyperplasia, the process of increasing the number of cells. Hypertrophy is the process of increasing the size of the cells that are already there.

Hypertrophy training increases muscle growth and strength. It can be achieved through resistance training. When your muscles are put under tension it causes damage in the form of micro-tears. For muscle to rebuild micro tears must be repaired. When you do this regularly through a proper training plan, this constant breakdown and build up forces the body to respond by increasing lean muscle tissue.

This isn’t a human anatomy class, but in order to fully understand how muscle hypertrophy works, let’s look at the basic structure of a muscle.

Basic Structure of the Muscle

Our muscle tissue is a very complex structure. It has bundles of long strands of muscle cells wrapped in a band of connective tissue. Here is a photo to properly illustrate it for you:

The muscle is composed primarily of three components:

The three main components of muscle tissue are:

1. Water makes up most of the muscle at about 60-80% of muscle tissue. Want to be creeped out? Click here to read how scientists discovered this back in 1953.
2. Glycogen can make up 0-5% of muscle tissue. This is a form of stored carbohydrate. You can read our article on nutrition to learn more about what glycogen is.
3. Protein makes up about 20% of muscle tissue. This isn’t a surprise to most of us.

Increasing in any of these three components technically qualifies as muscle hypertrophy, however they are different.

Types of Hypertrophy

There are two different types of hypertrophy that often get confused.

1. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy: This is an increase in the volume of the fluid and non-contractile components of the muscle (glycogen, water, minerals, etc.). This affects muscle cell size. When you experience sarcoplasmic hypertrophy you achieve a greater muscle “pump”. This can lead to hypertrophy and is typically what a “bodybuilding” style training routine is after.
2. Sarcomere hypertrophy: This is what weightlifters are most interested in. This type of hypertrophy is an increase in the amount of protein in the muscle. This is also called myofibrillar hypertrophy which increases the size of the muscle fibers. Those training for strength are after this kind of muscle growth since this influences strength because its main control is muscle contraction. However, it also affects muscle size.

Bodybuilders and weightlifters have been debating for years whether sarcoplasmic or myofibrillar hypertrophy is more important for building bigger muscles. They have also argued about what training methods best accomplish it. Here is what I’ve found through experience and research:

Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy does play a small role in muscle growth, but it’s likely more of a beneficial side effect of proper strength training. Not necessarily the goal to pursue in itself. Although, a crazy pump is one of the best feelings. Just ask Arnold.

In other words, if you achieve myofibrillar hypertrophy, sarcoplasmic hypertrophy will be present as well. Even if it is not to the extreme of pure “pump training”.

Having said all of this, it leads us to the question:

Which type of hypertrophy should I pursue to get bigger and stronger?

Let’s take a look at hypertrophy training versus training for strength.

Should I Be Hypertrophy Training or Strength Training?

Like I already said, there has been a lot of debate over this for years. With that in mind, I will share my opinion, my experience and some of the science behind it.. Ultimately, I will leave the answer up to you because only you know what your goals are. However, you can use the info here to help you make a informed decision. But why not train for both?

If you spend enough time in the fitness world you’ll see that weightlifting is mostly divided into two categories:

1. Hypertrophy training usually involves higher reps, lighter weights and shorter rest periods. I also involves a lot of isolation exercises and special training methods like drop sets, supersets, rest-pause sets, and serious focus on muscular tension.
2. Strength training typically involves lower reps, heavier weights, longer rest periods, and focuses most of your efforts on compound exercises like the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Most of your lifting is in the squat rack with a barbell.

Since muscle hypertrophy is defined as training to grow the muscle, a lot of people believe that hypertrophy training is superior to strength training for building bigger muscles. They may think that strength training is great for getting stronger but not bigger as well.

Well that’s not the case for the everyday lifter trying to get more muscular and stronger. The truth is that getting stronger is directly related to muscle hypertrophy. Let’s take a look at why there is so much hype around training for hypertrophy and how it can actually help you build more muscle.

Hypertrophy Training

We have already defined muscle hypertrophy as training to increase muscle size. The body has the amazing potential to adapt to its environment. This includes building more muscle and strength when repeated stress to the muscle tissue indicates a need to accommodate the new loads. This is exactly what the process of hypertrophy training is supposed to do.

Hypertrophy doesn’t just happen on its own when trying to build muscle. It has to be triggered by a physiological need, which is why we workout. Muscle hypertrophy can be thought of as a thickening of muscle fibers (myofibrillar hypertrophy), which is attributed to strength and size. Muscle hypertrophy also can be thought as increasing the volume of fluid components of the muscle (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy), which is associated with only muscle size and the “pump”.

Mainstream hypertrophy training focuses primarily on the “pump”, which is sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Although, there is some myofibrillar hypertrophy involved as well.

Muscle gain occurs when the body has been stressed the right amount to indicate that it must create larger and stronger muscles so that they can handle that stimulus next time. This need causes a cellular response, leading to muscle cells synthesizing more materials, which then leads to increased muscle size and strength from both types of training.

So what is hypertrophy training? The typical “bodybuilding” type of hypertrophy training is the go-to for so many lifters because it has been made popular by fitness magazines and influencers on social media. This is the hypertrophy training you are most likely familiar with.

Hypertrophy Training Basics

If your goal is to increase muscle mass you might consider training for hypertrophy. In order to achieve muscle growth this route, you need to increase your workout volume. That means that you need to increase the amount of work you do to stimulate the muscles to grow.

There are three primary triggers for muscle growth:

1. Mechanical tension
2. Muscle damage
3. Cellular fatigue

A full range of motion and longer lifting tempos achieve increased mechanical muscle tension. Using a moderate weight for longer periods of time under tension increases cellular and muscle damage. This is the whole basis of proper hypertrophy training. You can lower the weight in 3-4 seconds to achieve more time under tension.

The most common training approach you NEED to become familiar with for muscle growth and strength is progressive overload. Using progressive overload forces the body to adapt to the new demands. To grow bigger muscle fibers, you need to give the body enough stimulus to react. That is what training for hypertrophy is after by using a lot of volume, time under tension and shorter rest periods.

If you want to know more about progressive overload you can read this article. In short, it means that you need to increase the amount of work your muscles do week by week or workout to workout so that you are constantly progressing.

Manipulating certain factors in your training will increase total volume and overload the muscles. These factors are:

• Frequency of training
• Intensity of training
• Time while training
• Type of training

A lot of personal trainers will call this the “FITT principle”.

Frequency refers to the number of days you workout each week. Training more days a week increases total volume.

The intensity of the workout is based on how hard you work. For these purposes training intensity is measured by the amount of weight lifted.

The time it takes to perform an exercise is important because performing sets for a longer period by increasing time under tension raises muscle stress and fatigue.

The type of exercise will also determine the amount of stress that is applied to the muscle. The greater the load on the muscles, the better the gains. For example, you can perform two exercises, one right after another, which is known as a “super-set”. This is very common in hypertrophy training. Performing a bent over row and then a lat-pulldown with no rest will overload the back muscles.

With that being said, what does hypertrophy training actually look like?

What Hypertrophy Training Looks Like

Hypertrophy styles of training are very common in any given gym. You might even have been training like this already.

I took part in hypertrophy training for years. I also trained for strength over the years and they both gave me really good results. I currently train mostly for strength and use hypertrophy training to help my lagging areas. So I do both, which is known as “Powerbuilding”.

Hypertrophy training is mostly known from bodybuilding and it uses a lot of moderate rep and lighter weight training. This type of training causes the muscle pump that so many crave.

Typically, training days are split up by body parts. This is known as a body part-split training routine. Here’s a common example of this split:

• Monday is chest day.
• Tuesday is back day.
• Wednesday is off day.
• Thursday is leg day.
• Friday is shoulders and arms.

The workout days can vary widely but you get the idea. You may even heard these splits be called “bro-splits” because they have become so common with gym bros. There are also push/pull training splits. These divide the workouts into days with pushing exercises and then days with pulling exercises. Furthermore, there are also upper/lower training splits. These divide the workouts into days where you train the upper body then train the lower body on other days.

On any given training day, it is common (and necessary) to start with one or two major/compound exercises that targets the body part of the day. After you complete that exercise/s, you may do another compound exercise and then proceed to work on isolation exercises directed at that body part or a supporting muscle group.

For example, if you are training chest that day you could do bench press first and then focus on incline dumbbell press. In addition, you could move into isolation exercises like cable or dumbbell flys, peck-deck and other similar exercises.

Many people utilize special types of training methods to maximize muscle damage. Some of these methods are called supersets, drop sets, giant sets, and pause sets. Here’s what these look like:

• Supersets: Doing two exercises back-to-back without resting in between.
• Drop sets: After finishing your last set you lower the weight by a given amount and then complete another set without rest. This can be done as many times as necessary.
• Pause sets: Hold a position during a rep to increase muscle tension in that portion of the repetition.
• Giant sets: Similar to supersets, this is a group of exercises that you do in succession without rest. This can be any number of exercises but are generally harder to do in a public gym.

To get the most from hypertrophy training it is best to shoot for for 3-5 workouts per week. This will also be determined by the kind of training split you do. Complete each exercise for 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps. This rep range is widely know as the best range for maximum muscle growth. Aim to rest 45-60 seconds in between each set. Shorter rest periods help cause cause more muscle fatigue and increase muscle building hormones. Full exhaustion of muscles will maximize hypertrophy.

If you want to see more what a hypertrophy training plan looks like you can sign up for our newsletter to receive our FREE Training Plan. it is a general plan that I followed for years and helped me to gain over 30lbs of muscle!

Sample Hypertrophy Training Layout

To maximize hypertrophy, the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s (NSCA) training manual recommends some guidelines and it is a good resource to learn more about training overall. It’s a free resource so I recommend saving it. Click here to open it.

If you are interested in a hypertrophy training plan to get started with, you can download our FREE Training Plan that you can repeat week after week for massive gains! Just subscribe to our newsletter to receive it! You will also never miss out on all of our free articles to help you become a stronger and more capable man.

To get started it is best to know where you stand in terms of strength because most programs use a percentage of your 1 rep max to gauge your workout intensity. This is not required but recommended.

To determine your 1 rep max (1RM) for a given exercise, warm-up properly and then build up to doing 1 rep for as heavy as you can. This will be different for each muscle group and will change over time. After you find that out you can use that number to determine progression of weight for any given exercise. Here is a sample progression you could do for an exercise over a 12 week period to make some serious gains:

Try utilizing this with the bench press, squat, and deadlift during your workouts to build more muscle and strength.

• Week 1 (Load): 2×10 reps at 60% 1RM
• Week 2 (Load): 3×10 reps at 65% 1RM
• Week 3 (Deload): 3×10 reps at 60% 1 RM
• Week 4 (Load): 3×10 reps at 70% 1 RM
• Week 5 (Load): 3×5 reps at 70% 1 RM
• Week 6 (Load): 3×5 reps at 75% 1 RM
• Week 7 (Deload): 3×5 reps at 70% 1 RM
• Week 8 (Load): 3×5 reps at 80% 1 RM
• Week 9 (Load): 3×3 reps at 70% 1 RM
• Week 10 (Load): 3×3 reps at 75% 1 RM
• Week 11 (Deload): 3×3 reps at 70% 1 RM
• Week 12 (Load): 3×3 reps at 80% 1 RM

*Please note that this is much more appropriate for larger compound lifts. Isolation exercises do not typically utilize a 1RM. Just be smart and do not do something that will hurt yourself.

That about wraps up an overview of the hypertrophy training that you may be familiar with. Feel free to sign up with your email to receive a FREE Hypertrophy Training Plan. It can help you get started to start training for hypertrophy!

Now lets look into strength training and how it plays a role in training for hypertrophy.

Strength Training for Muscle Hypertrophy

If you feel that I kind of just brushed over hypertrophy training, there is a reason. You may have caught that I said the best way of training for hypertrophy may not be by mainstream hypertrophy training made popular by bodybuilders.

The most superior from of training for hypertrophy may be through strength training. We are going to talk about why and how to get started.

Despite what many people in the gym and bodybuilders alike claim, the superior way to stimulate muscle hypertrophy may be by getting stronger overall.

In other words, training for strength with heavy weights and lower rep ranges is generally better at stimulating muscle growth than with lighter weights and higher rep ranges commonly known as “hypertrophy training”. This is supported by science and by 15 years of my training experience.

I have done mainstream “hypertrophy training” and strength training alike and can vouch for this. Although, using the two styles of training to help me build increased strength and muscle has been the most effective for me.

Let’s look into why strength training may be superior when training for hypertrophy.

Is Strength Training Superior to Hypertrophy Training?

We have already covered the three primary pathways for muscle growth. As a recap these are:

1. Muscle tension
2. Muscle damage
3. Cellular fatigue

Muscle tension refers to the amount of force produced in muscle fibers when you use them.

There two types of tension in your muscles when you lift weights. These are “passive” and “active” tensions. Passive tension occurs when your muscles are stretching while lowering the weight, and active tension occurs when they’re contracting while lifting the weight.

Muscle damage refers to microscopic tears in the muscle fibers by high levels of tension.

In order to build muscle and strength, this damage requires repair. You must provide the body with proper nutrition and recovery to make the muscle fibers larger and stronger to better deal with future bouts of tension.

Cellular fatigue refers to the chemical changes that occur inside and outside muscle fibers when they contract repeatedly. When you repeat the same movement over and over again this causes high amounts of cellular fatigue.

Muscle tension is by far the most important of these three muscle hypertrophy pathways because it produces the greatest growth.

If you want to keep getting bigger and stronger then you want to keep increasing the amount of muscle tension you apply to them. This where progressive overload comes in like we talked about earlier.

There are several ways to achieve progressive overload in your training, but research shows that the most effective one is simply adding more weight to the bar.

Evidence has demonstrated that strength training generates larger amounts of tension in your muscles. Therefore, it potentially produces a more powerful stimulus to initiate muscle growth than traditional hypertrophy training we just talked about.

This logically makes the most sense because if strength training is aimed at gaining the most strength, then it should also be the most effective way to gain muscle, right? The evidence has shown that strength training produces more muscle tension which leads to more myofibrillar hypertrophy. On the other side of the coin, training for hypertrophy is more focused on producing big pumps which is directed at sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.

We now know that myofibrillar hypertrophy actually increases the size of the muscle fiber and that sarcoplasmic hypertrophy increases the volume of fluid in the muscles. So which type of training potentially builds more muscle, strength training does.

However, that DOES NOT mean that hypertrophy training has no place in your training. It does serve a purpose, particularly if you are a more advanced lifter. Hypertrophy and strength compliment each other very well. As you progress in your fitness journey, you need more muscle to get stronger and you need to get stronger to build more muscle.

“Hypertrophy and strength compliment each other very well. As you progress in your fitness journey, you need more muscle to get stronger and you need to get stronger to build more muscle.”

Studies Suggest That Strength Training Builds More Muscle

Time to put my money where my mouth is. I have repeatedly stated that strength training may be superior to mainstream hypertrophy training for building muscle. Over my 15 years of training, this holds true, especially as a beginner.

Although, studies have shown it as well. A study conducted in Florida separated over 30 physically active men who had weight training experience into two groups.

One group was the “hypertrophy training group” that did four high-volume, moderate-intensity workouts per week. It consisted of four sets per exercise in the 10-12-rep range with 70% of their 1RM.

The other group was the “strength training group” and they also did four moderate-volume workouts a week. However, they trained with high-intensity workouts consisting of four sets per exercise in the 3-5 rep range with 90% of their 1RM.

Both groups did the exact same exercises and both were instructed to keep to their normal eating routine.

After eight weeks of training, researchers found that the strength trained group of men gained much more muscle thickness and strength than the hypertrophy trained group.

The scientists suggested two main reasons for why the strength training group gained more strength and muscle than the hypertrophy trained group:

1. Strength training with heavier weights and lower reps amounts to more mechanical tension in the muscles. The lighter training, on the other hand, did cause higher amounts of cellular fatigue.
2. Strength training with heavy weights equates to greater activation of muscle fibers.

Both of these reasons resulted in greater muscle growth across a larger percentage of the muscle tissue for these weight trained men.

Another study published by scientists in 2020 found something very similar. Heavy, low-rep strength training was more effective for promoting muscle hypertrophy than lighter hypertrophy training.

This study investigated muscle thickness and maximum strength in 26 resistance-trained men. They were randomly assigned to a hypertrophy only training group and then another group that was assigned strength training for a portion then they did hypertrophy training for the last portion of the study.

Both of these groups had done the same exercises and had their strength measured with the back squat and leg press. The participants also had their muscle thickness measured at the same intervals during the study.

The of the study results supported that strength training compared to solely hypertrophy training leads to increase muscle thickness and maximum strength in men.

So, there you have it. Scientific proof that strength training can build more muscle and strength than the mainstream bodybuilding influenced hypertrophy training.

How do you go about strength training and training for hypertrophy then?

Training For Hypertrophy Means You Should Train for Strength As Well

As a natural weight lifter, if you are after a muscular physique, then you need to get stronger. It not only makes logical sense, but it is the best way to gain muscle and set your body up for more gains down the road. If you decided to start solely training for hypertrophy later on, you could make the most of that training by using heavier weights to build even more muscle if you get stronger.

In this section, we will dive into strength training and some programs you can use to skyrocket your strength and pack on serious muscle mass.

Tips To Stimulate Muscle Growth

First, I will cover a few steps that you should follow to stay on track to stimulate muscle growth while training for hypertrophy:

1. Get your diet figured out:You should read Proper Nutrition to Build Muscle and Lose Fat (An Ultimate Guide to Nutrition) in conjunction with this article. It will help you set up your diet with your individual goals in mind.

   Want to gain muscle? Lose fat? Gain strength? All the above? Our guide to nutrition will help get you there.

2. Consider taking supplements:
   There are some supplements that you can consider taking to help you gain more muscle and speed up recovery. In our guide to proper nutrition we suggest many of them that will help you with your goals.
   You can read our guide to recovery to help you build more muscle.A few supplements that are staples are:
   • Pre-workout
   • Whey protein powder
   • Creatine monohydrate.
3. Make sure you are recovering properly:
   If you want to build the most muscle and strength, then you need to recovery from your workouts. Read Principles of Better Recovery to Build Muscle and Gain Strength if you want to learn how to recover properly.
4. Stay consistent with a proven training plan:
   Staying on track and disciplined will be the most important thing you can do to make progress. A proven training plan can help. Our Ultimate Guide to Building Strength in 2023 (Proven Strength Training Plans) can take you through everything you need to know if you want in depth information on some proven strength building plans.

These are some very important steps that will get you to the results you are after. Use them and you will be on track to guaranteed results.

Popular Plans to Build Strength

These are some of the most popular and proven strength training plans that have been used by thousands of men to build some serious strength and pack on large amounts of muscle mass.

They primarily use compounds lifts such as the squat, bench press and the deadlift. The overhead press and power clean are also widely used. These lifts will help you build the most strength and therefore the most muscle mass.

I will share a few of my favorite programs below. If you are interested in reading about more of them and want more details about how to utilize the programs, then read our Ultimate Guide to Building Strength in 2023 (Proven Strength Training Plans). I breakdown more strength building programs down into more detail.

Here are some of my favorite strength building programs that will guide you in training properly for the most strength gains and muscle mass:

Starting Strength By Mark Rippetoe

Starting Strength is an extremely popular program designed by Mark Rippetoe. It is considered the got-to program for beginning lifters who need to rapidly build strength and add size to their frame.

Mark Rippetoe wrote the book “Starting Strength: Basically Barbell Training” and it has become essentially the standard of strength training.

If you are serious about strength training or any weightlifting at all, then you want to read Starting Strength. Even if you don’t plan on ever doing the program.

I highly recommend you check out the book to learn the proper form on the exercises you will be doing. Training can be dangerous if the exercises are not done properly and trust me, nothing is worse than having to stop training because of an injury.

The workouts in Starting Strength are actually very simple. They rely on the most effective compound exercises and the focus of the program is achieving the biggest possible lifts by the end of it.

The basic Starting Strength template is as follows. Workouts A and B are alternated on 3 non-consecutive days per week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday for example.

You start with Workout A on your first lifting day of the week, then rest a day and do Workout B. Rest a day, then back to Workout A and at the end of the week you take two rest days. Here is an example of a week laid out:

• Monday: Workout A
• Tuesday: Rest
• Wednesday: Workout B
• Thursday: Rest
• Friday: Workout A
• Saturday/Sunday: Rest

Once you finish your first week you begin the next week, after your two day/weekend rest, with the alternate workout. So you would do Workout B the following Monday after completing the first week.

Starting Strength is probably the most widely used strength building program. It is for good reason. I highly recommend the book if you are considering doing the program.

Wendler’s 5/3/1

Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 system is a powerlifting and strength building training routine. The program is one of the most popular strength programs out there because it’s easy to understand, it gets results, it doesn’t require any special equipment, and the workouts are relatively short.

5/3/1 has you training 3-4 days per week on what is called a “rotating wave system”. You perform each of these workouts once to complete what is called a “wave”. 5/3/1 has you do one of four workouts on your training days:

• Squat and assistance work.
• Bench Press and assistance work.
• Deadlift and assistance work.
• Overhead Press and assistance work.

The plan works most smoothly if you train 4 days/week. Here is how it’s commonly laid out:

If you run Wendler’s 5/3/1 for a year, this progression pattern can add 50 pounds to your bench and overhead press, and 100 pounds to your squat and deadlift.

The Juggernaut Method

The Juggernaut Method has become popular among elite strength athletes and is known for its ability to turn average guys into incredible performers.

It was developed by Chad Wesley Smith of Juggernaut Training Systems, it is a combination of several sources: Jim Wendler’s famed 5/3/1, the training style of Doug Young, who was a legendary powerlifter who held multiple world titles throughout the 1970s, and simple block periodization.

Chad is the founder of Juggernaut and has dominated the world of powerlifting. He set the American world squat record at a whopping 905 pounds, although it has been beaten as of now.

It is different from other powerlifting programs and strength training routines. The Juggernaut Method is more of an open-based template which allows each person to focus on their own specific needs and goals. This allows athletes to take advantage of the highly-effective structure and programming found in powerlifting plans. You can also accommodate for conditioning for work/sports.

If you are an athlete looking to get big, strong, fast, and powerful—the Juggernaut Method Training Program was literally designed specifically for you. I am currently training under Juggernaut AI, and it has been a serious game changer for me.

Describing The Juggernaut Method in this short article will not give it justice so I highly recommend reading the book.

It will go so much more into detail about the training and is a good read.

Juggernaut Training Systems has also come out with an app that is called Juggernaut AI. It is an artificial intelligence coaching app that is currently offered in powerlifting training. It will soon feature a power-building plan as well. I currently am training with it as of writing this article and it has been great. Stayed tuned for a review on the Juggernaut AI app.

The Fundamental Pillars of Building Muscle

This is an eBook that I wrote to help guys be able to skip all the fitness/supplement marketing crap and find a real, straight forward way to change their bodies and to get more fit.

If you want to get bigger, leaner, and stronger without needing steroids, elite genetics, extreme dieting, or wasting ridiculous amounts of time in the gym or money on supplements then you want to read this book.

Building lean muscle and burning stubborn fat isn’t nearly as complicated as you’ve been led to believe. I’ve laid out everything you need to know to build muscle, gain strength and lose fat fast.

This book is the shortcut. Here’s why:

• You don’t need to: Constantly change up your workout routine to gain lean muscle in all the right places. Muscle building is much simpler than that.
• You don’t need to: Waste hours in the gym every day grinding through grueling workout.
• You don’t need to: Slog away at boring cardio to shed ugly belly fat and get a six-pack. In fact, you probably don’t have to do any cardio to get the body you really want.
• You don’t need to: Obsess over “clean eating” and avoiding “unhealthy” foods to get ripped. Instead, you can get and stay fit eating the foods you love. (Provided you’re not on a fast food only diet)

Those are just a few of the harmful lies and myths that keep guys from ever achieving the lean, muscular, and strong body they truly desire.

In this book you’ll learn something most guys will never know:

The exact methods of eating and exercising that make gaining 10 to 15 pounds of lean muscle a breeze and it only takes a few months.

Here are just a few of the things you’ll discover in this book:

• • The biggest fat loss and muscle building myths that keep guys fat, weak, and confused.

• • The scientific laws of muscle growth and fat loss that literally force your body to get bigger, leaner, and stronger.

• • A paint-by-numbers system for building a full chest, a wide back, powerful legs and bulging arms. You can do this with only 3 to 6 hours of exercise per week.
  • A full lifestyle overhaul in the key areas that will change your physique and better your life overall.

I personally use the methods that are laid out in this book and I can say that it WORKS. I know because through 15 years of training I have done it myself.

It is THE best resource for straight forward answers to changing your body. Other programs have helped me build more brute strength and build muscle as well, don’t get me wrong. However, this book has all of the fundamental info you need to take your fitness life to another level.

Training for Hypertrophy Takeaways

Training for hypertrophy can be confusing if you aren’t aware of what it means. Hypertrophy training is synonymous with higher-rep bodybuilding style training that chases the pump.

While, this does cause sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, we just learned that in order to more effectively induce muscle growth, we must do lower-rep heavy strength training.

So the key takeaways are:

1. Low rep heavy strength training more effectively grows the muscles fibers through myofibrillar hypertrophy than higher rep bodybuilding style training.
2. We can use both training styles to our advantage to build the most muscle and strength possible.
3. It is necessary to get your nutrition, recovery and supplementation squared away to gain the most strength and muscle mass.
4. Proven strength training and hypertrophy training plans will guide you to the results you want. Although, focus on building strength first with one or more of the plans recommended.

I hope this article helped you with training for hypertrophy. The word can get thrown around by many but you now know what it means and how to use your training to get the most muscle growth.

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Don’t forget to subscribe with your email for your FREE Hypertrophy and strength training plan! You will also be updated of any new articles that we release to help you achieve your goals of becoming a strong and more capable man!

Read More:

• Ultimate Guide to Building Strength in 2023 (Proven Strength Training Plans)
• The Fundamental Pillars Of Building Muscle

• Principles of Better Recovery to Build Muscle and Gain Strength
• Proper Nutrition To Build Muscle and Lose Fat (An Ultimate Guide To Nutrition)