Training for Results: Hypertrophy & Progressive Overload
Have you ever heard of people tossing around the word "hypertrophy" when they talk about their lifting goals? One of the reasons people prioritize hypertrophy is because they want to get bigger muscles. By constantly stimulating the muscles in training, you will be able to pack on size.
What is Hypertrophy?
Hypertrophy is, by definition, the enlargement of an organ or tissue from the increase in size of its cells. To break it down even further, it is a process that happens within the body, because of resistance training that leads to the growth or enhancement of the muscle.
What does this mean for you?
When strength training, if the muscles are pushed to their limits, they will increase in muscle size due to the growth of muscle cells. Your muscles are made of fiber. When stimulated properly, they can increase in size.
How do I train to get my muscles to grow?
To make serious muscular gains, you must challenge your body to seek its growth potential.
DIET. Make sure you are on a caloric surplus every day. You must eat enough food if you want to add muscle mass at the fastest rate possible. A protein-rich diet is also important for muscle growth. Focus on lean protein sources like protein powder, lean meat, chicken, and fish. Try to eat or drink a protein source within 30 minutes of a workout. This feeds the muscle, protects your previous gains, and provides the fuel for future growth.
REST. This is a vital component for muscle growth. Make sure you are getting enough sleep. The muscle repair process mainly takes place when you are sleeping. While 6 hours can be enough, 8 hours are optimal. Not enough sleep on a regular basis will be a detriment to your progress.
DEDICATION + CONSISTENCY. Make the commitment to train on a regular basis. Despite your size and genetics, if you stop, you can lose that hard-earned muscle growth very quickly. So hit the weights hard and often. Train every body part at least once per week and the bigger muscle groups up to 3 times a week.
REPS + REST. Research shows that weightlifters should aim for 6-12 reps per set. Allow 60-90 seconds between sets for rest. This will help achieve hypertrophy because your muscles will be fatigued.
LIFT ENOUGH WEIGHT. Don’t lift a weight that’s too light, as that won’t allow you to see the same gain of definition.
How much weight should you lift? Determine your 1 rep max (RM) for a muscle. That's the maximum amount of weight you can lift for only 1 rep (that will be different for each muscle group and will change over time). Use that number to determine progression of weight.
VARIETY. Vary your exercises or activities. This will help you fire up different or multiple muscle fibers in the same movement or circuit.
PATIENCE. Be patient. Remember, this process takes time. Muscle growth doesn’t happen overnight. Growing muscle takes a lot of time and dedication. You need to consistently push yourself in training—as long as it’s safe—to challenge yourself and trigger muscle growth.
TRUST. Trust the process. Our body is amazing in respect to its ability to transform. As we build more strength, our muscle fibers will need to accommodate the new, higher loads and this is when growth will occur
What is Progressive Overload?
Progressive Overload simply means that you have to make progress and train for it. If you are currently squatting 175 lbs for 6 reps, set as a goal to be able to squat 225 lbs for 6 reps in 6 months or to be able to squat 200 lbs for 12 reps in 2 months. This is realistic goal planning.
Another key element to this style of training is remembering that your muscles can adapt quickly to exercise. It’s important to continuously challenge your muscles to continue to see growth and increased definition.
Please be safe and remember to never increase the amount of weight you’re lifting too quickly. Instead, aim for a gradual increase each week.
Does the method of training work for everyone?
Although the process of hypertrophy is the same for everyone, your results are likely to be different from others doing the same workouts. This variance in results is due directly to the genetic make-up of the muscles of the individual. For some people, the process of hypertrophy occurs to a much larger degree or at a faster rate than it does for others.