Many people have heard of hypertrophy and how it relates to muscle building, but few understand how it works. Hypertrophy is the process of building muscle size and strength through repetition and weight lifting. It is a natural response of your body to increased mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscular damage caused by working out. When you lift weights and your muscles are challenged, they grow bigger and stronger in response.
Hypertrophy occurs when muscles are exposed to incremental overloads, meaning greater thresholds are challenged each time with heavier weights. When a muscle works harder than what it's accustomed to, micro tears occur and the muscle develops. Increases in muscle size and strength are the result of the muscle fibers being stretched and broken down by intense exercise and then rebuilt through muscle memory.
Scientific angle and Studies into Hypertrophy
Scientific studies into muscle hypertrophy and the development of size and strength, often referred to as ‘hypertrophy training’, have been ongoing for decades. The goal of such scientific research is to gain a clearer understanding of how muscle tissue responds and adapts to resistance exercise, with the ultimate aim of developing improved training and nutrition strategies for optimal muscle development.
Resistance exercise has been suggested to be one of the most important factors in determining muscle size, with studies finding that the recruitment of a large number of muscle fibers, along with increases in muscle fiber size, can occur with an increase in a person’s training load. Additionally, frequent repetition of quality gym-based exercise has also been found to be important for muscle development, with some studies suggesting that resistance training three days per week is optimal for hypertrophy.
Nutrition & Biochemical angle
A number of nutrients have been linked to the development of muscle hypertrophy. For example, protein has been found to be important in stimulating muscle growth, with studies indicating that protein intake should be at least 0.8g/per kg of body weight to enhance muscle development. Omega-3 fatty acids and carbohydrates have also been associated with enhanced muscle development. Omega-3 fatty acids are thought to improve muscle fiber size and strength, while carbohydrates are believed to provide the energy needed to perform intense bouts of resistance exercise.
Finally, hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone appear to play an important role in mediating the anabolic response to exercise and nutrition. These hormones will be produced naturally in the body in response to exercise, but can also be taken as supplements by some athletes to increase their muscle mass.
Training to maximize Hypertrophy
When beginning a muscle building program, it's important to focus on form, tempo, and the nuances of performing basic routine muscle-building exercises. Once you've mastered the basics, it's time to up the intensity and stimulus. Use a combination of heavier weights, shorter rest periods between sets, and progressively increase the reps.
To further stimulate muscle growth, focus on training your muscles to failure. This practice can help you gain more muscle mass by overloading your muscles and making them work harder to tolerate the increased stress. Additionally, increase the intensity of your workouts by performing each set of exercises with maximum effort, using a wider range of motion and focusing on the eccentric contraction phase of each exercise to stimulate the growth response.
For most people, adding a few sets of bodyweight exercises and some additional stretching at the end of your workout can enhance effects of hypertrophy. After all, you don't only want bigger muscles, but you also want to have a body that is well balanced and healthy.
By understanding and applying the principles of hypertrophy-based muscle building, you can maximize your potential for increased muscle size and strength and achieve your goals for an improved level of fitness. Remember, the key is to exert the demands your muscles need to grow, but also to constantly change the stimulus and challenge your body, so it’s not allowed to adjust and become too comfortable.
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