

For advanced lifters or athletes, it is common to see as many as 6-7 working sets per exercise.

For intermediate lifters, increase your set volume to 4-6 sets. Starting out, try shooting for 3 sets of a few different exercises for each major muscle group (or complex movements). Sets – The volume of sets can be modified over time as your training progress. Hypertrophy/Muscular Development training is typically moderate-heavy loading (75-85% 1RM),6-12 reps, 2-0-2, 0-60 or 0-30 rests, 3-6 sets (up to 7), 2-4 Strength exercises per body part.
#REST TIME FOR MUSCLE GROWTH HOW TO#
How to Train for Hypertrophy – Rep Ranges and SEts Speaking of stretching, you can learn more about its relationship with hypertrophy below. This packs nutrient and oxygen rich blood into and around the muscle cells to promote repair and growth.
#REST TIME FOR MUSCLE GROWTH FULL#
Pumping specific muscle groups full of oxygenated blood in a relatively short period of time, forcing the fascia tissue to stretch and expand like a balloon. The goal is to activate as many muscle fibers as possible to maximize the response.Ĭheck out this NASM-CPT podcast episode for some more information on the biomechanics of hypertrophy. The reaction increases protein synthesis and muscle size. Refers to the amount of force/tension within the muscle fibers in response to a static or dynamic stimulus. Metabolic stress results from the buildup of various metabolites (e.g., lactic acid, inorganic phosphate, etc.), primarily because of training in the fast glycolytic energy system where carbohydrates are used anaerobically to fuel performance. The subsequent muscle repair (recovery) strengthens the tissue to protect against further damage (adaptation). Mechanisms for Hypertrophy & Muscular Development 1) Exercise-Induced Muscle Damageĭuring eccentric activity, the contractile elements (actin and myosin) in working muscles exert a resistance action that produces small tears in both the contractile elements and surface membrane (sarcolemma) of the associated muscle fibers. In other words, the more muscle fiber you can activate through a specific exercise and loading, the greater the demand (stimulus) and therefore the greater the hypertrophy response. Muscle Hypertrophy is also a function of Maximal Voluntary Isometric Contraction (MVIC) and loading/unloading. Exercises featuring an increased range of motion, more time under tension, a greater load, and a longer eccentric portion are typically the preferred stimulus to maximize muscle hypertrophy. High-tension and high-damage exercises, therefore, require more recovery time but cause greater adaptation. These exercises will also stimulate stronger muscle adaptations that will effectively enable it to withstand more tension in subsequent training.įor example, doing five sets of heavy bench press will cause far more muscle breakdown than 5 sets of pushups. Since muscle damage is a function of loading and tension, high tension and high damage exercises will require more time for recovery. The SRA curve is directly affected by the exercise selection, time, muscle damage, nutrition and client recovery capability.įirst, consider a variety of different exercises. This means that training beyond the maximal growth stimulus you will disrupt the stimulus-recovery-adaptation (SRA) curve by delaying the recovery phase, which is counterproductive to muscle growth. Since maximal muscle response is achieved through 5-6 sets of a specific exercise, it is best to spread the workload throughout the week. Research indicates that performing approximately 15-20 sets of challenging hypertrophy exercises per week is the optimum stimulus to enhance muscle size. If the demand is not placed on the muscle over time the muscle will begin to atrophy. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) by Hans Selye describes the pattern of responses that the body goes through after being prompted by a stressor. Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (SAID) Principle states that adaptations are specific to the imposed stimulus. is characterized by an increase in the cross-sectional area of individual muscle fibers resulting from an increase in myofibril proteins (myofilaments).” Hypertrophy is defined as "the enlargement of skeletal muscle fibers in response to being recruited to develop increased levels of tension, as seen in resistance training. One focuses on building strength and the other on building muscle mass. Similar to classic strength training, the goals of hypertrophy are different. If you’re looking for an exercise program to help you effectively build mass, you may be looking for something to do with hypertrophy training.
