Muscle hypertrophy is imperative to an aesthetic body, not to mention the strength gains that come with it. Usually when men say they want to “bulk” or when women say they want to “tone” what they are actually saying is that they want better muscular development (there is also the element of fat-loss but we will leave that for another post). There are literally thousands of workouts posted all over the internet, each one is trying to help individuals develop a much more muscular body. Some say higher reps and some say lower reps with more weight on the bar. So who’s right? Lets try and find out through the 3 mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy.
- Mechanical tension: A load that can stimulate muscle fibres over a given period of time. A one rep max is the best example. Simply put the maximum amount of weight you can lift for an exercise.
- Metabolic stress: We are looking for metabolite build up which is the by product of training. Higher repetitions help achieve this. Also with higher reps comes greater muscle fibre recruitment.
- Muscle damage: Heard anybody complaining about DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Soreness that occurs in the following days post an intense workout. Workouts create micro-tears within the muscle mainly during the eccentric part of the exercise. Too much of muscle damage is counter-productive and no damage will not drive hypertrophy.
So the next time you wonder if you should choose a high-rep workout plan or a low rep workout or an intense one, know that all three styles drive muscle growth. A well planned workout will utilise all the 3 mechanisms of hypertrophy. There is a common misconception here in India that men should do low repetitions and women should do high repetitions, i hope this helps you make a better decision in the future. There is also another misconception, that every workout needs to be intense (cross-fit style circuits), this is absolutely not true because rest plays a key role in muscle hypertrophy and too much muscle damage is actually detrimental to your body.
To know more about muscle hypertrophy you can look at Brad Schoenfeld’s work on the subject.
You can get in touch with me at sunnyleosharma@icloud.com with anything related to workouts or diets. I also help people make realistic fitness goals. I work on designing a minimalistic plan with people to help them realise their goals. I am based in Mumbai (India).
