Many people train for hypertrophy and also to increase strength. If you ask someone what kind of training will be beneficial for you, you will most likely get a biased answer. If someone trains for hypertrophy, that person will suggest you do the same and vice versa without even asking about your goal.
To clarify this confusion, we will break down hypertrophy and strength training step by step so that you will not be confused anymore and can make the right decision for yourself.
Both hypertrophy and strength training are types of resistance training.
Resistance Training is when you train your muscles against any particular resistance. To make it simple, imagine how you perform a push-up. You lower your body alongside gravity and push your body up against gravity. In this case, gravity provides the resistance against which you train your muscles.
In both hypertrophy and strength training, you train your muscles against a specific resistance. However, there are some fundamental differences between the two.
Hypertrophy Training
Hypertrophy training mainly focuses on increasing muscle size. Training hypertrophy means providing your muscles with enough stimuli that they will start growing over time.
If you want to grow muscles, then hypertrophy training will be the best choice for you. In bodybuilding, all bodybuilders follow hypertrophy principles to increase the size of their muscles.
Strength Training
The main focus of strength training is to build muscular strength. Strength training develops muscle fibers so that you can lift heavy objects. It also exposes your nervous system to heavy loads, so it trains your nervous system indirectly.
Usually, powerlifters or specific sports athletes follow strength training.
Which one should you choose?
Now that we have learned about hypertrophy and strength let’s compare them step by step so that you can better understand them and make an educated choice.
The categories in which we will do the comparison are:
- Training Style
- Nutrition
- Recovery
Training Style
There are some fundamental differences in the training style between hypertrophy and strength training. We will break the training style into some small categories and discuss the differences step by step.
Exercise Selection
In hypertrophy training, the training plan is designed to incorporate both compound and isolated exercises. Usually, compound movements are performed earlier in the training when the muscles are fresh, and isolated exercises are performed later in the workout session. A hypertrophy approach includes both free weights and machine exercises.
Compound movements are always prioritized in strength training. There is almost no isolation exercises involved when doing strength training, as isolated exercises cannot be performed using heavier weights. Free weights are always used in strength training, as the main goal is to develop muscular strength and improve muscular stabilization.
Set and Reps
In hypertrophy training, the optimal number of sets is considered anywhere between 5 and 30 sets weekly, according to the research. It depends on the individual how many sets weekly they need to perform to grow the muscle optimally when training hypertrophy.
As per reps in hypertrophy training, the number of reps usually varies from 8 to 15 reps and even more than that sometimes.
When it comes to strength training, usually, the set numbers each week remain between 5 to 10 sets.
As the exercises are performed using heavy weights in strength training, the rep numbers are relatively low. One rep max is the most popular practice; however, even when performing multiple reps, the number of reps remains 5 reps or less.
Exercise Intensity
In hypertrophy training, the muscles are usually trained at a moderate intensity. The intensity usually remains 50 to 75 percent, as multiple reps need to be performed with proper form and technique.
The intensity of the strength training remains relatively high. The training is done in almost 85 percent of max intensity
Progressive Overload
One of the most essential aspects of hypertrophy training is being able to do progressive overload every week or every two weeks. It can be done by increasing the weight, sets, reps, or using any other technique to make the exercise more challenging. It helps to build muscular endurance.
In strength training, progressive overload is done in a similar manner but without increasing the reps much; the weight is increased over time to develop more strength. This helps to build muscular explosiveness.
Rest Time
The rest time between sets is relatively low when training hypertrophy compared to strength training. Usually, it remains between 2 and 5 minutes, depending on the exercise and the intensity.
In strength training, the rest time remains relatively high: anywhere between 5 and 10 minutes is required to recover from the fatigue of the previous set.
Nutrition
There are significant differences between the diet of hypertrophy and that of strength training individuals.
When you are doing hypertrophy training, you have the freedom to customize your diet according to your goal. If you want to lose weight, you can design your diet so that you will be able to do so over time. If you want to bulk, you can increase your calorie intake, especially protein, to gain more muscle size over time.
Although you will have a certain freedom, it isn’t easy to follow a bodybuilding diet. Pro bodybuilders go on a heavy cut before any professional show, restricting food and even water to give their bodies a specific look. However, if you are not aiming to do bodybuilding professionally, then you do not need to worry about going to the extreme.
When doing strength training, the cutting down portion does not exist, which does not mean that you can eat whatever you want and grow fat. Either you need to be in the maintenance volume, or you need to be in a slight caloric surplus to gain strength. When you cut, you eventually lose some strength as your body does not get enough food to fuel the energy. So, you cannot afford to cut when doing strength training as it decreases strength.
Muscular Recovery
When we train, the muscle breaks down and then recovers to become stronger than before. Depending on the intensity and training volume, different muscles require different periods to recover fully.
Usually, when doing hypertrophy training, it takes 36 hours for any particular muscle to recover so that it can be trained again with full intensity. If you feel sore after 3 days, then you should understand that you are overtraining or not giving your muscles enough time to recover. Muscle recovery is essential; otherwise, the chance of getting an injury increases significantly.
The recovery time for strength training is much longer. It sometimes takes 7 to 10 days for your muscle to recover after doing one rep max.
One of the famous strongest man athletes, Eddie Hall, once stated, “He once did a 420 kg deadlift and after that, he got stuck at that weight for over two years, not being able to progress any further. After researching and getting guidance from fellow athletes, he understood that he did not give his muscles enough time to recover to make further progress. According to him, it takes at least 10 days to recover from a heavy set of deadlifts and that’s how he broke his plateau of 420 kg deadlift.”
What should you choose?
It is a trade between strength and size.
What you choose depends on your goals. If you want to gain a muscular physique, you should take the hypertrophy approach. If your goal is to gain more strength, you should do strength training.
If you are still trying to decide, we recommend you start with hypertrophy training, as it will help you develop a solid foundation. After reaching a certain level, you should decide whether to switch to strength training or stick to hypertrophy training.
It is not that if you start hypertrophy training, you cannot switch to strength training or vice versa. Thus, choose according to your specific goal and make adjustments if needed.
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