If you’ve been training for a while and are looking to take your muscle-building efforts to the next level, it’s time to incorporate advanced techniques. Hypertrophy training focuses on muscle growth, while strength training enhances your overall lifting performance. Here’s how to use these techniques effectively in your routine.
What is Hypertrophy Training?
Hypertrophy training is specifically designed to promote muscle growth. This type of training uses moderate weights with higher repetitions (typically 8-12 reps per set) to stimulate muscle fibers and increase muscle size.
What is Strength Training?
Strength training focuses on maximizing the amount of weight you can lift. It involves low repetitions (1-5 reps per set) with heavier weights. This increases your overall strength, allowing you to lift heavier weights in hypertrophy training.
Combining Hypertrophy and Strength for Maximum Gains
- Periodization: Cycle between hypertrophy and strength training phases to build both muscle mass and strength.
- Supersets: Pair two exercises that target different muscle groups to increase intensity and time under tension.
- Drop Sets: Continue your set even after failure by reducing the weight and completing more reps to push your muscles beyond their normal fatigue point.
Using both hypertrophy and strength training in your routine will help you build muscle mass and strength simultaneously, leading to more impressive gains in the gym.