Hypertrophy is the goal of most people who join a gym. It's simply the gain of muscle mass resulting from weight training. Hypertrophy occurs at both the muscular and cellular levels. For this generation of new muscle tissue to take place, a specific stimulus and a diet tailored to the goal are necessary.
In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know about hypertrophy and what are the best tips for it.
What is hypertrophy
Muscle hypertrophy is the increase in the size of a muscle or its cross-sectional area attributed to an increase in the size or number of myofibrils. These myofibrils are composed of actin and myosin. They are found within a given muscle fiber. Hypertrophy can occur in both type I and type II muscle fibers, but it occurs more frequently in type II fibers.
It's important to understand that muscle growth requires an energy surplus. This surplus is achieved by consuming more calories than are burned daily. This is known as a caloric surplus . The calories we consume daily are what sustain a person's nutrition. Based on our daily physical activity, height, age, weight, and other factors, we have a caloric expenditure that we must meet. If we compensate for this caloric expenditure with a sustained increase in calorie intake over time, we will create the ideal conditions for muscle growth.
You have to understand that the body does not understand what type of exercise we are doing, but stimuli. Not only do we need a sustained energy surplus over time, but we also need to give the muscle sufficient stimulus to generate hypertrophy.
Hypertrophy benefits
There is a strong correlation between muscle cross-sectional area and muscle strength. This means that the more muscle mass we have, the greater our potential for developing more strength. Increased strength, combined with increased muscle mass, has a positive effect on body composition. In this way, we address two of the three factors that comprise energy expenditure. This energy expenditure is due to the following: resting metabolic rate, physical activity, and the thermic effect of food.
By consistently increasing strength, we are causing an increase in energy expenditure not only during exercise but also in the hours following the activity. Furthermore, the amount of fat beyond the amount of energy consumed represents approximately 70% of an individual's resting metabolic rate . Therefore, an increase in muscle mass results in an increased basal metabolic rate. In other words, a person with more muscle mass will need to consume more calories to maintain that muscle mass and their body weight.
Body composition is measured as a percentage free of fat versus fat mass. The body fat percentage of an individual can be decreased if hypertrophy is worked very well.
Working the muscles
The three main factors that generate hypertrophy in the body are mechanical tension, muscle damage, and metabolic stress. The degree of mechanical tension in a strength training session is determined by intensity and time under tension. Intensity refers to the amount of weight being lifted in the exercises . Time under tension is the duration of the applied load. The greater both of these, the greater the hypertrophy. However, the degree of fatigue must also be considered. We must choose the exercises and the necessary load to optimize the stimulus-fatigue ratio.
Strength training creates an overload situation, causing some muscle damage and an inflammatory response . This enhances the release of various growth factors. On the other hand, metabolic stress is a key component of training programs that rely heavily on the anaerobic system. This is how the pH level decreases and muscle fiber breakdown occurs.
There are several ways to induce hypertrophy through exercise. Multiple sets with moderate loads in a repetition range of 6-12, using 65-85% of your 1RM , can be employed . 1RM is the maximum number of repetitions you can perform with a given load; that is, the maximum weight you can lift for one repetition. Metabolic stress can also be stimulated with rest periods of approximately 60 seconds, leading to a greater increase in testosterone and growth hormone. These two hormones belong to the group of primary anabolic hormones.
On the other hand, if we analyze heavy loads in a repetition range of 1-5 with a 1RM percentage greater than 85% and with longer breaks of 2-5 minutes, hypertrophy can also be performed. On the other hand, if we work at an RM of less than 65% and with more than 12 repetitions with short rest periods of approximately 30 seconds, we can also generate hypertrophy.
Finally, muscle tension, damage, and metabolic stress trigger an anabolic response that stimulates recovery, returning the body to homeostasis. After homeostasis is reached, supercompensation occurs. This refers to the body's increased capacity to handle the stress of training. Simply put, the body is able to repair all its tissues beyond their previous capacity so that the same training does not cause the same amount of damage. In this way, positive adaptations are continuously achieved.
Training schedule
Training programming must take into account all training variables. This means progressing systematically by modifying training variables such as frequency, volume, intensity, rest periods, and exercise selection. Training volume is the most commonly adjusted variable.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about hypertrophy and how it takes place.