drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
Why effort MATTERS for hypertrophy
Effort matters for hypertrophy, and if you think you can get away with no-effort based workouts, well... then you're likely not optimizing the efficacy of your training program, and probably 𝘍'𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.
Don't get me wrong, there are scenarios in which we don't need to exert high levels of effort: an example would be beginners who are just starting out with resistance training and learning the movement, who can gain substantial strength through improvements in coordination..
But past those gains.. then you need to push yourself progressively, if you want to see results. The reason why effort exertion is extremely important (for maximizing hypertrophy), is because the perceived level of effort determines the level of motor unit recruitment achieved.
The greater the effort perceived, the higher the level of motor units recruited to perform the movement, which allows greater force to be produced.
When the goal is hypertrophy, we need to maximize the level of motor unit recruitment, because this way we can "get access" to the fibers governed by the high-threshold motor units, which are also the largest fibers and the ones which grow through strength training.
Approaching slow bar speeds (close or to failure) with high-effort reps will maximize the amount of hypertrophy we can create per set. So if that's your goal, start putting some more effort into your sets, and you'll see great results!
Effort matters for hypertrophy, and if you think you can get away with no-effort based workouts, well... then you're likely not optimizing the efficacy of your training program, and probably 𝘍'𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.
Don't get me wrong, there are scenarios in which we don't need to exert high levels of effort: an example would be beginners who are just starting out with resistance training and learning the movement, who can gain substantial strength through improvements in coordination..
But past those gains.. then you need to push yourself progressively, if you want to see results. The reason why effort exertion is extremely important (for maximizing hypertrophy), is because the perceived level of effort determines the level of motor unit recruitment achieved.
The greater the effort perceived, the higher the level of motor units recruited to perform the movement, which allows greater force to be produced.
When the goal is hypertrophy, we need to maximize the level of motor unit recruitment, because this way we can "get access" to the fibers governed by the high-threshold motor units, which are also the largest fibers and the ones which grow through strength training.
Approaching slow bar speeds (close or to failure) with high-effort reps will maximize the amount of hypertrophy we can create per set. So if that's your goal, start putting some more effort into your sets, and you'll see great results!
