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    Default Training for STRENGTH vs. SIZE

    Training for STRENGTH vs. SIZE


    **MYTH: Low reps is for strength, high reps is for size.**

    Although this contains a grain of truth, it leads to wrong thinking - the classic problem we get on this forum is the legion of novices who don't want to do novice routines because they contain 5 rep sets ... which are "for strength" not "for mass". This is (mostly) incorrect.

    Strength and size are intertwined and it's worth taking a few minutes to understand how...

    1) What is SIZE? - this is easy enough, it's how big the muscle is. A larger muscle contains more fibres (myofibrils) and more fluid (sarcoplasm). Note that these two components tend to stay in the same proportions to one another regardless of whether the muscle shrinks or grows - and regardless of how you train.

    2) What is STRENGTH? A simple measure is the peak force a muscle can produce. This will determine how much weight you can lift in a 1-rep-maximum effort attempt for a simple movement.

    There are actually 2 components to strength:

    - The size of the muscle - more fibers means more ability to contract and produce force. Size is the most important factor for strength.

    - Neural factors - how well your brain coordinates the firing pattern of all the fibres in your muscle (or lots of muscles together in the case of a complex movement).

    **So how do you train for each of these qualities?**

    1) Training for SIZE is most closely related to the amount of volume you perform. The best and simplest way of measuring volume is the number of HARD SETS you do for a particular body part over the course of 1 week.

    - We use sets not reps because actually the number of reps is just not that important, you can grow muscle with higher or lower reps within a wide range (say from 1-30 reps per set).

    - We call them HARD sets because you have to train up to or very close to the point of FAILURE in every set. It's still possible to grow from using less exertion than this - but if you are interested in measuring your volume, this can muddy the waters.

    - Research shows that 10 hard sets for each body part, done over 1 week is a good starting point for hypertrophy. This tends to need to increase the more experienced you get.

    2) Training for STRENGTH. From reading the above it should be clear that you are most interested in growing the muscles involved - because a bigger muscle is stronger. If your goal is to be as strong as possible, you also need to give some thought to the previously mentioned neural factors. It turns out that training with heavier weights is better for training neural efficiency.


    **So can we have both??**

    You will get both anyway - in any program. As a novice, you can maximise your ability to acquire both without any compromise. This is what novice routines that use 5 rep sets are for!

    Once beyond the novice stage, you will find that you need more and more volume to keep the results coming. THIS is where problems with lower rep sets will make themselves apparent. The problem with using very heavy weights all the time are that you are at greater risk of injury especially when approaching the point of failure. Doing enough hard sets with a heavier weight also produces a lot more fatigue than using lighter weights. So you will find that if you want enough volume to maximise hypertrophy you cannot keep up training over a long period with heavy weights.

    You have to specialise. If you are a bodybuilder, you have to compromise by reducing the weight and accepting that your neural gains will not be as good. If you are a powerlifter, you will have to reduce work done on exercises that don't affect strength in the big 3 lifts as much (like bicep curls for example).

    **Do novices have to train for strength first even if they want size?**

    I'm going to say no - but consider everything I've written above. And also remember that novices gain mostly neural efficiency in their first 4-6 weeks - gains from this will far outstrip mass gains - but like I said they should get both at the same time and do not need to use a high rep program. There is the possibility that more strength can lead to more ability to grow muscle once you are more experienced and have to work harder to produce a growth stimulus... this is somewhat uncertain - but if you can max out both why wouldn't you!?

    The key point worth repeating is that 5 rep sets can maximise muscle growth in novices. It's just that they don't often see their results as soon as they would like because their body composition is usually worse than they imagine it is. It's not until you get to mid intermediate stage with 14% or lower body fat that you actually start to look "in shape"

    There isn't the distinction you think there is between strength and hypertrophy training.

    When you train in a given rep range, you get better at performing in that rep range. This adaptation could be called strength if it's a lower rep range or endurance if it's a higher rep range - but it's essentially a specialisation of your motor pathways. Ask yourself why you need it if your ultimate goal is muscle gain. It's really only something to worry about for sport specific training.

    Hypertrophy happens in almost all rep ranges - only at the very fringes does it become inefficient (very low or very high weight) at building muscle. What matters is the total volume - the best way of measuring that is by the number of hard sets you do. Yes, hard sets of 3 or 5 reps count just as much as set of 8 or 10 but may be harder to sustain over time.

    As for progression
    - regularly increase weight if you can
    - if you can't, increase reps per set (you can reset to lower reps when you move up in weight)
    - if you can't do that then increase total volume by adding sets (you can reduce sets back down after a deload).

    The weight used depends on the exercise but for most things, a weight that yields sets of between 5 and 15 reps works fine for sustained hypertrophy training.



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