Hypertrophy vs strength training: What should you focus on?

hypertrophy vs strength training

Difference between hypertrophy vs strength

While both can lead to improved strength and can elicit changes in the muscle fibers there is a difference in what is emphasized in hypertrophy vs strength training.

Muscle hypertrophy occurs when muscle protein synthesis exceeds muscle protein breakdown resulting in an increase in the size of the muscle. This is accomplished by increasing the weekly volume of your workouts over time to create a higher growth signal to the muscle also know as progressive overloading. Volume in exercise training is the total result from the number of sets x reps you’re doing in training each muscle. Since increased volume is most important for hypertrophy a higher training volume is required with more frequent workouts or longer workout sessions. 

Muscle strength on the other hand refers to the ability of a muscle to produce increased force. This is accomplished by lifting heavier weights (at least 85% of your 1 rep max). Strength training requires less training volume with fewer reps and sets, but with higher intensity. 

Benefits of training for hypertrophy

Hypertrophy training places an emphasis on muscle building which has many benefits:

  1. Improves your body aesthetics. If you’re looking to change the look and shape of your body adding lean muscle mass is the way to achieve this. 
  2. Improves your metabolism and calorie expenditure. It takes a lot of energy to sustain muscle on the body so as a result you’re able to burn more calories at rest boosting your basil metabolic rate. According to Tim Church, M.D., professor of preventative medicine at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, evidence suggests that every pound of muscle burns roughly six calories per day at rest, “That’s about three times as many calories as a pound of fat, which burns roughly two calories per day,” says Dr. Church.
  3. Improves your strength. Hypertrophy and strength training aren’t mutually exclusive. Building muscle size also promotes muscle strength as well.
  4. Improves body composition. Increasing your lean muscle mass can result in a higher proportion of lean muscle relative to other body tissues. Having a higher proportion of muscle on your body than fat is hugely beneficial to longevity of health.

Benefits of training for strength

Strength training is important for everyday life and here’s why:

  1. Improves functional fitness. Building strength translates into having a better quality of life. You’ll be able to manage life tasks such as lifting and moving heavy objects, playing with your kids and climbing stairs with ease. 
  2. Increases bone density and joint health. As you tax the muscles to get stronger you’re also promoting stronger bones, joints and connective tissue. This puts you less at risk for a fracture or fall. For older folks this is especially important because a bone fracture to the hip for example when you’re over the age of 65 can lead to mortality. Having strong bones also helps protect against osteoporosis. 
  3. Enhances athletic performance. Research shows that having greater muscular strength can enhance skills such as jumping, sprinting and skills that involve change of direction. Evidence also shows that stronger athletes excel at sports-specific tasks and are at a lessor risk of injury.
  4. Reduces the risk of injury. Strength training helps improve body alignment and improve our muscle and tendon capacity for tension putting us at less risk for injury. 
  5. Improves muscle strength and endurance. By increasing our muscle tissues ability to handle more demands we’re able to improve both our muscular strength and endurance. 

Which is better? Training for strength or hypertrophy

There are obvious benefits to training for both hypertrophy vs strength and there’s also some overlap as both elicit improvements in muscle strength. It would be beneficial to incorporate both styles of training in your program to optimize your fitness results. By incorporating both you can improve strength, power, muscle size and appearance. 

However, naturally your body gets stronger before you build muscle. When first introducing a weightlifting program your strength gains are primarily driven by improvement in neuromuscular processes and not an increase in muscle size. Hypertrophy comes later as your body gets stronger and you continue to increase the load you are moving for longer reps. 

Exercise selection for strength and hypertrophy

When it comes to hypertrophy vs strength training both benefit most from compound exercises. These are exercises that work multiple joints and muscles in one movement. Examples of compound exercises include deadlifts, squats, push-ups, rows and pull-ups. Using multiple muscle groups at once allows you to lift more weight, which leads to better improvements in strength and hypertrophy. Compound lifts are also more functional allowing you to also improve your coordination and balance. 

You can train using the same exercises for strength and hypertrophy, but your programming will look a bit different. For hypertrophy you would focus on higher reps usually in the 6-30 rep range whereas with strength you’re focusing on fewer reps usually 1-5 rep range. Hypertrophy requires a shorter rest period in between sets which is usually 1-3 minutes. Strength training requires lower rest periods in between sets, which is usually 3+ minutes. Hypertrophy also involves less intensity since you’re training for more reps.

If you struggle with coming up with a program to achieve your fitness goals for hypertrophy vs strength our team of fitness professionals is happy to help. Strength training and hypertrophy are one of the main focal points of our programming model. Reach out to us on our Contact Us page to schedule a free phone consultation.