What is Hypertrophy?

If you’re working out to build muscle, you’ve probably heard the term hypertrophy. But what does it actually mean? Why is it so important for your results?

Hypertrophy is just a fancy word for muscle growth. It’s what happens when your muscles repair after being broken down in the gym.

Don’t worry, in this article, I'll break down exactly what hypertrophy is. I’ll also cover how it works and how to train for it.

In This Article:

• What Is Hypertrophy?
• What Triggers Hypertrophy?
• What Is Hypertrophy Training?
• Benefits of Hypertrophy Training
• Fueling and Recovery for Hypertrophy
• Frequently Asked Questions About Hypertrophy
• Feed Your Muscles What They Need

What Is Hypertrophy?

Hypertrophy is the process which your cells grow larger. There can be hypertrophy of different types of cells in your body, but we’re focusing on your muscles here.

It’s commonly thought that when you lift weights, you add more muscle cells. This isn’t true, though. 

When muscle hypertrophy happens, your muscle cells can grow in size, not number. They get thicker and, over time, become noticeably larger.

Here’s a simplified version of how it works (1):

You place stress on your muscles (through lifting weights, for example). This causes tiny microtears in the muscle fibers.

Your body then uses amino acids from protein to repair them. When this happens, your body adds more protein than what was previously there.

This is how muscle fibers come back thicker and stronger than before.

Sure, the difference after just one workout is small. Over weeks and months of training, though, those changes can add up. That’s when you can notice real size and strength gains.

What Triggers Hypertrophy?

Hypertrophy only happens when there’s a reason for your muscles to adapt. That reason is stress.

This means in order to trigger hypertrophy, your muscles need to undergo more stress than they're used to handling. This can be accomplished in quite a few different ways...

• Lifting more weight than you normally do
• Doing more reps or sets than you normally do
• Pushing your muscles close to failure
• Taking less rest between sets
• Increasing time under tension

All of these strategies, and others I didn't mention, are ways to achieve progressive overload. What's progressive overload? It's the key to muscle hypertrophy. In simple terms, it's intentionally increasing the challenge to your muscles over time.

But adding stress isn’t enough on its own. Your body also needs:

• Protein (to repair muscle tissue)
• Calories (to fuel growth)
• Rest (to recover and rebuild)

Without these, your muscles won’t grow, no matter how hard you train. You also can't stimulate hypertrophy without these variables, making them essential.

What Is Hypertrophy Training?

Hypertrophy training is a style of resistance training designed to maximize muscle growth. The main pieces of a good hypertrophy program are:

1. Progressive Overload

Keep increasing the challenge to your muscles. Add more weight, more reps, more sets, or shorten your rest time.

2. Reps and Sets

The sweet spot for muscle growth is usually 8–12 reps per set. However, you can also see plenty of muscle growth doing 25-35 reps per set (2).

Of course, you’ll be lifting heavier weights when doing fewer reps. So 8-12 reps is a great sweet spot for increasing strength as well as muscle growth.

3. Rest Periods

Shorter rest periods make it harder for your muscles to keep performing at the same level. It sounds bad, but it’s this type of stress that forces them to adapt. Aim for 30–90 seconds between sets.

4. Exercise Variety

Hit muscles from different angles and through different movement patterns. Don’t just do the same 2 exercises forever. 

Changing up the exercise makes it harder for your muscles to keep up. When it’s hard for them to keep up, they’re forced to adapt.

5. Nutrition and Recovery

Your workouts break your muscles down. Your food and recovery are what build them back up. In order to build muscle, you also have to:

• Eat enough protein
• Eat enough calories
• Sleep 7-9 hours and get adequate rest between sessions

Without this, hypertrophy won’t happen. After all, you don’t actually build muscle in the gym. You build it when you recover!

Benefits of Hypertrophy Training

So why train for muscle hypertrophy? Here are 3 of the biggest benefits of hypertrophy training:

1. Hypertrophy Training Can Help Build Bigger Muscles

Hypertrophy = growth. This can help you shape your body, look better, and build confidence. Muscle can also help support metabolism, helping you burn more calories at rest.

2. Hypertrophy Training Can Help Build More Strength

As your muscles grow, they also adapt to handle more weight. This means better performance in the gym and in everyday life. Strength isn't just for show ... It's practical!

3. Lower Risk of Injury

Stronger muscles = more protection for your joints and tendons. Regular hypertrophy training helps your body handle stress safely by strengthening these tissues (3).

Fueling and Recovery for Hypertrophy

As I mentioned earlier, exercise is only half of the battle. If you want your muscles to grow, you need to fuel and recover properly.

Protein: Repairs and builds muscle tissue. Meat, eggs, fish, and whey protein are all great sources.

Calories: A calorie surplus can be very helpful in building muscle. To add new tissue to your body, energy is required. Calories are this energy. If you don't get enough ... Building muscle will prove to be quite difficult.

Recovery: Rest days and sleep are when muscle growth actually happens. Muscle tissue is broken down in the gym and built back stronger outside of the gym. If you constantly break down muscle without giving it time to repair and adapt, you'll be spinning your wheels.

Supplements: Supplements can help fill gaps, too. For example, a post-workout protein and carbohydrate supplement can help support recovery. On the other hand, a sustained assimilation protein can help support overall protein intake for muscle growth. Either way, supplements are tools that can help optimize nutrition and support your goals.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hypertrophy

Q: How Many Days a Week Should I Train for Hypertrophy?

Most people see great results with 3–5 resistance training sessions per week. This is typically what's recommended as well.

Q: How Long Does It Take To See Hypertrophy?

When you first start, you may notice results in just a matter of weeks. Big changes in muscle growth usually take months to years, though. It’s a process, but it’s worth it!

Q: What Rep Range Is Best for Hypertrophy?

The sweet spot is usually 8–12 reps per set, though lower (5–7) and higher (25-35) reps can also work.

Q: Do I Need To Eat More To Build Muscle?

Technically, you don’t have to eat more to build muscle. Although it does help you maximize the amount of muscle you build (4). Building muscle requires extra energy. 

Most people need to be in at least a slight calorie surplus with enough protein. This helps you gain weight and is often called bulking. It’s possible to build muscle in a calorie deficit, but doing so can really hinder your results (5).

Q: Can Beginners Build Muscle With Hypertrophy Training?

Absolutely! Beginners often see results the fastest since their muscles aren’t used to resistance training yet.

Q: What Is Hypertrophy in Simple Terms?

Muscle hypertrophy is just a fancy way to describe the process of muscle growth. This process can take place when all the right conditions are met through proper exercise, nutrition, and recovery.

Q: Hypertrophy vs Strength Training: What Is the Difference?

Strength training refers to lifting weights with the goal of building strength. Hypertrophy training focuses on muscle growth.

You’ll inevitably do both with either style of training, but the focus is different. In strength training, it's recommended to lift heavier weights that you can only do 1-6 reps with. In hypertrophy training, you’ll be doing more reps with moderately heavy weights.

Feed Your Muscles What They Need

Most people only focus on the gym side of hypertrophy. If your nutrition and recovery aren’t locked in, though, your results will stall.

That’s how the first 4 years of lifting weights went for me. I didn’t eat or sleep enough, and it killed my chances of getting good results.

I was lifting hard and doing everything I could in the gym. I didn’t start building a lot of muscle until college, when I was eating and sleeping a lot more.

It’s funny how that works. When you do the right things, your results tend to take off. Mine sure did!

The hard part is knowing:

• How much protein you need for your goals

• How many calories you need for your goals

• How to adjust your diet and training over time to keep seeing results

Not everyone knows how to do that stuff, and I get it. I didn’t know it for a long time until I went to school to learn it. 

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References:

(1) Travis SK, et al. Emphasizing Task-Specific Hypertrophy to Enhance Sequential Strength and Power Performance. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2020;5(4):76.

(2) Schoenfeld BJ, et al. Effects of Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Well-Trained Men. J Strength Cond Res. 2015;29(10):2954-63.

(3) Fleck SJ, Falkel JE. Value of resistance training for the reduction of sports injuries. Sports Med. 1986;3(1):61-8.

(4) Slater GJ, et al. Is an Energy Surplus Required to Maximize Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy Associated With Resistance Training. Front Nutr. 2019;6:131.

(5) Murphy C, Koehler K. Energy deficiency impairs resistance training gains in lean mass but not strength: A meta-analysis and meta-regression. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2022;32(1):125-137.

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