This is a question which is asked by many and is never really answered. When I started training I was one of those people that believed going heavy resulted in bigger muscles, as in a simple sense it's a stronger muscle so surely it’s going to get bigger. Now this is somewhat true but muscle growth can also come from many other different ways and types of training.
In simple terms strength is about increasing force production. Size, on the other hand, is about getting a pump through the increase of blood flow to the muscle and creating microscopic damage to the muscle, which then causes it to repair and grow larger. This is hypertrophy in a nutshell and now is the most common rep range where most people believe they should be training in order to add size to a given muscle group.
What is Strength Training?
The general rule when training for strength is that the reps should be low and the resistance load should be high. Low-rep strength work is primarily neuromuscular, this involves teaching your Central Nervous System how to bring more muscle into the movement or in the correct terms increase motor unit recruitment. Strength training takes time, you wont just increase the weight you're lifting each week and where programming becomes the crucial element. The slow increase in weight over time shall force the muscle to grow stronger but, its a steady process and must not be rushed. Always stick to the big compound moves for this and also focus on form over the weight you're lifting. No one around you will care that you're deadlifting 5 plates if you're back is arched over and you're doing more harm than good.
Hypertrophy?
Unlike strength training, the goal of training for size is more physiological than it is neurological. It's about upgrading your body's hardware, like bones, connective tissues, and muscles. Its about pushing the muscle past what it is already capable through the micro tears of the tissue so it will grow stronger and larger. These are four points to focus on:
• Using strict form. Most of the exercises are going to be isolating the muscle so form is the most crucial element, target the muscle you want to actually train!!
• Using the tempo! This is the biggest thing that is neglected in the gym, people just lifting weights as fast as they can but tempo plays such an important part. You could cut the amount of weight you're lifting and focus on the contraction and eccentric phase of the moment. A count of three seconds each is perfect and will engage the muscle so much more.
• Mentally focusing on the muscles being worked and squeezing those muscles at the peak of contraction. Very much the same as tempo but at the peak of the movement push that little further and squeeze the muscle forcing blood directly into it.
• Avoiding fully locking out so the muscles are under tension throughout the movement. Many people take the tension when performing an exercise away from the muscle by locking out at the joint and all the weight transferred onto this. Try to avoid this, especially when you're isolating the muscle, if you can’t, reduce the weight.
For your workout to be the best it can be it needs a rounded rep scheme. Aim for the heavy, compound exercises at the beginning of the routine to really shock the muscle, recruit the most amount of muscles and predominantly build strength in the muscle. Then as the session wears on with the addition of isolated exercises aim for higher reps, focus paid to tempo and form to really break down the muscle further. Supersets, tri-sets and drop sets all added to push that little further but form always takes precedence over anything else.
There you have it, going heavy has it’s time and place but isn’t always essential. The best bit of advice I can give though is a big muscle doesn't always mean its a strong muscle!
Jack
No comments:
Post a Comment