Strength training for your goals
Strength vs. Hypertrophy vs. Muscle Endurance
Even within strength training there are different ways you can train depending on your goals. If you’re trying to improve your 1 rep max, i.e. - the most weight you can lift a single time (think powerlifting), then you will train with strength as the primary goal. This means training in rep ranges of 1 to 5 per set. If you’re trying to grow your muscles as big as you can (think bodybuilding) then you’ll focus on rep ranges that are between 6 and 15 or so. And if you’re trying to increase your muscular endurance (think crossfit, rowing, mid distance running, etc.) then your rep ranges will be somewhere between 15 and 30. These aren’t steadfast rep ranges and a bit of each category trickles over into the next. For the general population, hypertrophy rep ranges give you the most bang for your buck. You get healthy proportions of strength, hypertrophy, and muscle endurance while also being able to focus on range of motion, balance, healthy movement patterns, and all the benefits of strength training discussed in the last post.
Let’s dive a little deeper into each category:
Strength - As stated above, the focus of strength work is lifting as much as possible a few times. This means that training focuses on motor unit recruitment, passive tissue development, movement efficiency, and lots and lots of practice doing the same few lifts over and over. Lifting heavy puts a lot of demand on the body and this type of training can be pretty demanding on the central nervous system, but tends to create less peripheral fatigue than the types of strength training discussed below. If CNS fatigue is properly managed, then this style of training can be done pretty frequently.
Hypertrophy - Hypertrophy training focuses on muscle fiber development. This is done with a nice balance of mechanical tension and cellular stress - two concepts that we’ll explore further, later on. For now, it suffices to say it’s a little bit lifting heavy and a little bit feeling the burn. Reps are typically taken to near failure, maybe leaving 1 or 2 reps in the tank for each set. This type of training produces less CNS fatigue, but can produce a substantial amount of peripheral fatigue. For this reason and to allow the process of muscle protein synthesis (i.e. - muscle growth) to fully complete, you should give muscle groups 48 to 72 hours rest between training sessions. So if you did a full lower body workout on Monday, wait until Wednesday or Thursday to get another lower body session in.
Muscle Endurance - Work capacity and sustained effort is the primary goal in this type of strength training. You’re lifting lighter weights, but going for higher reps to the point that the muscles are really burning. This is putting significant demand on your muscle cells and working on metabolic efficiency, i.e. - creating anaerobic energy and clearing metabolites (lactic acid). This type of training produces low CNS fatigue and also less peripheral fatigue. Recovery seems to be little faster than hypertrophy training most likely because there’s less muscle fiber damage and it’s likely that metabolic byproducts drive growth here.
To Recap: Reps, Sets, Weight
Strength: 1 to 5 Reps, Many, Heavy - 85 to 95% 1 RM (Powerlifting, Olympic Lifting)
Hypertrophy: 6 to 15 Reps, 3-5, Mod to Heavy - 60 to 80% 1 RM (Bodybuilding)
Muscle Endurance: 15 to 30 Reps, Light, 50 to 70% 1 RM (Crossfit, Bodybuilding)
Progressive Overload
Regardless of your training goals, progressive overload should be used to get stronger or bigger or increase work capacity. Progressive overload is a pretty straightforward principle and we’ll talk about it more in depth later on, but simply put, you have to incrementally increase weight, or reps, or ROM, or reduce rest time to keep exercises challenging. Basically, you need to add something to make it harder once you adapt to the demand and this will keep you progressing.
Takeaway:
The main takeaway here is to strength train in a way that is in alignment with your goals. If you’re a linebacker you probably want to train for strength, if you’re a mid distance runner you’ll probably want to train for muscular endurance. If your goal is general health and longevity, I’d say you’re best off with hypertrophy work, but you can throw in a little of the others from time to time, too. Pick a style that appeals to you and have a plan and you’ll get the most out of your strength training sessions.
TL;DR Video Explanation
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