By Kaley Freehill
What Is Hypertrophy?
When training an athlete, there is significant research available regarding their performance. Not all athletes are the same. There are different physiques and learning styles to understand the type of athlete being trained. When resistance training, muscles go through a process known as hypertrophy to increase their size, volume, and strength.
There are two different forms of hypertrophy: sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar. With a properly designed training program, an athlete can benefit from muscular growth, experience strength gains, and prevent injuries. However, there are many factors to consider when training for athletic performance.
How Does Hypertrophy Work?
Hypertrophy is an increase and growth of muscle cells or tissues based on exercise. A 2019 paper stated, “During exercise, our nerve impulses cause muscle contractions and continuous muscle contractions lead to an increase in protein synthesis and gains in muscle strength and size over time.” Muscles go through a repeated series of stimulation (training) and repair (recovery) processes. “Exercising provides stimulation through muscle contractions and because of the repetitive movement, it causes damage to our muscle fibers. Afterwards, muscle growth occurs during the repair process of the broken-down muscle fiber.” Recovery allows the body time to repair the damage to the muscle fibers.
Benefits of Muscular Hypertrophy
A 2017 study suggested there are some benefits to muscular hypertrophy including “increasing muscle fiber size, work capacity, explosive strength, decrease body fat, growth in fast twitch (type IIa and IIb) muscle fibers, and few (if any) detrimental effects on endurance capacity.” By allowing muscles to grow, the body can become stronger and adapt to the imposed fitness level. Athletes tend to use resistance training as a primary exercise method.
A 2020 study stated that resistance training helps increase muscle mass and develop strength. “By increasing ones’ muscle size, the contractile elements also increase along with volume of sarcoplasmic fluid within the muscle cell itself.”
Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy focuses on muscle size and is “an increase in the volume of the sarcoplasmic fluid in the muscle cell, with no increase in muscular strength” according to a 2018 study. Sarcoplasm is cellular fluid surrounded by the myofibrils that are contained in the muscle fibers. “ATP, glycogen, creatine phosphate, and water are the fluids that help increase the volume in a cell to allow more space in the muscle fibers.
If an athlete wishes to train for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, they have to work out at a high level and resting periods in a time frame of 60 seconds or below. Doing reps in a range of 8 to 15, the sets should be around 3 to 4 count and take a rest in between.” By training each muscle group (upper/lower, push/pull) they will feel less strained and look more refined. Depending upon the resistance used in training, muscles will recover slower or quicker than anticipated.
Bodybuilders primarily focus on the size and appearance of their muscles instead of strength. How you train will determine the size or growth of muscle tissue. A 2018 study found, “Essentially, with sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, the muscles are adapting to last longer and needed less for maximum strength. By adding muscle volume, but not grow the muscle fibres there is less function of mass and reduction in relative strength.” This involves training muscles to grow in size as opposed to gaining strength.
Myofibrillar Hypertrophy
In contrast, myofibrillar hypertrophy focuses on muscle strength and increase in myofibril size. A 2019 paper stated that every muscle cell contains functional myofibrils which are “the components of muscle contractions.” Myofibrils are the long strands in skeletal muscle that contract and split to form more contractile proteins within the muscle fiber itself. A 2020 paper found that repeated muscle contractions encourage muscle fibers to increase in size which also increases muscle tissue density. “Supposably this type of hypertrophy is better for strength athletes along with being more conducive to more strength output rather than pure muscle growth.”
A 2018 study suggested if an athlete wished to train for “myofibrillar hypertrophy, they have to focus on strength and completing large compound lifts. Doing reps in a range of 1 to 5 with a resting time from 3 to 5 minutes in between sets it allows you to focus on lifts such as overhead presses, bench presses, deadlifts, squats, and rows.” If an athlete wishes to get stronger but not bigger, they should adjust the number of sets and reps completed with more weight. “By gradually increasing how much weight you add, your muscle size will grow but only once the muscle cells contain enough fibers to expand.”
In contrast to bodybuilders, powerlifters focus on strength by lifting weights in a short rep range. “Essentially, with myofibrillar hypertrophy the actin and myosin contractile proteins actually increase in number and add to the actual strength of a muscle as well as a small increase in the size of the muscle. The body treats small ‘tears’ in the muscle fibers as injuries by sealing and strengthening them with more proteins.” According to research from 2018. Putting muscles under extreme stress causes them to adapt to a larger load. Increased muscular strength and size are the two most often cited goals of resistance training.
The Role of Resistance Training
Resistance training, also called strength training, is a primary training method used to develop size and strength. A 2020 paper stated that athletes use this type of training to “build muscle strength, muscle mass, anaerobic endurance, and skeletal muscle size.” Increasing muscle mass and muscle strength may improve overall performance. A well-designed training program allows an athlete to plan exercise routines while advancing toward a specific goal.
Among the many benefits to resistance training is improving overall health. A 2021 study suggested some of the fitness benefits are “building muscle, improve muscle tone, burn off excess fat and calories, and you will be fitter.” Further health benefits are “improve bone density, improve mental health, and improve sleep.”
Injury Prevention in Training
Injury prevention is a series of efforts to prevent or reduce the severity of injuries caused by external forces. An important component is warming up before engaging in resistance training. Staying healthy is also a component of injury prevention that requires daily attention. According to a 2016 study, there are ten ways to prevent an injury: “warm up, plan your training, nutrition balance, progressive overload, train your spine, focus on movement patterns, no ugly reps, use intensity, recover from off days, self-sufficiency.”
Unfortunately, even when taking the right precautions, an injury can still occur. Take adequate time to plan your routine and focus on designing an injury free training regimen. When athletes train appropriately, their muscles go through the process of hypertrophy. Sarcoplasm and myofibrillar hypertrophy work on both strength gains and tissue growth. Bodybuilders focus more on the size and appearance of the muscle. Powerlifters, however, tend to focus on developing explosive strength. Through progressive resistance training, the muscles may go through a challenging process but will change and adapt over time.
References
Brandeau, Mary (2020) Strength Training vs. Weight Training: What’s the Difference? Fitbod
Dewar, Mike (2017) Why Fitness Athletes Should Focus on Hypertrophy Barbend
Heath, Steph (2021) Why You Need to Start Resistance Training Now everyoneactive
Heywood, Mark (2018) Sarcoplasmic vs Myofibrillar Muscle Growth: What’s the Difference? Myfitness
Mutia, Maria (2019) The Two Types of Muscle Hypertrophy, Training for Size Versus Density Live Your Life on Purpose
Rusin, John (2016) 10 Commandments of Injury Prevention TNation
Shimdt, August (2020) A Practical Guide to Hypertrophy IronAthlete
