COMPARING STRENGTH VERSUS HYPERTROPHY TRAINING
By Mark McKean Dip.T (HPE/Sc), CSCS, ASCA Level 2 S&C Coach, MAAESS, AEP
www.markmckean.com

The old adage in resistance training is you can’t get bigger without getting stronger and you can’t get stronger without getting bigger. In fact it is accepted that there is a 50:50 relationship between getting bigger and getting stronger.

Yet the types of training methods used for the two areas of strength and hypertrophy have some fairly basic differences. In resistance training the two most important factors are the tension placed on a muscle and, the duration of the training stimulus. The changes made to a program for achieving either strength or hypertrophy relies on the subtle differences you make to the program around these two areas.

Hypertrophy relies on sheer total loads lifted per workout, per week, per month, month after month after month. Sure there needs to be a progressive change to this load and there needs to be phases of maximal strength assisting the client to achieve the next stage of hypertrophy. Hypertrophy training predominantly stresses the biological muscular system asking it to adapt by growing in size and cope with the sheer volume of work it has been doing. The goal is to lift as much weight over as many reps for an extended duration per rep.