Training for Muscle Growth vs. Strength

Training for Muscle Growth vs. Strength

Training for Muscle Size vs. Training for Strength (both Hypertrophy)

While these two training methods are very similar and in many ways, you will be doing one while doing the other, they are different also. When you see an individual in the gym with large muscles, it does not mean they are necessarily strong; when you see a small person in the gym, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are weak. Although it would be difficult to get strong without building muscle, and it would be difficult to gain muscle mass without getting strong they do not necessarily work in parallel.

Training for Muscle Size

Training for muscle growth or hypertrophy is the enlargement of an organ or tissue by increasing the size of its cells. This is a defined goal of increasing the size of muscle cells. 

In the most basic terms, the goal is to increase two parts of the muscle cell myofibrillar (growth of the contraction parts) and sarcoplasmic (increased muscle glycogen storage). By increasing these two parts the overall muscle will increase in size. To maximize overall muscle growth, you will want to both mechanically tear the myofibril and deplete the sarcoplasm. When you damage the muscle fibers your body will respond and repair them and create new ones. When you deplete the glycogen storage your body will replace the storage capacity higher than before. By depleting glycogen and increasing its storage levels the muscle will grow and you are building muscular endurance or capacity.

This process can be achieved through resistance training to tear muscle fibers and depleting glycogen levels. The latter growth of glycogen levels (sarcoplasm hypertrophy), does grow at a faster rate than your body can increase muscle fibers. While it is difficult to train for one without the other, if you would like grow muscle size faster you may want to focus on increasing your glycogen capacities vs. muscle strength.

To Train for Sarcoplasmic Growth

To grow your glycogen capacity the goal would train with a higher volume and then allow your body to restore those levels higher than they were before. This is referred to as Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy Growth. This is why adequate rest and recovery are important for gaining muscle size if you do not let your glycogen levels restore you may not be maximizing the increase in those levels.

The optimal time for glycogen replenishment is directly after training, this lasts about 30-40 min after training and then does regulate to normal levels over time. Total glycogen replacement can take 24-72 hours but your body is primed to complete this process post-workout.

There are studies that show low-glycogen can be added to stimulate glycogen absorption levels.

Training for Strength 

While you will use glycogen when resistance training, the goal of strength training is to increase the strength and size of the muscle fibers (myofibrillar). Strength training is commonly known as one or very few explosive lifts and is less built around capacity or endurance. You would not need a large glycogen capacity in order to lift a heavy weight for a short period of time, therefore when training for strength muscle size may not increase as quickly as when you are training for purely muscle size.

When training for strength the focus will be on increasing muscle fiber growth (myofibrillar), which is primarily done by focusing on increasing load over time. The goal would be to increase resistance gradually and force your body to grow muscle fibers more than before to contract at a new resistance level.

To Train for Myofibrillar Growth

To train to increase the volume and density of muscle fibers you will need to train at heavier resistance levels to stimulate growth, commonly referred to as Myofibrillar Hypertrophy Growth. The greater the resistance the more muscle fibers are required and the more muscle fiber damage will occur. This normally occurs at weights greater than 80% of your 1 rep maximum for an exercise. For this, a higher amount of rest is required ranging from 2-4 minutes. 

This method will focus on muscle fiber growth and may not require your glycogen levels to be increased as much as a higher-volume program would. While the rest between training sessions would remain the same the growth of myofibril would be prioritized.

Hypertrophy for Muscle Size and Strength

Ideally, you would want to increase both muscle fibers and glycogen storage at the same time and it would be difficult to completely do one without the other. But if if your goal is more focused on one rather than the other you may want to spend more time on volume or heavy lifting.