The most efficient way to train
Most clients I tend to work with are members of the general public and are in the gym to improve their overall health. This has led to me seeking out the best training methodologies for optimal results. Over the years, with a combination of reading scientific research and working in the field, I have found that a mixture of hypertrophy and neural strength work is optimal to increase muscle strength performance and increase muscular size, which has massive health benefits for the whole population.
Bodybuilding or hypertrophy (muscle building) training is typically performed at moderate to low loads with individuals completing reps until they reach muscle failure and a shorter rest period than powerlifting-specific work (Schoenfeld, 2010).
Powerlifting or strength training (neurological strength) is typically performed at higher loads and a high percentage of an individual’s one rep max (1RM) with a longer rest period. Although all variations of resistance training will increase muscular hypertrophy, moderate to light loads being moved till muscular failure are more associated with increases in muscular size (Schoenfeld, 2010, Contreras et al., 2014).
Experienced bodybuilders and powerlifters can expect a phase where strength gains or increases in muscular size can start to stagnate. Bodybuilders and powerlifters should borrow methodologies to help overcome size and strength plateaus. Higher volume, lower intensity training may help a powerlifter break through a plateau by increasing a muscle’s cross-sectional area, this will allow the muscle structure to produce more force (Schoenfeld, 2010).
For a bodybuilder, overuse injuries can also kick in due to the high amount of volume associated with increasing muscle mass. Bodybuilders could potentially exceed these plateaus by incorporating higher-intensity training typically used by powerlifters in lifts like the bench press and squat, potentially allowing them to use higher loads at their optimal higher rep range in their future training, which will increase mechanical tension and fatigue which can increase muscle mass (Schoenfeld, 2010).
When researchers compared a traditional hypertrophy program and a powerlifting style program, they found that if the volume was matched, muscle building gains were the same. But when looking at how long it took the powerlifters to train, their sessions lasted 70 minutes with the bodybuilding group only needing 17 minutes to complete training, showing massive time efficiency for the bodybuilding style of training. The powerlifting group saw bigger improvements in maximum strength but not by a huge amount. The study had two injury dropouts in the powerlifting group and complaints about fatigue and small joint discomfort.
This indicates that an optimal combination is powerlifting style loading for movements like the bench press, deadlift, or squat, along with supporting exercises like split squats, leg presses, or leg extensions. Having a main multi-joint movement of the day, with less taxing movements, aids in keeping structural integrity and helps to increase muscle size, which can support maximal strength and has a long list of health benefits like the management of hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia (the management of blood glucose and lipids (Zou et al., 2015).
Kindly edited by Damien Phillips.
References:
Schoenfeld, B.J., 2010. The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(10), pp.2857-2872.
Schoenfeld, B.J., Ratamess, N.A., Peterson, M.D., Contreras, B., Sonmez, G.T. and Alvar, B.A., 2014. Effects of different volume-equated resistance training loading strategies on muscular adaptations in well-trained men. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 28(10), pp.2909-2918.
Zou, J., Wang, Z., Qu, Q. and Wang, L., 2015. Resistance training improves hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia, highly prevalent among nonelderly, nondiabetic, chronically disabled stroke patients. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 96(7), pp.1291-1296.
JAMES DALEY PERSONAL TRAINER 