The goal of bodybuilding is to increase muscle size. A true bodybuilder is mainly concerned with muscle size and how defined their muscles are rather than how well those muscles function. A bodybuilder’s goal isn’t to get superhuman strength or even perform well in sports – it’s to look ripped. Muscle function and strength are secondary considerations for a diehard bodybuilder.
Yet there’s a different approach to resistance training that’s gaining favor – functional hypertrophy training. As the name implies, functional hypertrophy training focuses on more than how a muscle looks. The goal is to increase muscle size and improve the way muscles function at the same time. Through functional hypertrophy training, you change the structure and size of your muscles, make them stronger, and help them perform better. Arguably, this beats the traditional bodybuilding approach where only muscle and appearance count.
Functional Hypertrophy Training at the Cellular Level
Bodybuilders LOOK strong and some of them are, but not all muscle hypertrophy leads to functional strength gains. In fact, there are two types of muscle hypertrophy: myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is an increase in the non-contractile portion of a muscle – the liquid part of the muscle called the sarcoplasm. The sarcoplasm is the muscle’s support system and is made up primarily of water, glycogen, and collagen. When the sarcoplasm increases in size, it makes the muscle look bigger due to volumization but doesn’t make it stronger. As some people put it, it’s like building a bigger car without increasing the size of the engine.
In contrast, myofibrillar hypertrophy evokes an increase in the size of the contractile elements of the muscle, the ones that generate force. With myofibrillar hypertrophy, the size increase comes from an increase in the contractile elements of the muscle fibers, the components that actually generate force, rather than enhancing the volume of the surrounding sarcoplasm.
Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy can make you look defined or even like a bodybuilder but it won’t improve your strength or functional performance, but myofibrillar hypertrophy will. In practice, when you weight train, you increase the size of both components – the contractile elements and the sarcoplasm. You can’t train one or the other exclusively, although you can adjust your training to focus MORE on one than the other. The aim of functional hypertrophy training is to increase the size of the myofibrillar, or contractile, elements for greater strength and performance rather than a muscle that simply looks larger and firmer.
So how do you actually DO functional hypertrophy training? Here are three adjustments to make to your resistance training routine to build muscle size, strength, and function.
Focus on Compound Movements
Are you focusing enough on compound movements? Although isolation movements have their place in resistance training, compound movements are what increases the functionality of a muscle. Compound movements are those that involve movements of two or more joints and work more than one muscle group at the same time. Examples are squats, deadlifts, bench press, barbell rows, pull ups, dips, and military presses. Unlike isolation exercises that focus on a single muscle group or joint, compound exercises are integrative movements that work more than one muscle group at the same time. This also trains the muscles to work better together.
When you focus less on isolation exercise and more on compound moves, you build muscle size and strength and improve coordination and balance at the same time. What you get are muscles that are larger but also ones that are stronger and perform better. That comes in handy if you play sports and when you carry out your daily activities. Compound exercises also recruit the smaller stabilizer muscles. These muscles support your body and when they’re strong they make you more resistant to injury. In addition, compound movements, where your muscles and joints have to work together, optimize neural drive and motor recruitment patterns that will improve your physical performance.
Isolation exercises have their place – especially if you’re trying to correct muscle imbalances or train a muscle that’s lagging behind in development but they shouldn’t be the mainstay of your workout. They’re not ideal for building functional strength and they don’t burn a lot of calories either.
Adjust the Number of Reps
If you’re focusing on higher reps, 12 or greater, you’re not lifting a heavy enough load to maximize myofibrillar hypertrophy. Instead, use a weight you can lift no more than 6 to 10 reps. This is the “sweet spot” for developing muscles that are larger AND stronger. Too often, people, especially women, choose lighter weights and perform higher reps. Most of the muscle gains you get using this approach will be non-functional gains. On the other hand, don’t go TOO heavy on the weight to the point you can only do a few reps. Although this will build strength, the volume is too low to build muscle size.
Do Some Explosive Movements
To get more myofibrillar hypertrophy, add explosive, power training to your routine. These movements target the fast-twitch muscle fibers, the ones optimized for strength and power. Short, power movements work well for myofibrillar growth while slow reps and increased time under tension shift the focus towards sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Here’s another idea. Get out the kettlebells and do some heavy kettlebell swings, snatches, and push-presses. The explosive power you develop will also serve you well if you play sports.
The Bottom Line
How you structure your training ultimately depends on your goals. If your goal is to build strength, power, and increased athletic performance in addition to muscle size, focus more on compound movements, reps in the 6 to 10 range, and add explosive, power training to the mix – but not every time you train. There’s no reason why you can’t periodize your training and include both functional hypertrophy training as well as higher rep work. Doing so will help you avoid overtraining. Just be aware that if you want to build functional strength, these are the principles that will help you get it.
References:
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24 (10) : 2857-2873.
Poloquin. “What is Functional Hypertrophy?”
Strength and Conditioning Research. “Hypertrophy”
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For More Effective Workouts, Science Says You Need Exercise Variety
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5 Reasons You Should Do More Compound Exercises
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