What is Muscle Hypertrophy, And How Does It Build Muscle

If you have a fit, strong body, but still struggle to build muscle, you’re not alone.

Regardless of your gender (though men are said to build muscles quickly compared to women due to higher levels of testosterone), both men and women can experience difficulties when it comes to building muscle. 

Some of these difficulties can be attributed to these common mistakes, including: 

• Not consuming enough protein and carbs
• Lifting heavy weights too fast/without control 
• Spending too much time on cardio
• Overtraining
• Working out less frequently at a higher intensity

In this article, we’ll discuss muscle hypertrophy and a few tips and suggestions to maximize muscle building so you can get bigger and stronger. 

What Is Muscle Hypertrophy?

Simply put, the increase in the size of muscles, whether genetically or through exercises, is referred to as muscle hypertrophy.

Source: NuvoVivo Wellness

Workout experts advise exercises like strength training and weightlifting for muscle hypertrophy and building muscle throughout your body. 

That’s because when you perform strength training exercises (think squats, bench press, deadlifts, etc. – really anything you’re doing with weight), you’re using some form of resistance that makes your muscles work harder. This causes your muscle fibers to break down into microscopic tears, which your body later works to repair. 

When the torn fibers heal, they grow back stronger and larger than before. This systematic effort of straining and repairing the muscles helps them to increase both in size and strength.

How To Maximize Muscle Hypertrophy

Building muscles can be much easier when focusing on a specific muscle.

Still, according to fitness experts, the best way to maximize muscle hypertrophy is by incorporating compound exercises that focus on multiple muscle groups.

Compound exercises that can help with muscle hypertrophy include: 

• Bench Press
• Deadlifts
• Pull-up
• Push-up
• Shoulder press

How often should you work out?

Do you think one super intense workout will help you maximize muscle hypertrophy? Well, unfortunately that’s not how it works. 

When it comes to achieving noticeable results in anything, consistency is the key. Similarly, it would help if you were consistent at working out to maximize muscle hypertrophy.

Experts recommend working out for a minimum of three days a week. This puts enough strain on the muscle and gives it ample time for rest and repair to increase in size. 

When working out, you don’t need to lift the heaviest weights possible in order to achieve muscle hypertrophy, though. Despite what many people believe, new findings are showing that even lifting relatively light weight for a higher number of reps is just as effective at building both strength and muscle size as lifting heavier weights for fewer reps. 

Really, in order to achieve muscle hypertrophy, you just need to make sure you’re working your muscles to failure, whether that be with heavy or light weights. 

Tips And Suggestions

Though it may seem like it at times, building muscle is not rocket science.

All you really need is dedication, discipline, and fundamental knowledge about lifting techniques. Here are a few simple tips for you to follow to maximize muscle hypertrophy:

• Focus on doing three sets of exercises three days a week instead of nine sets in a single session. Oftentimes, we focus on doing too many exercises and too many sets, and end up overtraining. Keep it simple and focus on just the basics.  
• Lift weights in the correct posture and give the muscles enough time to absorb the strain of the weight. One great way to do this is to focus on the eccentric contraction. This is the part of the exercise where you’re lowering the weight – think of the downward portion of a bicep curl, or lowering your weight toward the ground during a deadlift. Make sure to perform this part of the exercise slowly and keep it controlled. 
• Never forget to challenge yourself by working on different muscle groups and heavier weights as your progress. That doesn’t mean you need to add 10 pounds to every lift, but make sure you’re pushing yourself, as long as you’re not experiencing any pain. 
• Focus on consuming food that will support building muscle and provide energy and strength to the body. Not eating enough protein is one of the biggest reasons people fail to see muscle growth. 
• Do not underestimate the power of training under an expert. If you’ve been struggling to see growth for a while, consider hiring a personal trainer to introduce some new techniques to kickstart your muscle growth. 

Conclusion

Muscle building is a part of physical fitness, and it requires working on your overall wellness, from exercises to your food intake.

The potential of building muscle is different for every individual because it depends on your body type, genes, and other factors. However, these tips we’ve discussed are helpful across the board, and will hopefully help you take your muscle building to the next level!

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