Strength Vs. Size: Does Getting Stronger Actually Make You Bigger?
You may have heard common mantras banded about the gym floor such as 'Just lift heavy to gain muscle' — which admittedly is a compelling argument, more weight would surely equal more muscle right? Plus, as training wins go, the feeling of lifting a new deadlift PB is unrivalled. However, if you're serious about hypertrophy, you may be leaving muscle gains on the table by only sticking to lower rep ranges and higher weights. And if you're planning on putting in some decent graft, it pays to train smart too.
Before you overhaul your programme, let's break down what actually happens as your muscles get stronger. Pens and notepads at the ready.
How Does the Muscle Change as You Get Stronger?
When beginners start lifting, the majority of progress comes from something called 'neurological adaptation'. This is firmly supported by a wealth of evidence, one paper in particular published in Sports Medicine. In basic terms, this means that your brain gets more efficient at recruiting the muscle fibres in the existing muscle during your lifts. This doesn't necessarily increase muscular size however. As your training experience increases, you will see increases in muscular size as you increase rep ranges and increase volume.
Does Strength Increase Size?
Not necessarily. When it come to strength and building muscle, strength training stimulates the muscle through high tension. But more weight doesn't necessarily equal more muscle size due to sets not reaching high enough total volume. Anything below 6 reps and over roughly 85-90% of your one rep max, would likely be a less efficient route to hypertrophy, and not yield the muscle mass results you're looking for. However, there is a tipping point between neurological adaptation as you get stronger, and then increase volume. This will then likely facilitate enough total volume to elicit muscle growth.
How Can Strength Increase Size in Training Phases?
Although not vital for muscle growth, by including phases of higher weights and lower reps, it will increase your capacity to lift heavier in future high rep training once your body has adapted. This can increase muscle size over the long term. However, it is more important to work close to failure for muscle growth, therefore making this method not entirely necessary, and you can stick to working with more moderate loads and rep ranges and increase them over time. Both methods use progressive overload, but just cause the muscle to adapt in different ways and at different rates.
Higher volumes will cause more mechanical tension, bring you closer to failure, and therefore cause more hypertrophy, however not necessarily strength gain, as supported by a evidence. Equally, higher weights will recruit more motor units and contribute to more strength gains.
Does Getting Stronger Make You Heavier?
No, but it can — depending on other factors such as your diet. A calorie surplus will result in weight gain. The constituents of that weight gain (fat, water, glycogen, muscle) will come down to your training and diet composition. However, due to the neurological adaptations of strength training, rather than muscle gaining size, you won't necessarily become heavier, your existing muscles will just become more efficient at lifting weights. Strength training can cause temporary weight gain due to increasing the muscle's capacity for glycogen storage, which can in turn pull more water into the cells. This can cause a temporary uptick in weight. You can also gain strength in a calorie deficit, and it is a frequent way of adjusting body composition.
Strength Vs. Size: How Does It Change the Muscle?
Here are the key effects of strength training and hypertrophy training on the muscle:
Strength
Causes neurological adaptations in the muscle. Your brain becomes more efficient at activating more existing muscle fibres at once and coordinating them more efficiently during movements.
Causes muscle fibre changes. Strength training has an emphasis on type IIx muscle fibre (fast twitch muscles). These muscle fibres enable powerful, short bursts of movement.
Strengthens ligaments and tendons. Heavy weights improve the stiffness of ligaments and tendons, therefore enhancing their ability to increase force production.
Optimises ATP-PCr energy systems. Strength training causes your body to become more efficient at using the phosphocreatine system for energy.
Size
Hypertrophy training causes muscle fibre growth. While it stimulates type I, type IIa and IIx fibres to grow, type II fibres have higher growth potential so experience more hypertrophy.
Causes more myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Myofibrillar hypertrophy increases the size and number of contractile protein in the muscle for more force production. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (referred to as 'the pump') increases the mitochondria, glycogen and water in the muscle which increases muscle size, but not force production.
Increases capillary density and metabolic efficiency. The increase in capillaries supports muscular endurance. Hypertrophy training can also improve the muscles capacity to hold glycogen in the muscles and therefore metabolism efficiency.
Strength Vs. Size: Which is Best?
It's important to note: increasing strength will allow you to lift more weight with higher volume, therefore increasing muscle growth. And increased muscle mass will contribute to potential strength capacity by increasing the total area of the muscle fibres. The two go hand in hand, however you can optimise your training for each. The answer of which is best to train for, will ultimately come down to your goals and how quickly you want to achieve them.
For strength: work in rep ranges of 1-6 reps with heavier weights
For size: work in rep ranges of 6-15 with moderate weights, with higher volume and a closer proximity to failure
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