It’s no secret to anyone that knows me that when it comes to exercise, the modality I prefer is resistance training. There’s the increase in muscular strength, which comes in handy when there’s a pickle jar that needs opening or when you need to help move a friend. Alongside that, the caloric burn that takes place to meet the demands of lifting a load is great for weight loss (when paired with a caloric deficit). And of course, we can’t forget the aesthetic appearance that so many of us yearn to have by the time summer roles around.
When it comes to the aesthetic side of the house, a low body fat percentage is key for composition but what about muscular development? Enter: Hypertrophy.
What is Hypertrophy?
Hypertrophy is simply muscle growth. The cross-sectional area of muscle fibers increases and this translates to bigger muscles. I could bore you with scientific nomenclature but, who am I trying to impress? Besides, you’re interested in the macroscopic outcome, not what happens at a cellular level. So, let’s get to those three keys.
Limit Rest Periods to 90 seconds
In an instagram post I made earlier this week, I stated that the most important tool in the gym is the clock. I talked about 90 seconds being the optimal amount of rest between sets, but that may be a bit overly generalized. The fact is that 90 seconds is the ideal rest time for hypertrophy. For increasing muscular strength, the time would be 2-5 minutes, but that will be discussed another time. Bottom line: studies have shown that the optimal rest period for muscular hypertrophy is 30-90 seconds.
Perform Compound Movements
Compound movements are exercises that train several major muscle groups at the same time. I recommend the big three: Bench press, Deadlift, and squat. Because these movements utilize multiple muscles, your training volume toward any one muscle in the group increases. Keep your isolation exercises, but don’t skip compounds.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Everyone struggles with this in today’s world. But if hypertrophy is the goal, you need adequate sleep. Most of the muscle repair process (which is the growing part) occurs while we sleep. Most people need 7-8 hours but you may want to increase that if hypertrophy is the goal. The hazards of insufficient sleep are well known and include increased muscle loss, decreased performance and low testosterone. Get your z’s if you want to succeed.