Strength, Power and Hypertrophy Training Explained
You’re lifting weights.
You’re hitting the gym and getting your reps in.
But… do you know what you’re doing at the gym?
Not the movements themselves, but why you’re doing this many reps, that many sets, with this much rest?
Knowing this information will help you tailor your training to your desired outcome!
Whether you’re lifting weights to:
- Increase strength
- Enhance power, or
- Build muscle
Understanding how to tailor your training to your goals is the difference between results – and RESULTS.
Let me show you the differences between these three popular training focuses, and how you can optimize your workouts for each.
Understanding Your Goals
Strength Training
Strength training is designed to increase your overall muscular strength, enhancing your ability to exert force against resistance. In other words, move heavy things!
Strength training often requires you to lift heavy weights for fewer repetitions.
Power Training
Power training aims to increase the speed at which you can exert force, to produce the maximum amount of power in the shortest time. I.e move heavy things, fast!
Power training typically involves explosive movements that have you combining speed and force.
Hypertrophy (Muscle Building)
Hypertrophy training focuses on increasing muscle mass through exercises that stimulate muscle fibers to grow. E.g moving moderate-to-heavy loads many times!
Muscle growth often occurs when you lift weights that are challenging enough to cause muscle fatigue, but not so heavy that they compromise form.
Cool.
Are you still with me?
Good.
Now let’s put that knowledge into action.
Training for Your Goal
Disclaimer: This is by no means an exhaustive list of all training methodologies – that is out of the depth of this article. Therefore, keep ‘typically’ and ‘generally’ in mind as you read.
Strength Training
Goal: Increase the maximum force a muscle can produce.
Training Load: 80-100% of your one-rep max (1RM).
Reps and Sets: 1-5 sets of 1-6 repetitions.
Rest Periods: 3-5 minutes between sets to allow for full recovery.
Frequency: 2-4 days per week.
Footnote: Focus on compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and pull-ups.
Power Training
Goal: Improve your ability to generate force quickly.
Training Load: 70-85% of your 1RM for traditional resistance lifts; 30-60% for plyometric exercises.
Reps and Sets: 3-5 sets of 3-8 repetitions.
Rest Periods: 2-5 minutes between sets to ensure full recovery and maximal effort on each set.
Frequency: 2-3 days per week.
Footnote: Think of exercises like power cleans, box jumps, and medicine ball throws.
Hypertrophy Training
Goal: Maximize muscle growth by targeting fast and slow-twitch muscle fibers.
Training Load: 65-80% of your 1RM.
Reps and Sets: 3-6 sets of 6-25+ repetitions.
Rest Periods: 1-2 minutes between sets, ensuring frequent tension to stimulate growth.
Frequency: 3-6 days per week.
Footnote: Splitting sessions to focus on different muscle groups (e.g., leg day, push day, pull day etc) is common in hypertrophy training.
You will notice a significant exercise prescription crossover between the 3 training goals – everything is circumstantial.
The Real Training Winner, No Matter your Goal
No matter your goal, it’s crucial to maintain proper form and technique.
All of the above training modalities benefit from consistency over long periods. Listen to your body, adjust your training based on your recovery and progress, and apply progressive overload (Progressive Overload: gradually increasing the weight, frequency, or number of repetitions).
Or come and join us at Flow Performance and let us take care of all the thinking for you!
Whether your goal is to build strength, power, or muscle, the key is consistency and progressive overload over time.
By adjusting your reps, sets, load, and rest periods, you can optimize your workouts to achieve improvements in areas that matter to you!
Ready to put these principles into action?
If you’re not sure where to start or how to adjust your current routine to better align with your goals; book a strategy call with us here. Flow is here to guide you on your journey to greater strength, power, and muscle!
Much love,
Coach Tom xoxo
