Although our goal is always hypertrophy, maximum strength is a great metric to look at when you’re trying to track your progress in the gym. My mentality behind this is, put simply: the stronger I am, the bigger my muscles will become?
The question mark is always there because, personally, I cannot tell the future. I can only hypothesize lol.
Is there any literature that supports this?
Due to a number of physiological and mechanical variables, increased hypertrophy, or muscle growth, is directly related to getting stronger. The body adjusts during exercising with progressively larger loads by enlisting more motor units, boosting muscle fiber activation, and improving the muscles’ total ability to produce force (1). Greater mechanical stress on the muscles as a result of these adaptations is a crucial factor in the development of muscular hypertrophy.
Strength increases are favorably connected with muscle hypertrophy, according to research. According to a study by Mitchell et al. (2012), people who showed larger strength improvements also grew their muscles more (2). Strength training causes muscle injury, which activates satellite cells and causes the creation of muscle protein, which is the cause of this association (3).
Furthermore, those who are stronger may lift larger objects, increasing the mechanical load on the muscles during resistance training exercises. Mechanical tension promotes molecular signaling pathways that control muscle protein synthesis and ultimately result in muscular growth, which is one of the main causes of hypertrophy (4).
In conclusion, increasing strength is essential for promoting hypertrophy. Strength training promotes muscular adaptation and growth by gradually overloading the muscles and raising the mechanical stress exerted on them. The interaction between strength increases, muscle injury, and mechanical tension emphasizes how crucial it is for those who want to maximize hypertrophy to concentrate on strength development.
These are my progressive personal best lifts for 2023:
| EXERCISE | WEEK 22 | WEEK 24 | WEEK 26 | WEEK 28 | WEEK 30 |
| BENCH PRESS | 100kg | 105kg | — | ||
| BARBELL SQUAT | 150kg | 160kg | 170kg | ||
| LEG PRESS (8) | 260kg | 260kg | — | ||
| BARBELL DEADLIFT | 160kg | 165kg | 170kg | ||
| BARBELL UPRIGHT ROW (5) | 80kg | 90kg | — | ||
| BARBELL SHRUG (5) | 70kg | 80kg | 80kg | ||
| INCLINE BENCH PRESS (5) | 70kg | 75kg | — |
References:
- Schoenfeld BJ. The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2010;24(10):2857-2872.
- Mitchell CJ, Churchward-Venne TA, West DW, et al. Resistance exercise load does not determine training-mediated hypertrophic gains in young men. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2012;113(1):71-77.
- Schoenfeld BJ. The use of specialized training techniques to maximize muscle hypertrophy. Strength Cond J. 2011;33(4):60-65.
- Burd NA, West DW, Staples AW, et al. Low-load high volume resistance exercise stimulates muscle protein synthesis more than high-load low volume resistance exercise in young men. PLoS One. 2010;5(8):e12033.