Robert Santana RD SSC: Strength Training IS Hypertrophy Training

[Mark Rippetoe]

Strength Training IS Hypertrophy Training | Robert Santana

[Panda]

Great article Robert, it sparked a couple of questions. 1) whats the mechanism for a 1Rep Max, say someone finished NLP adding just 1 lb to their DL, they're at 500 for 1x5, then a few days later they can pull a single 550 say, without having had to train up through 505, 510, 520 etc 2) should the term be progressive loading instead of overloading, ie progressive takes care of the increasing nature. Overload sounds like your doing something excessive when your just doing what the system should be able to handle given the training to that point.

[FatButWeak]

"most of the professional research study protocols prescribe exercises performed on machines, which is another reason for the fascination with high repetitions in the academic, healthcare, and fitness industries." This accounts for a shit ton of noise in the system.

Also, most lifters start - at least for the first time - in their teens, a time when looking good, fitting in and getting girls by looking manly (once again, as defined by 12-17 yo adolescent boys) is the primary goal, and getting stronger for a sport may be a close second, but a definite second. For most. Therefore, looking strong is kind of more important than being strong, although make no mistake about it, when it comes to showing off for the boys (and the girls) in the gym, young men like to be strong, too ("how muchya bench, bruh?"). This means that hypertrophy, at least initially, is the primary motivating factor. Some of us (not me) are lucky enough to grow and gain muscle fairly readily, and will well respond to less than supremely difficult, heavy training stimuli - i.e. growth from machines are lighter weight/higher rep schemes. These are the "blessed" and the few, and many of them go on to become real bodybuilders because of this easy and quick response to comparitively lighter weights. In addition to the success of these genetic outliers, this success may also be a function of the favorable growth conditions enjoyed by the testing group cohort (i.e college age males with lots of down time 0 which is why they're able to enroll in a "study," surrounded by prime, fertile females, unencumbered by full time employment, mortgages, childcare duties and adult stressors. I posit that that much of the "light weights & high reps = hypertrophy" belief is based on the successes of these few but highly visible and notorious outliers.

For the rest of us who are not gifted with a fast and easy response to lighter weights: we need sets of five; we need to get stronger.

I always tell people that if they want to become bodybuilders (i.e. look bigger and stronger) then they need to get stronger and they need to get larger. It seems obvious, but so many people think they can "hack" the system by using light weights and high reps. Sadly, for most of us, it doesn't work. The great Ronnie Coleman - perhaps one of the most amazing genetic outliers there has been - nonetheless said it best: "Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but don't nobody want to lift any heavy ass weight." But famously, he did, which is why we all know his name.

[Bigredbull]

The great Ronnie Coleman - perhaps one of the most amazing genetic outliers there has been - nonetheless said it best: "Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but don't nobody want to lift any heavy ass weight." But famously, he did, which is why we all know his name.

Ronnie’s simple yet brilliant quote renders pretty much everything anybody has ever written or said about the stress factor of muscle growth either ancillary (at best) or surplus to requirements. Like Marty Gallagher said: “Show me a scientist who looks like Ronnie Coleman then I’ll listen to him”.

Phenomenology rules all.

[FatButWeak]

Ronnie’s simple yet brilliant quote renders pretty much everything anybody has ever written or said about the stress factor of muscle growth either ancillary (at best) or surplus to requirements. Like Marty Gallagher said: “Show me a scientist who looks like Ronnie Coleman then I’ll listen to him”.

Phenomenology rules all.

Yes..And, in addition, all the big bodybuilder guys are strong as shit. Carrying 275 pounds of contractile tissue makes you strong as fuck. Doesnt guarantee you are fast or skilled or "athletic," but those guys are very strong.

[Jovan Dragisic]

Yes..And, in addition, all the big bodybuilder guys are strong as shit. Carrying 275 pounds of contractile tissue makes you strong as fuck. Doesnt guarantee you are fast or skilled or "athletic," but those guys are very strong.

hahaha yeah, I remember hearing some dumb arguments like those guys are only big, but not strong. I didn't know 0.5 percent of what I know now that I have read the books, but the argument always seemed bizarre to me. I understand now that it is a skinny guy with abs argument against big and strong motherfuckers.

[FatButWeak]

hahaha yeah, I remember hearing some dumb arguments like those guys are only big, but not strong. I didn't know 0.5 percent of what I know now that I have read the books, but the argument always seemed bizarre to me. I understand now that it is a skinny guy with abs argument against big and strong motherfuckers.

In fairness, I think its probably because bodybuilders are not participants in the sport of Weightlifting and, therefore, they cannot snatch and clean and jerk as much as those guys can. So, Joe Normie either knows this or hears this (I once heard an NBC sports announcer call the mens heavyweight olympic gold medal winner "the strongest man in the world") and perverts it into thinking these guys are muscular, but weak, just because they choose not to compete in the sport of weightlifting or powerlifting or WSM or whatever. Weightlifting and Strong man are different in that those sports require a fair amount of speed, size and athleticism that may be genetically determined , but many bodybuilders have amazing squat, bench and deadlifts, even though they do not specialize in those lifts and participate in the sport where testing the 1RM is the competition.

[Jovan Dragisic]

There is that one video of famous bodybuilders benching and incline benching more than most of us deadlift, which I think dispels the silly ideas.

[henryjones]

Strength Training IS Hypertrophy Training | Robert Santana

Fantastic article!