Hypertrophy Tripod
Hypertrophy Tripod
By now we have already established the importance of increase in skeletal muscle for general fitness. It aids in staving off age related degeneration, lowers the incidence of injuries by making the body more resilient to physical stress, improves functional strength & contributes hugely to achieving of the ideal body composition (Fat loss)
Hence to understand the science behind the increase in lean tissue assumes paramount importance. The body is capable of increasing lean tissue in 2 ways.
1. Hypertroph
Increase in the size of existing muscle cells without any increase in the number of muscle cells
2. Hyperplasia
Increase in the number of muscle cells through cell proliferation, cell division (Splitting)
Weight training causes an increase in muscle tissue via HYPERTROPHY
Hypertrophy of muscle cells or growth of lean tissue is based on a delicately halanced 3 legged tripod. These 3 legs are equally important & shortchanging any one leg will collapse the tripod leading to zero growth in lean tissue. Not understanding the significance of the Tripod & foolishly concentrating all efforts towards weight training (Which is only 1 leg of the tripod J & ignoring the other two is the single most common reason for frustration with lack of results despite consistent hard work in the gyva
The 3 legs of the Tripod on the basis of which Hypertrophy happens are the following
1. Progressive Overload
This is the principle on which your weight training is based. Once Hypertrophy is achieved, to again breakdown muscle tissue you require to increase the workload by increasing any or all of the 4 factors of Workload.
2. Rest & Recovery
Once the muscle tissue is broken down in a bid to force the body to adapt to the overload by increasing lean tissue, the correct time frame of rest is a must to allow the muscle to recover. This suggests the correct scheduling of workouts to give each broken down muscle adequate time to repair & super compensate.
3. Nutrition
After adequate overload is placed & the time given for repair is adequate the right raw materials for repair & super compensation of mascle tissue need to be absorbed by the body through correct Nutrition
Lets elaborate on each of the above & then it will become amply clear as to why Hypertrophy is so precariously porched on this Tripod & how with even ane leg shortened, hypertrophy is impossible.
Progressive Overload
This is the mother principle that governs all kinds of workouts whether strength training or cardiovascular or flexibility. We challenge our bodies with a workload that it is not used to, so that it can be forced into improving itself to adapt to that load. Once the adaptation occurs the overload must be increased or else there will be no further wear & tear and hence no further need for the body to improve.
Let's illustrate this with an example
Suppose 10lbs for 10 reps is a challenging workload for the biceps in a dumbbell curl. The hiceps will show signs of wear and tear because of this workload. Then if proper Rest & adequate nutrition is provided the muscle cell will not just get repaired to its former self but the body will super compensate & the cell size will increase beyond its former self, so that the body can protect itself from the onslaught that 10lbs for 10 reps has caused. Now for further improvements in the biceps, further breakdown will be needed & for that we will have to either do 10 pounds for 12 reps with the same full ROM with the same speed or 12 pounds for 10 reps with the same full ROM with the same speed or the same poundage for the same number of reps with the same full ROM but in a shorter time frame (More speed). In other words Workload will have to be increased via any of the 4 factors of Foundage, Repetitions, ROM or speed.
This progression is termed as Progressive overload without which the results from your workouts will stagnate (Plateau). This is the first leg of the Tripod, the trigger that sets the ball rolling towards Hypertrophy. But on its own without the following two legs it cannot achieve hypertrophy,
Rest & Recovery
Once the muscle tissue suffers wear & tear, the repair process is initiated by the body almost Immediately. But for the repair & super compensation to occur a particular time frame is necessary. If the due recovery time is ignored & the frequency of the workouts is increased, then the breakdown rate will be faster than the repair rate & in such a scenario NO HYPERTROPHY IS POSSIBLE
Remember that in the gym only wear & tear occurs. The repair & super compensation leading to hypertrophy happen at rest outside the gym.
Recovery will be adversely affected if any of the following conditions are not met
1. Adequate quantity of quality deep sleep (Approximately 8 hours a day)
2. Weight training no more than 4 times a week.
3. Each body part to be trained no more than once a week for advanced level intensities (0-12 rep max)
4. Scheduling of weight training workouts to be such that there is no overlap of body parts. For e.g. training legs very next day after back is a bad idea as lumbar muscles needed badly for a leg workout has already gone through wear & tear during the back workout.& instead of getting time. to recover it will go through further wear & tear during the leg workout. The 4-day Push pull training split avoids overlap to the largest extent out of all other training splits. Hence for maximuin recovery recommends this training split for the advanced level. Refer to the scheduling chapter for details on the 4-day push pull training split.
This is the second leg of the tripod.
Nutrition
Adequale wear & tear provided by Progressive overload followed by adequate rest & recovery cannot bring about hypertrophy without the correct quality & quantity of raw materials coming from the food you eat.
The building blocks of muscle tissue needed for the repair & super compensation are the essential Amino acids got from the macro nutrient Protein. The quantity needs to be at least a minimum of 2 Gms per Kg of lean body weight from highly bio available sources whose amino acid profiles are complete.
The sustained energy needed to train intensely comes from comples carbohydrates. Complete absence of carbohydrates forces the body to use Protein for energy. This is a criminal wastage of protein as energy can be got from all Macro nutrients but only protein has nitrogen thus making it capable of repairing muscle tissue. So protein can do the job of Carbohydrates & fats but Carbs & fats cannot do the job of protein. Hence the right quantity of slow burning complex carbohydrates is needed also for its protein sparing effect. It spares protein for its prime purpose of tissue repair & being the preferred source of fuel for the body, in its presence it doesn't allow the body to misuse protein for energy
Fats are not bad (Like everything else in life there are good fats & bad fats) and at least 10% of the total calories should come from the good fats. These fats are so essential that they are termed as Essential fatty acids; these are Omega 3 fatty acids & omega & fatty acids. They come from Mono unsaturated fats & poly unsaturated fats such as Olive oil, Ground nut oil, Soybean oil, canola oil, etc. these should comprise your cooking medium. These are essential as they improve insulin sensitivity & thus aid in glucose metabolism, they aid in creating an ideal lipid profile. The had fats that you want to stay away from are the Saturated fats that stay solid at room temperature they clog the arteries, adversely affect lipid profile & create insulin resistance thus impairing glucose metabolism & causing the body to gain body fat.
This is the final leg of the Tripod. Once breakdown has occurred through progressive overload & adequate rest is given, hypertrophy will occur only if all the macro nutrients in their ideal ratios are taken by the body. It is the mutrition that keeps the body in an anabolic state.
To conclude there is no leg more or less important than the other. The process of Hypertrophy is precariously perched atop this Tripod & if any one leg is shortened the whole process comes to a grinding halt. Underestimating the importance of the TRIPOD is the single most communion reason for frustration with results despite earnest efforts in the gym.
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