Training for Hypertrophy

Three to four sets of 10 repetitions with short rests in between-is this a training method deja vu for you? If you are like most women who have been following the classic resistance-training program, then you are very familiar with such a regimen. This type of moderate-intensity (8 to 12 repetitions), high-volume (3 or more exercises per muscle group, 2 or more muscle groups, 3 to 4 sets) routine with short rests (10 to 60 seconds between sets and exercises) is common among bodybuilders because of the muscle fiber hypertrophy it produces. The hypertrophy result probably has also led to its popularity as the official exercise program adopted by the general gym-going public.

With bodybuilding programs, you primarily train individual muscles and groups of muscles for the sole purpose of looking muscular and symmetrical. You don't train specific movements or movement patterns for sports or daily activities. For example, a bodybuilding program might call for you to train your arm muscles on one day and your shoulder and chest muscles on another day. You'll do a lot of isolation exercises like biceps curls and triceps pushdowns. You won't find a total-body exercise (like the clean and jerk) or an exercise used to simulate a tennis stroke (like a diagonal plane rotational movement) in a bodybuilding routine. Bodybuilding also requires pushing yourself to muscular failure during your repetitions. In other words, pick a weight that is light enough that you can do 8 to 12 repetitions, but heavy enough that your muscles fail to lift the weight again at some point in that repetition range. The short rest periods and inadequate recovery of muscular energy sources help this process along. If you have been following a bodybuilding-type program for some time now, I suggest that you change it up and try something different, like one of the strength-training programs found in chapter 7. If you are new to weight training altogether or are just coming back from an injury, a bodybuilding rep-and-set scheme can work well for you. It will give you a base of muscular hypertrophy. The exercises are easy to follow, and you can progress to a strength-training program after you have completed a six- to eight-week cycle.