The Black & White of Hypertrophy Training

I was always looking for the answer, the next best thing to sink my teeth into and unlock those gains I first experienced when lifting weights and eating enough collided.

I’ve gained close to 30kg over the past decade, and have probably left a few more kilos on the table through making mistakes and chasing ‘the secret’.

This is the article I wish I read when I first started. No scientific references, no cliché pictures of bodybuilders with the promise of turning you into the next Mr Olympia.

Straight up life lessons and enlightened experience.

1. Strength MATTERS

Look at some of the strongest people in your gym, men and women, chances are the lifts they are best at exhibit well-developed body parts to compliment. It's pretty straight forward, and I am sure you already know that but you need to hear it again.

STRONG LOOKS STRONG.

Don’t be afraid to spend some time in the lower rep ranges. I chased size so much through the means of bodybuilding programs I suffered greatly lifting anything with powerful intent.

2. Look to PROGRESS, across all rep ranges. And record your workouts!

What gets measured gets managed, so you need to know where you have been to know where you need to go.

Hypertrophy (muscle size) requires enough physical stress to force adaptation. The best way to do this is to beat your reps from the last workout, or last month, or last year.

I’ve seen plenty of people be effective purely by following this principle if nothing else.

Weight training is the one activity where you can see progress every workout. Whether it be an extra kg lifted or an extra rep acquired, make sure you get it!

3. STOP jumping from program to program

This I did WAY too often.

How long should you be on a program?

Long enough for you to step seeing a benefit. When that happens, then you can think about adjusting to move forward. Everything works, it's just a matter of for how long.

And there you have it...3 simple, yet often overlooked principles of training you can use to ensure you are achieving hypertrophy!

This article is not revolutionary, but if you’re breezing through it thinking ‘I know that already’, then read it again.

Then go check out most of the latest hypertrophy hype articles. They all condone quick fixes.

What getting big is all about is hard training, constant progress and consistency. All of these things take time, so let them!