Hello Dr. Jordan and Dr. Austin
I have a few questions:
-
I’m currently doing a lean bulk, but my bench press hasn’t improved at all over the past 6 months (other lifts are fine). I’ve been training for years, but currently my best bench is still stuck at 80kg for 3 reps at a bodyweight of 72kg. Does this mean I’m not experiencing any hypertrophy in chest muscle?
-
Would switching to a strength-focused program help me break through this plateau and ultimately support muscle growth?
-
Since my main goal is hypertrophy, would it be better for me to follow your hypertrophy program or power buildings ?
Abdulla,
Thanks for the post. Let’s dig into your questions.
Strength performance isn’t as tightly tied to muscle hypertrophy as most people think. Yes, all else being equal, people with more muscle mass will tend to lift more than people with less. However, this relationship is more variable over time, as some individuals vary in how much muscle and strength they’ll gain in response to training. The correlation isn’t that great, but that doesn’t mean it’s zero either.
I would expect you to gain muscle if you’re training appropriately, eating enough, and sleeping well. Similarly, I would expect your strength to increase in the movements you’re training during this phase, again provided you’re training appropriately (e.g. programming) and your technique is solid.
Yes, a strength-focused program will generally produce more strength than a hypertrophy-focused one and vice versa. Given what your goals and training status, I think Hypertrophy I (lots of strength work here) would be a good template for you along with a ~ 2kg weight gain each month.
2 Likes