The 3 Mechanisms of Hypertrophy and What They Mean for the Practice of Maximum Muscle Growth

29. August, 2024(letzte Änderung)

Autor: Marc Sonderegger

The goal of this blog post is to explain the different mechanisms of hypertrophy – i.e. the enlargement of a muscle – in an understandable way. Obviously, you could spend days on this topic. However, I will try to explain the topic of muscle growth in a short, concise, and most importantly, understandable way for the layman.

There are basically 3 ways in which a muscle can increase in size

1. Mechanical Tension

Mechanical tension is actually not very well understood.

Simply put, the more weight a muscle has to move and the more time under tension (TUT) it is exposed to, the greater the mechanical tension in the muscle. So 5 quick reps (1s down, 1s up) are not the same as 5 reps where you slowly lower the weight and quickly move it up. A set of the latter takes longer and the muscle is under tension for longer.

Several studies have investigated whether concentric, eccentric, isometric, or passive tension leads to the greatest muscle growth. It has been found that the eccentric part of the movement, i.e., the deceleration of a weight, has the greatest effect on muscle growth. This means that it is advantageous to slowly lower the weight (or your own body, e.g. when doing dips or pull-ups). This also results in more time under tension (see above).The adaptations caused by mechanical tension can occur physiologically at different levels of a sarcomere. This will not be discussed here. Much remains unclear. The response of mechanoreceptors to different stimuli is very complex

My 3 tips for practice:

To train mechanical tension, you should train in the relative strength range (85-100% 1RM).
Knowing your 1RM of the completed exercise is important for targeted muscle building.
The number of reps is often omitted due to ignorance, although it is crucial.

2. Metabolic stress

Simply put, metabolic stress is the training-induced accumulation of metabolic products, primarily lactate. This occurs during sets in which the muscle derives energy primarily from anaerobic glycolysis and is under stress forbetween 15 and 120 seconds. This is why you often train at higher reps with less weight and to muscular failure (not necessarily in every set!). It’s all about the “pump”.

Muscle growth results from (but not limited to) increased carbohydrate stores and water retention.

My 3 tips for training:

Do more reps with less weight
The muscle is often used to the point of total exhaustion, which is why agonistic super, tri or giant sets are also good.
Mind muscle connection and TUT are very important

3. Muscle damage

As the name suggests, muscular damage is caused by training (again, on different levels, which I will not discuss in detail).

As explained for muscle tension, this is greatest with eccentric loads. Anyone who has ever hiked downhill from a mountain has noticed that the soreness is significantly worse than when you do it in the opposite direction.

The effect of muscle damage on muscle growth is a balancing act. Too much is counterproductive as it will negatively impact subsequent workouts. On the other hand, training in your comfort zone or doing the same exercises over and over will limit your progress. The body quickly adapts to the circumstances. This makes it all the more important to disrupt homeostasis and force the body or muscle to adapt.

My 3 tips for training:

Focus on the eccentricity of the movement
Purely eccentric movements at 100%+ of 1RM lead to major muscle damage and should be incorporated with caution and wise planning.
Exercises should be rotated regularly

Finally, the following conclusion can be drawn

For maximum hypertrophy and thus avoidance of plateaus, muscle building should be targeted at all levels. In the long run, neither method will lead to maximum muscle growth.

Determining the eccentric strength deficit can be a good way to determine whether the next phases should focus on muscle tension, metabolic stress, or muscle damage.

Results are only as good as the training plan!

It should be clear that other factors such as sleep, stress, digestion, and nutrition are also critical to building muscle.

For more valuable tips on training for results, check out our free fitness guide (GERMAN).

Good Luck!

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