Hypertrophy Basics: The Fundamentals of Muscle Growth

Hypertrophy training focuses on increasing muscle size through the growth of muscle fibers. This guide offers key principles to maximize your muscle-building workouts and make the most of your gym time. Remember, consistency and progress are crucial for success!

These guidelines are meant to be flexible, so they can easily fit into your life. It's important to nail these basic principles first, before going into the nitty gritty details which yield a very small effect.

• Workout at least 3 times a week.
• Train each muscle group at least 2 times a week.
• Do 10-25 sets per muscle group, spread out between your sessions.
• Aim for 6-25 reps per set.
• Leaving 1-2 reps in reserve will generally give a better bang for you buck than going to failure.
• Gradually increase the weight or reps for each exercise during each session. Try to add 2.5kg or a repetition.
• In general, the stretched part of the range of movement is more important than the contracted part. Perform controlled negatives and emphasize the stretch.
• Choose exercises that make your muscles pumped, feel sore, and engaged in the right spot. Emphasize compound movements.
• Eat between 1.5 - 2.0g protein per kg bodyweight.
• To build muscle, eat more calories than you burn; to lose fat, eat fewer calories.

Implementing these principles in your training will give you about 90% of what's possible. The last 10% consists of a mix of small factors such as personalization, macronutrient splits, supplements etc. Focus on iterative improvements and enjoy the process!