Myofibrillar and Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy...

[LindenGarcia18]

The science behind muscular development got me interested, so I decided to do some research of my own.

I found out about the two different types of hypertrophy, Sarcoplasmic and Myofibrillar. Something I didn't know existed until now.

Heres what I found out, please correct me if im wrong.
with Sarcoplasimic Hypertrophy, The amount of sarcoplasm increases inside the muscle, which makes i look bigger. Apparently though it doesn't last very long, and will disappear fairly quickly if you stop training.
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy also has no direct carry over to strength because it doesn't have the ability to contract and relax, as it isn't real muscle. Its also said that it gives you a puffier look to your muscles.

Myofibrillar hypertrophy on the other hand, is the actual growth of muscle fibres. The muscle looks more dense, and theres a direct carry over to strength.

Apparently different rep ranges trigger different types of hypertrophy, and although neither happen exclusively to the other, training in a higher rep range, provides the lifter with more sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, and training with a lower rep range, gives you more myofibrillar hypertrophy.
Sarcoplasmic hyp is utilized more by pro bodybuilders, and myofibrillar triggered by powerlifters and strength athletes.

I dont know about you but when I look at the two, Myofbrillar hyp seems allot better. The sarco way seems sort of superficial.

For strength, its known that low reps are best, but in terms of bodybuilding, there still seems to be a huge debate about this, and no one seems to really know the answer.
I think allot of this confusion is due to the fact that no ones the same. Whilst higher reps might work best for one for muscle growth, lower reps could work best for someone else.

I also found theres allot of iggnorance on the internet. The majority of bodybuilders disregard low reps, and preach that high reps is the only way to get big, without doing any actual research.
Now powerlifters are big guys, they have huge muscles, and there dense and like a rock.So to say "low reps dont build size" doesn't actually make any sense.

To me the whole thing seems really complicated, The information I've found seems very black and white, and i'd really appreciate your opinion on this.

How does all of this really work, and whats really happening in your muscles when you workout?
Id like to think I was to be building REAL contractile tissue these next few years, not the ability to retrain fluid and just LOOK bigger and stronger.
Advice?

Thanks guys

[Fazc]

Well the whole myofribullar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy rigmarole is very sketchy, at best.

There just isn't significant evidence to suggest being able to differentiate between training for either.

Even less evidence to suggest that any one concrete rep scheme or training modality would contribute to more or less of either.

Just carry on training to get stronger for medium-high reps and eat more, you'll do just fine.

[Off Road]

Exactly as Faz said, training for one type of hypertrophy will obviously also involve training the other type. I'm sure it's impossible to say in any one person what percentages of each type you are training in a given rep range. Just get stronger.

[LindenGarcia18]

Originally Posted by Off Road

Exactly as Faz said, training for one type of hypertrophy will obviously also involve training the other type. I'm sure it's impossible to say in any one person what percentages of each type you are training in a given rep range. Just get stronger.

So I stick with my 5x5 and ill be good.

[LindenGarcia18]

Originally Posted by Fazc

Well the whole myofribullar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy rigmarole is very sketchy, at best.

There just isn't significant evidence to suggest being able to differentiate between training for either.

Even less evidence to suggest that any one concrete rep scheme or training modality would contribute to more or less of either.

Just carry on training to get stronger for medium-high reps and eat more, you'll do just fine.

Yeah thats what I found too. Thanks for the advice

[Off Road]

Originally Posted by LindenGarcia18

So I stick with my 5x5 and ill be good.

That is one, of many, good options.

[BendtheBar]

To me the whole thing seems really complicated, The information I've found seems very black and white

It's not. Nothing in lifting is usually black or white. That's why there are so many heated debates over minutiae. Learning what works for you, your joints, your age, your metabolism, your energy levels, etc. is the real black and white.

Lifting is about consistency, progressive overload, a reasonable diet, etc. Rep ranges don't matter as much as long term effort.

Most of the research shows that at 70%+, at the 5 rep mark all muscle fibers are recruited. What this tells us is that if we stick with a reasonably heavy weight and perform 5+ reps, we're going to build muscle if progressive overload is involved.

My advice is to push every set for as many reps as possible, stopping each set shy of failure. Stay within the 5-10 rep range for most compounds, 8-15ish for most isolations, and maybe a little higher for rows, leg presses, squats or any other exercise you feel works better for you with higher reps.

I work in the industry and have met or interviewed hundreds of top natural bodybuilders. Very few of them work many, if any, sets under 5 reps. Point being, they are not limited by not working over 85%.

Parting words of wisdom...too many people chase after magical combinations, when the real magic lies inside. Get strong on the basic exercises, don't miss workouts, eat plenty of food, and you will grow.

[LindenGarcia18]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

It's not. Nothing in lifting is usually black or white. That's why there are so many heated debates over minutiae. Learning what works for you, your joints, your age, your metabolism, your energy levels, etc. is the real black and white.

Lifting is about consistency, progressive overload, a reasonable diet, etc. Rep ranges don't matter as much as long term effort.

Most of the research shows that at 70%+, at the 5 rep mark all muscle fibers are recruited. What this tells us is that if we stick with a reasonably heavy weight and perform 5+ reps, we're going to build muscle if progressive overload is involved.

My advice is to push every set for as many reps as possible, stopping each set shy of failure. Stay within the 5-10 rep range for most compounds, 8-15ish for most isolations, and maybe a little higher for rows, leg presses, squats or any other exercise you feel works better for you with higher reps.

I work in the industry and have met or interviewed hundreds of top natural bodybuilders. Very few of them work many, if any, sets under 5 reps. Point being, they are not limited by not working over 85%.

Parting words of wisdom...too many people chase after magical combinations, when the real magic lies inside. Get strong on the basic exercises, don't miss workouts, eat plenty of food, and you will grow.

Solid advice mate, thanks a bunch

[LindenGarcia18]

So just to clarify, i'm not going to build any "fake" muscle, if that even exists, cos somehow I dont think id be very motivated if that were the case. :L

[themaster2981]

I saw a lot of videos on youtube talking about this, also read a few articles, got confused and stopped. With whatever little I know about Muscle building, I try to apply the following:

1. Hard work
2. Consistency
3. Proper nutrition
4. Improving the 3 compound lifts, bench, squats and deadlifts (Split or full body routines? I wont comment about it)
5. Coming on MAB and consult experts on any problem I am facing.

This is what I do.