In fitness, there’s a lot of contradicting information out there. One of them is weight training. We’ve all heard people tell us that lifting heavy makes you bulkier. There is also another misconception about toning and lifting lighter weights. Again, this is also not true.
To understand this phenomenon, let us understand a term we often come across in fitness-hypertrophy. Hypertrophy (muscle hypertrophy) is an increase in the size of our muscle cells. It occurs as a result of physical exercise such as weightlifting, and we often associate the term with weight training. There are two types of hypertrophy: sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar.
- Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy:
This refers to an increase in the size of the muscle cell without any considerable increase in strength. Bodybuilders fall into this category. Let me give you an example. Imagine you are having 10 pieces of deflated balloons. If you are asked to fill the balloons with air/water, the size will increase. The fluid in our body which does the same job in our muscles is called sarcoplasmic fluid.
- Myofibrillar hypertrophy:
Myofibrillar hypertrophy is essentially muscle fiber growth. Our muscles contain a muscle fiber called myofibril, which is responsible for muscle contraction. When myofibrillar hypertrophy takes place, the number of myofibrils in a muscle increases, which increases the muscle fiber density and strength. Martial artists and weight lifters come into this category.
Let me use the same example, instead of asking you to hold 10 deflated balloons in one hand, you are asked to hold 15 of them. The density of the balloons has increased. This represents the myofibrillar hypertrophy.
All of this may seem to be too much science, but let us see how this affects our physique.
If you are someone who wishes to stay lean and increase your strength (lean muscle), your primary focus should be on lifting heavily. If you are someone who is focused more on bodyweight training, you can increase your lean muscle by just bringing in some variations to your usual bodyweight exercises. For example, instead of doing normal squats, you can include some reps of squat jumps or Bulgarian squats.
For people who want to go into bodybuilding, your primary focus would be increasing your muscle size. A general rule would involve higher reps of moderate weight with short rest periods.
Muscle growth varies between men and women. Along with insulin growth factors (IGF) and growth hormone, testosterone plays an important role in muscle growth. The level of testosterone is lower in women when compared to men. Hence, weight training won’t make women bulkier. Weight training can be used for toning as well.
However, neither occurs solely on its own. Even when you lift heavy, a small amount of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy occurs, and when you lift for more reps, a small amount of myofibrillar hypertrophy occurs. Hence, it is important to consider your goals when planning a program.
