Fitness Volt
  • News
    • Bodybuilding
    • Strongman
    • Powerlifting
    • Armwrestling
    • CrossFit
    • Results
    • Arnold Classic
    • Mr. Olympia
  • 2025 WSM
  • Workouts
    • Training
    • Workout Plans
    • Celebrity Workouts
    • Training Programs
    • Mastering The Deadlift
  • Exercise Guides
    • Muscle Groups
    • Arms
    • Back
    • Chest
    • Core
    • Legs and Glutes
    • Mobility & Stretching
    • Shoulders
    • Yoga
  • Nutrition
    • Diet
    • Fasting
    • Diet Plans
    • Nutrition Tips
    • Supplements
    • Reviews
    • Food Facts
  • Calculators
  • More
    • Forum
    • Strength Standards
    • DIY
    • Profiles
    • Motivation
    • Videos
    • MMA
No Result
View All Result
Fitness Volt
  • News
    • Bodybuilding
    • Strongman
    • Powerlifting
    • Armwrestling
    • CrossFit
    • Results
    • Arnold Classic
    • Mr. Olympia
  • 2025 WSM
  • Workouts
    • Training
    • Workout Plans
    • Celebrity Workouts
    • Training Programs
    • Mastering The Deadlift
  • Exercise Guides
    • Muscle Groups
    • Arms
    • Back
    • Chest
    • Core
    • Legs and Glutes
    • Mobility & Stretching
    • Shoulders
    • Yoga
  • Nutrition
    • Diet
    • Fasting
    • Diet Plans
    • Nutrition Tips
    • Supplements
    • Reviews
    • Food Facts
  • Calculators
  • More
    • Forum
    • Strength Standards
    • DIY
    • Profiles
    • Motivation
    • Videos
    • MMA
No Result
View All Result
Fitness Volt
No Result
View All Result
Home » Muscle » Muscle Talk

Build More Muscle: Training Intensity

Written by Justin Robertson

Last Updated on25 March, 2018 | 2:47 AM EDT

Ask Question?

Increase Your Training Intensity To Maximize Muscle Gains

The casual gym body may not understand the need to constantly increase their intensity, but many serious bodybuilders and figure competitors fail to understand this as well. It doesn’t matter how long you have been training, if you always do the same number of sets for the same number of reps on the same exercises with the same weight every time you train and make no effort to increase the intensity of your workout, your body will make no effort to change the amount of muscle you have.

Intensity

Johnnie Jackson and Branch WarrenWhen it comes to training, the word intensity has many different meanings. When you are designing a training program, intensity needs to be raised and lowered to make gains without over-training. Knowing the reactions that the body has to the varying levels of training intensity will allow you to use many different methods to increase muscle growth.

Load during a set can be expressed as a percent of your one rep maximum. Lifting weights using both light and heavy loads will induce hypertrophy, which is the primary mechanism of increasing muscle size. One very common debate among lifters is whether it is better to lift with lighter loads or heavier loads.

Lifting weights that are approximately 85 percent of your one rep maximum to muscular failure or near muscular failure, have been shown to stimulate hypertrophy the most. Even though the greatest gains in muscle growth are seen with moderate loads, heavy and lighter loads must be used to maximize full potential. This is due to the fact that there are two different types of hypertrophy that occur with resistance training.

Read also: One Rep Max Calculator Detailed Guide

Myofibrillar Hypertrophy

The first is called myofibrillar hypertrophy. Myofibrillar hypertrophy is an increase in the number and size of the actin and myosin filaments within muscle tissue. This type of hypertrophy is accompanied by strength gains since it involves an increase in the contractile tissue. You cannot completely isolate one type of hypertrophy over another, however myofibrillar hypertrophy primarily occurs when lifting with heavy loads for low reps.

Get Fitter, Faster

Level Up Your Fitness: Join our 💪 strong community in Fitness Volt Newsletter. Get daily inspiration, expert-backed workouts, nutrition tips, the latest in strength sports, and the support you need to reach your goals. Subscribe for free!

Please wait...
You're In! Let's Crush Your Fitness Goals Together

Expect expert-backed workouts, nutrition advice, the latest in strength sports, and a whole lot of motivation heading your way.

Those new to lifting should note that they will notice huge increases in strength with little increases in hypertrophy no matter what rep ranges or loads are used. These strength gains are primarily due to neural adaptations, as previously untrained individuals may have difficulty activating their motor units.

Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy

Sarcoplasmic HypertrophyThe second type of hypertrophy is called sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is an increase of the sarcoplasm and other non-contractile proteins within muscle cells and is primarily induced by lifting light loads for higher reps. This type of growth, although not accompanied by any strength gains, is the primary reason why bodybuilders tend to be more muscular than strength and power athletes.

To continue making muscular gains over long periods of time progressive overload must be applied. To put it simply, if you want to keep growing you have to lift heavier weight. This holds true no matter what rep ranges and loads are used. Increasing your max weight for both high rep and low rep sets should be the main goal of any training program, as this is the best way to assure continued growth.

One of the reasons moderate rep ranges produce the greatest gains in muscle tissue may be because the moderate loads allow for the use of heavyweights with more time under tension. This combination seems to strike a balance between inducing large amounts of both myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.

Many bodybuilders believe that heavy weights for low reps should be lifted to build muscle and light weights for high reps should be lifted to burn fat. Lifting only light weights during the dieting phase before a contest is a sure-fire method to lose muscle. Conversely, a lot of potential muscle growth is missed by never lifting lighter weights in the offseason. A solid weight training program should include heavy, moderate, and light loads to maximize total muscle hypertrophy.

When dieting for a contest, or just in an attempt to lean out, this still holds true and will help you retain, or possibly gain muscle while dieting. Weight training should build, and preserve muscle tissue while on a contest diet. Let your diet and cardio/interval training take care of the fat loss. Most importantly when discussing load and intensity is to take each set to a point that is close to muscular failure.

Volume

Volume during training refers to the total amount of work performed within a given workout. Most often though, the term volume is used to describe the number of sets performed during training. Training volume has been a very sensitive subject to many in the bodybuilding community for years.

There are those that suggest only high-intensity training, such as Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer, and claim that only one to four sets to failure per body part are all that is needed to stimulate maximum muscle growth.

Then others, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger claim:

That maximum growth will occur by doing 20-25 sets per body part. With such opposite views on training volume, it can be difficult to know how much volume is appropriate.

Although both high and low volume training programs have been proven to be effective, if maximizing muscle growth is the primary goal, then high intensity, high volume training programs must be used. Although it has not been fully proven, research on humans provides indirect evidence for hyperplasia after intense, high volume strength training. Hyperplasia is another form of muscle growth that differs from hypertrophy. Hypertrophy is an increase in the size of existing muscle cells, whereas hyperplasia is an increase in the actual number of muscle cells.

The endocrine system, which is responsible for hormone release within the body, is also sensitive to training volume. Varying the amount of work from workout to workout may be used to manipulate the endocrine system and create an optimal hormonal environment. Serum testosterone levels can be increased and adrenal hormones can be optimized by using high volumes with multiple sets of multiple exercises.

Although high volume training can be very effective, it does come with the risk of overtraining. Adding extra volume to training sessions can cause an increase in anabolic hormones, but if too many sets are added too often then it can have the opposite effect. Volume related overtraining will eventually lead to a decrease in luteinizing hormone and free testosterone.

Cortisol also becomes an issue with volume-related overtraining. Small cortisol increases during training can lead to growth hormone release and can signal to the body that repairs need to be made, but if high volume training is continued for long periods of time and is not cycled, it can cause cortisol levels to rise too high and stay elevated.

Other than the risk of overtraining there is another downside to high volume training. Resistance training, in general, has been shown to upregulate androgen receptors for 48-72 hours after the workout. Whereas high volume training will initially downregulate androgen receptors prior to the upregulation.

This initial downregulation can be avoided by having a protein/carb mixture pre and post-training. If you have read my past articles you already know the benefits of having a protein/carb mixture before and after training. This just adds another good reason to include these shakes in your nutrition plan.

When discussing the subject of training volume its best to keep an open mind. Many take the mindset that they must not ever go above or below a certain number of sets. Keep in mind that increasing the volume of your training is one of the easiest ways to overtrain, but adding volume is a great way to stimulate growth. Periods of high volume should be used to maximize growth, but periods of low volume must be incorporated to ensure that your body can keep up with the demands you are placing on it.

When setting the intensity level for an effective training program, the volume and load used are the first two things that must be addressed.

Incorporating varying levels of both the amount of weight used, and the number of sets performed can be difficult, but doing so will allow you to prevent overtraining and maximize your genetic potential. These variations can also fluctuate from one body part to the next depending on your individual weak points.

Now you can establish the load and volume of your training, but there are still two more points that I will address in the next article.

Happy Lifting!


If you have any questions or need further clarification about this article, please leave a comment below, and Justin will get back to you as soon as possible.

Stay on top of the latest fitness news and updates by adding Fitness Volt to your Google News feed: Follow us on Google News You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for even more content.
Facebook Twitter Reddit Flipboard LinkedIn Pinterest
Categories: Muscle Talk Muscle-Building Training
Previous Post

Peanut Butter: The Quintessential Muscle-Building and Fat Loss Superfood

Next Post

All You Need To Know About Intermittent Fasting

Justin Robertson

Justin Robertson

Justin is a fitness enthusiast with a passion for old school workouts. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and experiences on various topics such as CrossFit, workouts, muscle-building, and HIIT workouts through his writing. With a focus on functional fitness and strength training, Justin aims to inspire and motivate others to achieve their fitness goals. When he's not working out or writing, he can be found exploring the great outdoors or spending time with his family.

Related

Unlocking Anabolic Sleep
Muscle Science

Unlocking Anabolic Sleep: 3 Simple Pre-Bed Habits to Maximize Muscle Repair Overnight

Frank Zane Growth Program
Workout Plans

Old School Muscle: The Frank Zane Program for Classic Muscle Growth

Jeff Nippard
Bodybuilding

Jeff Nippard Reveals How Much Muscle He Gained in 1 Year After Using a Strict Science-Based Fitness Routine

Pull Up Challenge 1 1
Training

The Ultimate Pull-Up Challenge: Can You Reach Advanced Lifter Status? 

Average Muscle Gain Per Month
Muscle-Building

Unlock Your Gains: What’s the Average Muscle Gain Per Month?

Rich Gaspari
Bodybuilding

Rich Gaspari Explains How to ‘Gain Lean Muscle Mass While Simultaneously Losing Fat’

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest

Steve Weinberger Discusses How Hadi Choopan Can Improve to Win 2025 Mr. Olympia: “He’s As Dangerous As Any of Those Guys”

Dorian Yates Compares Nick Walker and Derek Lunsford’s Physiques, Offers Olympia Advice, and Names Samson Dauda as 2025 Favorite

Metabolic Typing Diet: Personalized Nutrition to Unlock Your Body’s Full Potential

2025 TFX Invitational CrossFit Semifinal Results — Nick Mathew and Olivia Kerstetter Win

Exercise Scientist Reveals How to Craft an Optimal Pre-Workout Meal to ‘Unlock More Gains’

Lee Priest Shows How to Hack Squat Like Tom Platz for Huge Quads

Fitness Volt

At Fitness Volt, our mission is to empower every individual on their fitness journey by providing expert advice, the latest research, and comprehensive resources. Whether you are a beginner or an elite athlete, we are here to support your goals with trustworthy and up-to-date information in strength, fitness, and nutrition. Read more.

For inquiries, please contact us at:
Email: [email protected]

About Us | Careers | Contact Form

Topics

  • Mr. Olympia
  • Bodybuilding
  • Strongman
  • WSM
  • Powerlifting
  • CrossFit
  • Workouts
  • Exercises
  • Training
  • Reviews
  • Nutrition
  • Discussion Forum

More

  • Calculators
  • Fasting
  • Mastering The Deadlift
  • Workout Plans
  • At-Home Workouts
  • Programs
  • Supplements
  • Newsletter
  • Review Process
  • Accessibility
  • Advertise
  • Syndication
  • Sitemap
  • DMCA
  • Copyrights
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Disclaimer

© Copyright 2010 - 2024 Fitness Volt IBC. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Bodybuilding
    • Powerlifting
    • Strongman
    • Armwrestling
    • CrossFit
    • Results
    • Mr. Olympia
    • 2024 WSM
    • Arnold Classic
  • Forum
  • Workouts
    • Training
    • Workout Plans
    • Muscle Groups
    • Celebrity Workouts
    • Programs
    • Mastering The Deadlift
  • Exercise Guides
    • Arms
    • Back
    • Chest
    • Core
    • Legs and Glutes
    • Shoulders
    • Yoga
  • Nutrition
    • Diet
    • Fasting
    • Diet Plans
    • Supplements
    • Nutrition Tips
    • Reviews
    • Food Facts
  • Fitness Calculator
  • More
    • DIY
    • Strength Standards
    • Motivation
    • Videos

© Copyright 2010 - 2024 Fitness Volt IBC. All Rights Reserved.