With training equipment running at an all-time low due to COVID-19 lockdowns, most people have access to nothing but their bodyweight and minimal equipment and are left scratching their heads with what to do besides countless fundamental exercises and “HIIT.” There are only so many dips, pushups, and pullups that one can do when it comes to bodyweight hypertrophy and contrary to popular belief, hypertrophy isn’t just about volume and progressive overload. If only it were that simple.
What is Hypertrophy?
When you think about hypertrophy, you must think about tension. Tension is the most significant stimulus of muscle protein synthesis, the process by which new proteins are formed to repair muscle damage resulting from significant tension during strenuous exercise. It is what makes a person stronger from each training. With a higher volume of tension, the more likely protein synthesis will be stimulated because the muscle cells sense that the contractile fibers are sustaining the damage just as inflammation is about to occur.
The factors that affect maximal tension on each individual fiber are:
- Intensity (the level of effort needed for each exercise)
- Volume (the total amount of significant work done)
- Intent (repetitions executed with the aim of working every fiber from start to end)
Based upon the factors listed above, here are the five main methods to achieve maximal hypertrophy:
- Mechanical damage hypertrophy (microtrauma caused primarily through eccentric loading and/or long periods of significant tension)
- Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (increase in the size of sarcoplasm that consist of intracellular fluid)
- Oxidative stress hypertrophy (produced from prolonged and intense muscle contraction close to failure that activates biochemical pathways contributing to proliferation of myonuclei domains)
- Neuroendocrine hypertrophy (hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone that are produced from high intensity training that cause a favorable environment for hypertrophy)
- Volume of tension hypertrophy (not to be confused with volume of work but rather the time spent under significant tension per set of exercise from a strategic combination of exercise or exercises with different strength profiles)
All five of these methods are differentiated by a common denominator: the amount of significant tension.This is not to be confused with just time under tension. Time under tension means nothing if the intensity is not significant enough. For example, prolonging a set of exercise for the sake of prolonging just means time under load without enough intensity to cause favorable changes. Time under significant tension is the intensity the muscles are being exposed to for whatever time they are under. The time under significant tension is different for all of them and therefore the intensity and volume vary because of this. For example, the difference between oxidative hypertrophy and neuroendocrine hypertrophy is shown below. As you can see, the time under significant tension can be vast for each training stimulus and this is what determines the method in which you run your hypertrophy program.
The examples below use a 2011 tempo, here’s what that means:
- 2-Eccentric portion or the lengthening of a muscle (2 seconds)
- 0-Pause when the muscle is at its fully lengthened position (0 seconds)
- 1-Concentric portion or the shortening of a muscle (1 second)
- 1-Pause when the muscle is at its fully shortened position (1 second)
Oxidative hypertrophy:
- Pullup
- 4 x 5 (meaning 4 sets of 5 reps) at 5RM, then immediately drop set to five reps with new 5RM under fatigue, then immediately drop set again to five reps with new 5RM under fatigue at a tempo of 2011. Think of it as each set being comprised of three “sub-sets.” (The reason why a new 5RM is stated is because under fatigue from the first five reps done, you immediately want to drop to a weight that is something you can do for no more than five reps and then do that again, so you achieve 15 reps total.) For example, 20kg for five reps, immediately drop to 15kg to do another five reps, immediately drop to 10kg to do another five reps. That is one set.
- Total time under significant tension is 60 seconds per set.
- 4 x 5 (meaning 4 sets of 5 reps) at 5RM, then immediately drop set to five reps with new 5RM under fatigue, then immediately drop set again to five reps with new 5RM under fatigue at a tempo of 2011. Think of it as each set being comprised of three “sub-sets.” (The reason why a new 5RM is stated is because under fatigue from the first five reps done, you immediately want to drop to a weight that is something you can do for no more than five reps and then do that again, so you achieve 15 reps total.) For example, 20kg for five reps, immediately drop to 15kg to do another five reps, immediately drop to 10kg to do another five reps. That is one set.
Neuroendocrine hypertrophy:
- Pullup
- 8 x 3 at 5RM at 2011 tempo
- Total time under significant tension is 12 seconds per set.
- 8 x 3 at 5RM at 2011 tempo
How is Hypertrophy Triggered?
One of the ways hypertrophy is achieved is via mechanical damage by significant tension and inflammation. We briefly talked about tension and how it affects hypertrophy above, now let’s dig a little deeper. Hypertrophy follows three different principles:
- Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (accumulation of substrates and fuel in the sarcoplasm)
- Myofibrillar hypertrophy (accumulation of more contractile proteins)
- Myonuclei domain hypertrophy (increases the number of nuclei in the muscle cell)
For this article, we are going to focus on using the mechanical damage method to achieve a hybrid of myonuclei domain hypertrophy and myofibrillar hypertrophy.
Significant tension is what stimulates myofibrillar hypertrophy. Myofibrillar hypertrophy is the creation of new contractile proteins which leads to permanent gains in muscle mass. These gains in muscle mass are what we term functional hypertrophy as this form of hypertrophy translates to maximal strength due to the formation of new contractile protein.
Inflammation on the other hand leads to myonuclei domain hypertrophy and it occurs due to muscle damage. The inflammation would activate satellite cell signaling via growth factors which then increases the net number of nuclei and ribosomes due to the donation of these dormant cells’ contents. This then leads to the cells’ ability to make more proteins due to more nuclei and ribosomes. Therefore, protein synthesis increases.
Take note though, you want just enough inflammation. Do not run the muscle into the ground for this phase. Stimulate, don’t annihilate. This method of total annihilation has its place, but it belongs in the oxidative phase.
Mechanical damage can be achieved via some combination of the following three methods:
- High intensity (choosing an exercise variation or weight that is of high intensity)
- Lengthen/Eccentric (choosing an exercise in which the strength profile is biased on the lengthened position and/or lengthening under load)
- Fatigue (performing an exercise after the agonist has been fatigued)
For the training routine given below, all the above equations for achieving mechanical damage are satisfied by choosing two exercises that are agonist, meaning the same muscle group. For example, pectorals and pectorals. Choose an exercise variation that requires a high amount of intensity to accomplish (option 1 above), choose the second exercise to be a lengthened biased exercise in the strength profile and emphasize the eccentrics (option 2 above), or use an agonistic muscle group so the muscle is working under fatigue in the second exercise (option 3 above).
The Program
Without further ado, here is your 4-week program for achieving hypertrophy via mechanical damage method. This program utilizes supersets. Each movement is listed as A1, A2, etc. This means you will do a set of A1 followed immediately by a set of A2 until all sets are complete. Then move on to the next pair of movements. To start, do the lowest rep recommended for the first week. Once you get comfortable with the movements, try adding a rep the following week and continue doing so until you hit the maximum recommended reps.
Session 1:
- A1) Tuck Front Pull (2111) 4 x 4-6, Rest 20 seconds (If needed: Arch back scap pull)
- A2) Pullup (3111) 4 x 6-8, Rest 120-180 seconds
- B1) One-Arm Eccentric Archer Pushup (2111), 4 x 6-8/6-8 (do equal reps on both right and left sides), Rest 20 seconds (If needed: One-Arm Eccentric Archer Pushup Regression)
- B2) Ring Dip (3111) 4 x 6-8, Rest 120-180 seconds (If needed: Seated Ring Dip)
- C1) False Grip Ring Row (2112) 4 x 6-8, Rest 10 seconds
- C2) Tuck Back Lever Pull Out (3110) 4 x 6-8, Rest 90 seconds (If needed: Tuck Back Lever Pull Out Regression)
- D1) High Chair Horizontal Dips (3111) 4 x 6-8, Rest 20 seconds
- D2) Ring Triceps Extension (3111) 4 x 6-8, Rest 90 seconds
Session 2:
- A1) Concentric Pistol Squat (0111) 4 x 6-8/6-8 (do equal reps on both right and left sides), Rest 20 seconds (If needed: Bench Concentric Pistol Squat Regression)
- A2) Deficit Shrimp Squat (3111) 4 x 6-8/6-8 (do equal reps on both right and left sides), Rest 90-120 seconds
- B1) Ring Leg Curl (2112) 4 x 6-8, Rest 20 seconds
- B2) Reverse Nordic Curl (4111) 4 x 6-8, Rest 90-120 seconds
- C1) Single Leg Calf Raises (3210) 4 x 10/10 (do equal reps on both right and left sides), Rest 60 seconds
- D1) Toes to Bar (2110) 4 x 8-10, Rest 10 seconds
- D2) Ring Roll Out (3211) 4 x 6-8, Rest 60 seconds
Session 3:
- A1) Ring Top Support 4 x 20-30 seconds at RPE of 8 variation, Rest 10 seconds
- A2) Ring Dip (3111) 4 x 6-8, Rest 90-120 seconds
- B1) Wide Grip Ring Row (2111) 4 x 12 at RPE of 8 variation, Rest 10 seconds
- B2) Ring Y Flye (3111) 4 x 6-8, Rest 90-120 seconds
- C1) Tuck Back Lever Hold 4 x 16 seconds at RPE of 10 variation, Rest 20 seconds
- C2) Tuck Back Pull Outs (3110) 4 x 6-8, Rest 120 seconds
- D1) Floor Tucks for Triceps 4 x 16 seconds, Rest 20 seconds
- D2) Ring Triceps Extension (3111) 4 x 6-8, Rest 90 seconds
Conclusion
As you can see, there is more to hypertrophy than just volume and progressive overload. What I have outlined for you is somewhat “outside the box” of conventional training and I need to thank Kassem Hanson, my mentor Adam Miller, Charles Poliquin, Charles Beadsley, and Pavel for inspiring and equipping me with the wisdom and knowledge to process training out of the box.
A training program like the above example is perfect for a minimalistic setup that is guaranteed to ensure muscle growth. On a side note, I recommend you consume a diet at least moderately high in carbohydrates and calories as your body needs a surplus of energy to repair itself from this training method.
I hope you find the above useful in the first installment of hypertrophy with minimal equipment.
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