Hypertrophy Made Simple

“Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless” – Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee tried everything while he trained.  His goal in doing so was to distill everything he tried into a simple philosophy.  That was his hallmark, be as effective as possible while also being simple.  Have you ever asked someone a question and their answer takes 10 minutes, but you can probably summarize it in a few sentences?  Me too!  This is the exact opposite of the philosophy that Bruce Lee espoused.

I had a great conversation with a fellow strength coach this week.  One of my favorite topics, muscle hypertrophy (i.e. muscle growth), came up and I asked him his opinion after being in the game for 15 years.  He started with, “I am a big fan of simplicity.”  When I heard this, I smiled J  This is the answer of someone who has tried it all and distilled his experience into what was the most simple and most effective, much like Bruce Lee.

Hypertrophy is all about higher volume with a moderately heavy weight.

Mon/Thu = 2 big lifts (Deadlift + Squat) + 1 Assistance Exercise
Tues/Fri = 2 big lifts (Bench Press + Back Row) + 1 Assistance Exercise
Wed/Sat = 2 big lifts (Shoulder Press + Shrugs) + 1 Assistance Exercise

1st 4 weeks: 5 sets x 5 reps (big lifts) – increase each set by 5+ LBS until reaching failure
2nd 4 weeks: 8 sets x 8 reps (big lifts) – increase each set by 5+ LBS until reaching failure
3rd 4 weeks: 10 sets x 10 reps (big lifts) – increase each set by 5+ LBS until reaching failure

After reaching failure on the big lifts (i.e. can’t reach 5, 8 or 10 reps for the set), cut the weight in half and do 50 reps.  It doesn’t matter how long it takes, just don’t rack the weight until you reach 50 reps.

For the assistance exercises, do 5 sets of 12-20 reps OR do 5 sets of bodyweight exercises (chin ups, push ups, dips, etc.) and go to failure each set.  It may take more than the prescribed number of sets to reach complete failure.

REPEAT after 12 weeks.

Do variations of each of the lifts to keep it interesting.  That’s it, hypertrophy made SIMPLE!!!

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4 Responses to “Hypertrophy Made Simple”

  • [...] you will do well to start understanding the way he thought as well as studying the way he trained.Bruce Lee's superhuman strength and speed is legendary and still to this day is considered revolutio…weight exercises, stretching, striking, running, cycling, etc. – a massive gamut of exercises. Of [...]

  • “For the assistance exercises, do 5 sets of 12-20 reps OR do 5 sets of bodyweight exercises (chin ups, push ups, dips, etc.) and go to failure each set. It may take more than the prescribed number of sets to reach complete failure.”

    What exactly do you mean? Shouldn’t you be working to momentary muscular failure for all 5 sets of the body weight exercises?

    • Ken:

      Sorry for the confusion, you are correct. Either do the assistance exercises with weight (5 sets x 12-20 reps) OR do 5 sets of bodyweight exercises and go to failure each set.
      For example,
      1) chin ups to FAILURE at 20 reps REST
      2) chin ups to FAILURE at 15 reps REST
      3) chin ups to FAILURE at 10 reps REST
      4) chin ups to FAILURE at 8 reps REST
      5) chin ups to FAILURE at 5 reps DONE

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