Functional Hypertrophy

The secret to increasing muscle without losing speed and strength

The Bulking Up Dilemma Bigger, faster, stronger is a tagline you consistently hear in the strength-training world. Faster and stronger are pretty straight forward, but bigger tends to cause athletes lots of problems. Weve all seen the fighter who has bulked up for a fight in a higher weight class only to show up incredibly slow and lacking power, leading to a crushing loss. So where did the athlete go wrong? They looked more muscular and were obviously bigger, but maybe the old myth is true that lifting weights to get bigger makes an athlete slower. The answer is no, the myth is not true. The athlete just made the common mistake of training for non-functional hypertrophy (aka bodybuilding) instead of training for functional hypertrophy.

Functional Hypertrophy is the art of using the highest load possible while simultaneously receiving an optimal volume to stimulate growth. The athlete must make sure his/her training variables create hypertrophy while also forcing neural adaptations to facilitate strength gains. Most athletes choose to focus on either creating a hypertrophy response or a neural (strength) response. When an athlete solely focuses on creating hypertrophy to add muscle mass without adding strength to the picture, he/she creates the current problem of bigger and slower. Functional Hypertrophy Variables The most important variable of functional hypertrophy is time under tension or TUT. That is the amount of time the athlete is creating force against the load. TUT to create the correct response is 20-40 seconds of work. If TUT is under 20 seconds, the athlete is creating relative strength, and if the athlete goes above 40 seconds, he/she begins to move into bodybuilding hypertrophy. (Note: A young, inexperienced athlete will receive functional carryover, even with high rep ranges. These rules are more for experienced lifting athletes.

The athlete should be prescribed rep ranges that fall into this TUT category. Example: 6-8 reps at a 3-0-1-0 tempo* would be a total TUT of 24-32 seconds. The key is choosing a weight load where the athlete reaches muscular failure within this rep range. If the athlete can only complete 5 reps or less, the weight is too heavy, and if the athlete can perform 9 reps or more, the weight is too light. Another important point to focus on during functional hypertrophy training is the concentric movement, or the raising of the weight. The majority of the time, the concentric portion should be done explosively. This will maximize motor recruitment and have better carryover to strength and power. Remember, its not the speed of the bar that matters; its the brains INTENT to move it explosively that creates the proper training outcome.

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Example: Upper Body Functional Hypertrophy Workout Order A2 A1 Exercise BB Bench Press w/ Chains Subscapularis Pull Up Rotating grip DB 30 degree incline press Sets 4 4 Reps 4-6 4-6 Tempo 5-0-x-0 5-0-x-0 Rest 90 sec 90 sec

C2

C1

B2

B1

EZ bar tricep extension w/ chains

Seated Fat Grip Zottman Curls

Seated Rope Pull to Neck

6-8

6-8

6-8

2-0-x-2

3-1-x-0

6-8

3-1-x-0

4-0-x-0

75 sec

90 sec

90 sec

75 sec

This example workout is one I would use with a fighter who needs to add weight to fight in a heavier weight class. Notice I have used chains on a couple of exercises, which is a great addition to create more trauma on the muscle tissue and match the strength curves better to improve force generation for throwing punches. I have also included two of my favorite back movements for fighters. Both of these exercises tend to work areas of the back that I have found to be major weak points for fighters that provide a direct contribution to punching power and protect the shoulders from injury. If you would like to see this workout in action, watch the video TapouT Functional Hypertrophy on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/starktraining. *3 seconds lower the weight - no pause - 1 second lifting the weight - no pause

Brad Davidson is co-owner of Stark Training and Rehab located in Irvine, CA. You can reach him on his website at www.starktraining.com or by Facebook at www.facebook.com/starktraining.
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