Hypertrophy, Strength, Power…Oh my!

What do these words mean when it comes to working out and why do we use them? Here’s a quick guide to understanding these three phases.

Hypertrophy, strength and power are three common phases used in periodized training to help folks progress in the gym. In Blue Room, most of my clients work through these three phases continuously (known as linear periodization) to keep from plateauing and make things interesting. Each phase may last a few weeks to a couple of months depending on a clients goals and needs.

Hypertrophy - this phase is where we are building muscle and muscular endurance. During this phase we’ll use lighter weight (around 60-70% effort), do higher rep counts and get less rest between sets. This phase is setting you up to push heavier weight in the strength phase.

Strength - during this phase we are moving heavier weight and doing fewer reps with a little more rest in between (around 70-85% effort). This phase is all about building muscle strength!

Power - as you can imagine, this phase takes things to another level. Now we’re doing very few reps with nearly the heaviest weight you can handle (around 85-95% effort) with plenty of rest in between. We also work on explosive movements with lighter weight, resistance bands or body weight. This phase is particularly important for athletes who compete and in my opinion is the most fun phase because you start to understand just how strong you are!

Depending on your goals, we may go straight back to the hypertrophy phase once the power phase is completed. But some folks may go through other phases like mobility or general preparedness after peaking for competition.

For a more comprehensive look at linear periodization and to see the other two popular periodizations used, check out this link.