How Do Strength Training and Muscle Building Differ?

Imagine you order a dozen donuts from a donut shop.

They throw them in, and you pay, and move along.

Now, you get home and open up your box to see fresh-made donuts in a variety of flavors.

The box represents your muscle mass (size). The donuts represent your strength (motor units/nerve cells).

At the current size of the box, you can only fit a dozen donuts, no more. If you want more donuts you will need to increase the size of your box.

The same works for your muscle size concerning your strength. You need to build muscle mass if you are looking to increase your strength.

For those people who have not yet improved their strength to their current limit, they should be training to do so.

If you continue to train for strength without increasing your mass you will eventually hit a plateau for your strength potential. This is why the largest people in terms of muscle mass are most often the strongest and fastest people we know.

So how do you train for strength vs. training for hypertrophy?

Strength sets should be heavy, grinding, and max effort lifts. The best exercises for strength are the power lifts: bench press, deadlift, and squat. Example sets include 5x5, 6x3, 4x6…

Hypertrophy sets should be moderate to heavy weight taken close to failure. Your aim should be to lift the weights in a controlled manner while focusing on a strong mind-muscle connection. Example sets include 3x10, 4x8, 3x12…

You will need both if you want to be a healthy, strong, and athletic individual.

Done.