Muscle Hypertrophy

Muscle Hypertrophy is the scientific name of the process by which muscles grow as a result of physical training (with the proper nutrition). Basically, the body responds to minor damage done to the muscles during physical exertion by repairing this damage during rest and builds up the muscle to be able to better withstand similar exertions in the future.

What most people don't know is that there are two different types of muscle hypertrophy. These two types are totally different from one another on an internal level and an external level as well. Each type of hypertrophy will make you look drastically different than the other will.

The two types of hypertrophy are:

1. Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy - In this sort of muscle hypertrophy, you're focused on increasing the size of the muscle. However, most of this growth is based on liquid and not on real muscle tissue growth. With Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy, your muscle cells fill up with a fluid called Sarcoplasm. This expands the size of the cells, which gives you the appearance of bigger muscles. These often look rounded and not toned as the muscles expand similar to a water filled balloon. In addition, since most of the growth is based on liquid, this type of hypertrophy does not bring with it additional strength.





2. Myofibrillar Hypertrophy - This type of muscular hypertrophy results in an increase in muscle tissue density. You're adding more muscle fibers, making the tissue denser. As more fibers are created, your strength and physical ability increases, often dramatically. However, this muscle growth is less visible as the muscles do not grow outwardly as much as they do with Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy. However, the muscles may appear firmer and more defined with this type of growth.

Each of these types of hypertrophy has its place and serves different goals: aesthetic and functional ones. For the best body, you need to combine the two together.