• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workout
      • Best BCAAs
      • Best Testosterone Boosters
      • Best Bodybuilding Supplements
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
      • Best Multivitamins
      • Best Collagen Supplement
      • Best Probiotic
      • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workout
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Magnesium Supplements
    • Protein
      • Best Protein Powder
      • Best Whey Protein
      • Best Protein Powders for Muscle Gain
      • Best Tasting Protein Powder
      • Best Vegan Protein
      • Best Mass Gainer
      • Best Protein Shakes
      • Best Organic Protein Powder
      • Best Pea Protein Powder
      • Best Protein Bars
    • Strength Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Equipment
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Weightlifting Belts
      • Best Weight Benches
      • Best Functional Trainers
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Resistance Bands
      • Best Trap Bars
    • Cardio Equipment
      • Best Cardio Machines
      • Best Rowing Machines
      • Best Treadmills
      • Best Weighted Vests
      • Concept2 RowErg Review
      • Hydrow Wave Review
      • Best Jump Ropes
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Hypertrophy Is Not a Bad Word: Functional Hypertrophy Training

Don't be afraid to say it - hypertrophy. You might have a use for it. In fact, it could be great for building muscle, leaning out, and boosting your health. Here's how I advise you do it.

Andrew Read

Written by Andrew Read Last updated on Jun 6, 2022

As I wrote about recently in regards to the future of the fitness industry, one of my big picks for training trends is a return to hypertrophy training. This won’t be your mama’s bodybuilding training in the chrome and fern caverns that prohibit deadlifts, though. This will be in small-scale boxes and use full body compound lifts with a variety of non-machine based implements. Let’s call our back-to-the-future-style of bodybuilding functional hypertrophy training.

There are many reasons to add some muscle, including helping prevent the effects of aging, boosting hormone production, having a positive impact on body composition, and, of course, looking good naked. These days gyms are well attended by all ages, but the biggest demographic is the 35 to 50 age group. The Dalai Lama has been quoted as saying, “Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.” This group is keen to reclaim as much of their health and youth as possible and one of the key factors in youthfulness is the amount of lean tissue you carry, so functional hypertrophy training is ideal for them.

Believe it or not muscles are pretty dumb. The only thing they can do is contract when told to. When it comes to adding muscle there are two main ways to do it. The first, and let’s call this the traditional bodybuilding model, is that you need to do a reasonably high volume of work per muscle to see it stimulated enough to grow. After stimulating it you rest for as long as necessary, so it is fully recovered before hitting it again. Typical set and rep schemes for bodybuilding style training are 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps per exercise, with large body parts (chest, back, and legs) seeing four or five exercises each for a total of around 20 sets. Smaller muscle groups might get the same number of sets per exercise, but only two or three exercises per muscle group.

The other option, and let’s call this the weightlifter option for ease of reference, is to take a really heavy weight and lift it a few times, resting completely between sets. Total volume for an exercise might only be around 10 reps over 3 or 4 sets, with a total of three or four of exercises being performed each day. The difference here is that you’ll likely train the same movement multiple times in a single week. For example, it’s quite common that weightlifters will squat daily. By the end of a week they’ll have probably done the same number of total reps as the bodybuilder, but they’ll have done them at much higher loads, spread out over multiple workouts.

hypertrophy, building muscle, growing muscle, strength trainingThe true trick to hypertrophy is followed by both camps – eat like a horse. You often hear tales of hardcore training but really big guys will tell you the secret to massive muscles is hardcore eating, especially if you are eating clean. It is really difficult to eat 4,000 calories a day of clean food and there will be times when the mere thought of stuffing more food down will not be pleasant.

The main thing is that both of these models work. The weightlifter option is going to be much harder on the body and the joints, though, and if we’re talking about using this training on a slightly older client base we need to be mindful of the issues that are associated with them. So the best choice for the older client is going to be slightly more reps and a lower load.

One of the things that has fallen out of favor over the last few years is split programs. Once upon a time it was normal to hear about people having a chest day or a leg day, but the modern fitness world has gotten away from that. We think about every workout as whole body. That’s not a bad thing, and is certainly in line with our functional hypertrophy approach, but the real definition of a split program isn’t that you do only certain body parts on certain days. The definition of a split program is that you do different workouts on different days. So even if you do a whole body workout one day and another whole body session the next time you train, if they are different workouts you’re doing a split program. That’s a good thing as this allows you to cover more movements, or change exercises slightly to avoid overuse of a single movement (for example, swapping back squats for front squats).

Here’s an idea of how a two-day split for functional hypertrophy training might look. This workout would be done with Day 1 done Monday and Thursday and Day 2 on Tuesday and Friday.

Day 1

  • 1A Power curl 4 x 6-8 reps
  • 1B Double kettlebell clean and press 4 x 6-8 reps
  • 2A Triangle pull-ups 3 x 8-12 reps
  • 2B Lever push-ups 3 x 8-12 reps

Triangle pull-ups are done by pulling yourself firstly towards one hand, lowering then pulling towards the other hand.

Lever push-ups are a step towards the one-arm push-up (which is too difficult to do for the rep ranges we need for hypertrophy work). The arm performing the push-up will be in close to the body, as if performing a single-sided tricep push up. The other arm will be extended out to the side so that not much weight can be put on it. Like with the triangle pull-ups do one side, then at the top of the rep slide your weight over onto the other arm and repeat.

hypertrophy, building muscle, growing muscle, strength trainingBoth of these exercises, but particularly the lever push-ups, will also work two key aspects of the core – the ability to maintain a brace as well as oppose rotation. One of our goals with this functional hypertrophy is to get as much of the body working as possible in every exercise. If we can get core strength work while attacking other areas of the body, then it means we can get in and out of the gym faster and back to our real life sooner.

Day 2

  • 1A Barbell front squats 4 x 6 reps
  • 1B Kettlebell swings 4 x 10 reps
  • 2A Step-ups 4 x 10 reps each leg
  • 2B Prowler push 4 x 20m

Like with some of the upper body exercises that allow us to target elements of core stability during other exercises, the leg sections allow us to cover elements of fitness work. You can label this anyway you want but a little bit of work at a high heart rate is good for our health as well as our body composition. At the same time it addresses elements of hip and thigh action. Don’t skimp on weight for the swings and Prowler pushes either – a set of ten swings should leave you as exhausted as a set of six front squats in this plan, so you will need a heavy bell and some serious weight on the sled.

One of the main, often forgotten, elements of resistance training is the progression. When you can get all your reps make sure to add weight. It doesn’t have to be much, just enough to keep the body adapting and working hard. Make sure to eat plenty and rest enough to allow the growth to take place.

My final suggestion is if you want to do some extra work to stay lean then keep it at a low intensity. We recommend our clients walk for an hour daily to keep body fat levels low and not interfere with their recovery and muscle building.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

Andrew Read

About Andrew Read

Andrew Read is like that old guy in the Rocky movies - he has a funny accent, hates everyone, and no one ever knows if he's happy or sad. But just like Mickey, he knows training.

Even back in grade school his teachers would complain he was spending too much time reading bodybuilding magazines or trying new exercises in the gym. These days nothing has changed and even after a lifetime of competitive martial arts and some time spent in special forces he still maintains that same passion for increasing human performance, especially that go all day, out run a zombie, live in an apocalyptic wasteland kind of fitness.

Having been a Master RKC, Andrew is recognised as one of the best kettlebell trainers in the world.His specialty is elite performance and he has been involved with training three world BJJ champions.

View All Articles

Related Posts

Fergus Crawley 5K Run Tips Photo
Fergus Crawley Shares 5 Tips For Running a Better 5K
Actor Chris Hemsworth in gym performing dumbbell row
Chris Hemsworth Diagrams a Killer Upper Body Workout Fit For an Action Star
Hugh Jackman Deadpool 3 Workouts Spring:Winter 2023
Hugh Jackman Returns to Wolverine Condition in Workouts for “Deadpool 3”
Method Man Incline Dumbbell Presses December 2022
Check Out Rapper Method Man Cruising Through 120-Pound Incline Dumbbell Presses for 10 Reps

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

New Year’s Fitness Sales (2025)

XWERKS Motion BCAA Review (2025): A Registered Dietitian’s Honest Thoughts

Assault Fitness AssaultBike Pro X Review (2025): Assault’s Best Bike Yet?

13 Best Exercise Bikes for Home Gyms (2025)

Transparent Labs BCAA Glutamine Review (2025): The Key to Post-Workout Recovery?

Latest Reviews

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt Review (2025)

Omre NMN + Resveratrol, Lifeforce Peak NMN, and partiQlar NMN on a red background

Best NMN Supplement: Fountain of Youth in a Bottle? (2025)

The Titan Series Adjustable Bench on a red background

Titan Series Adjustable Bench Review (2025)

A photo of the NordicTrack Select-a-Weight Dumbbells on a red background

NordicTrack Adjustable Dumbbell Review (2025): Are These Value Dumbbells Worth It?

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2025 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About