Hypertrophy Training: Rules to Live by When Muscle Hypertrophy is Your Goal

[convertkit form=5025061]

Hypertrophy training – in an untamed pursuit to build a better body, we’re rarely concerned about the long-term or how we plan to get from point A to point B; we simply want to experience a transformation.  We want maximal muscle growth in minimal time and we’ll do anything to appear how we believe we’re supposed to when gazing upon the reflection staring back at us.

The pursuit may seem vain to many, but to those who can relate – it goes much deeper.  The maximal muscle hypertrophy we desire is often a result of our competitive drive to reach new heights or the unconscious self-doubt (gasp) we impose upon ourselves.

Sure, for some it’s pure vanity and that’s fine too; there’s nothing wrong with a little textbook narcissism now and again.  However, to understand something fully, we sometimes must start at the end result and work backward.  Therefore, to better understand hypertrophy training, in this case, from an anecdotal standpoint, we’re going to look at a few trainees who’ve made major strides despite slightly different training philosophies and approaches.

Read more

Bill Starr (MadCow) 5×5 Intermediate Routine

Something was brought to my attention a few weeks ago.  A reader sent a quick email to notify me of some broken links they’d found.  In past articles when discussing training, I’ve referenced and linked to a very popular 5×5 training program often referred to as the MadCow 5×5.  It’s an intermediate program by Bill Starr that focuses on weekly linear progress and is very well suited for the experienced trainee who’s gotten much stronger but struggling to make consistent strength gains well past their newbie phase.

Read more

Lyle McDonald’s Bulking Routine

For a full, comprehensive guide on building muscle, check out my Bulking Guide

Lyle McDonald of BodyRecomposition is very well known for his in-depth and no BS approach when discussing nutrition and fat loss. He has published a total of seven books, all of which are incredible resources, especially when learning about proper dieting. To date, he has not published any books on training, but I suspect that day may come eventually.

Speaking of training, he has developed his own generic bulking routine which has its own sticky in the bodybuilding section on his infamous discussion forum. The program has been hashed out ad nauseam by the forum members and Lyle has referenced it in one of his training articles in which he discusses a few popular hypertrophy training programs such as DC Training and HST Training.

Read more

DoggCrapp Training

DC Training is a very effective, nontraditional bodybuilding program. I say ‘effective’ because many trainees have exhibited great results while following the program and dietary guidelines set by Dante Trudel. DC Training is nontraditional in the sense of training frequency …

Read more

JC Deen is a nationally published fitness coach and writer from Nashville, TN. Currently living in the blistering Northeast. Follow me on X/Twitter