Is hypertrophy necessary?

[sports19]

If an athlete wants to hit a 2x bodyweight squat or a 2.5x bodyweight deadlift etc. can they achieve that milestone without working in the higher rep ranges to accumulate mass or can they do a 5x5 routine from the start until that goal? In other words, by doing a 5x5 routine strictly will that allow the athlete to accumulate just enough muscle to keep getting stronger or do they need to spend time working in the 8-12 rep range? Hope that makes sense.

[sports19]

Bump?

[DCSpartan]

strength and size arent mutually exclusive.

[anonymous]

If an athlete wants to hit a 2x bodyweight squat or a 2.5x bodyweight deadlift etc. can they achieve that milestone without working in the higher rep ranges to accumulate mass or can they do a 5x5 routine from the start until that goal? In other words, by doing a 5x5 routine strictly will that allow the athlete to accumulate just enough muscle to keep getting stronger or do they need to spend time working in the 8-12 rep range? Hope that makes sense.

There is more than one way to achieve these goals. It is well documented people respond differently to different forms of exercise. I think it would be possible to work in the 5 x 5 range and achieve those goals. I still think you would get some improvements in cross-sectional area

[sports19]

What do you mean by that? Are you saying that by getting stronger the size will come too?

[anonymous]

What do you mean by that? Are you saying that by getting stronger the size will come too?

Well yes, but it is a more complex issue than just saying bigger=stronger

Cross-sectional area and muscular strength: a brief review.

Jones EJ1, Bishop PA, Woods AK, Green JM.
Author information
Abstract
A brief review is provided on the relationship of strength to muscle cross-sectional area (CSA). It is commonly believed that maximal force and CSA are strongly related. Studies examining varying levels of training status display discordant data suggesting complex relationships between training status, CSA and peak force. It has been reported that trained participants had a significantly larger force to CSA ratio (F/CSA) than untrained males and females. Therefore, it is difficult to attribute all force changes due to training to CSA changes. In general, studies of CSA and strength suggest that sex differences may exist. For example, recreationally trained female weightlifters produced higher F/CSA than males at lower velocities of contraction. Definitive conclusions regarding sex differences, force production and CSA are difficult because of limited studies and equivocal results among these studies. Some studies have also examined the impact of aging on F/CSA. These studies seem to follow the same pattern as studies on sex differences and training status, with data suggesting that F/CSA varies unpredictably across ages and that differences may be attributed to factors other than age alone. In the papers reviewed, the relationship between force and CSA is neither consistent nor simple. Although some of the discrepancies between studies could be attributed to methodological variations, this does not seem likely to explain all differences. The F/CSA relationship seems complex, and future studies are required to elucidate the relationships among key factors in the expression of strength.

[lucia316]

What do you mean by that? Are you saying that by getting stronger the size will come too?

No. Size does not equal strength and strength does not equal size. Nor does one necessarily drive the other. Hypertrophy is based on diet, progressive training and rest. Strength is based on progressive training. There are plenty of huge people that are not very strong and plenty of strong people that aren't very large.

[tuura007]

No. Size does not equal strength and strength does not equal size. Nor does one necessarily drive the other. Hypertrophy is based on diet, progressive training and rest. Strength is based on progressive training. There are plenty of huge people that are not very strong and plenty of strong people that aren't very large.

Nice way to lay it out, lucia316.

What are your thoughts on this quote by Dr. Andy Galpin: "It’s physically impossible to add muscle mass and not add strength "

[lucia316]

Nice way to lay it out, lucia316.

What are your thoughts on this quote by Dr. Andy Galpin: "It’s physically impossible to add muscle mass and not add strength "

Anecdotally I'd disagree. My fat free mass has increased by about 5lb in the past 6 months, but my strength has remained about the same. In general, it's probably a fair statement, the question is at what ratio is he talking about?

[JihadShark]

I think you 100% get stronger with more size as a beginner, and the correlation may fade as you progress? I don't believe that anyone with <2 years of lifting experience can gain 10 pounds and not get stronger, that's just ridiculous.