The SIMPLE truth about “progression”

[Filmbuff81]

You are misunderstanding- the body is making progress if there is hypertrophy. It got better at something related to the stimulation. In other words, without progress, there is no hypertrophy and no change in ability for the better….

Doing squats, multiple sets is the stimulation- the work load is the stimulation, the resistance is the stimulation….any adaptations taking place is progress. Now when the adaptations stop…due to insufficient stimulation….progression somewhere will be necessary and we all understand that.

Now it seems you’re splitting hairs and using progress in multiple contexts.

You asked if hypertrophy is possible without progression. That context implies progression of some form of weight/reps/sets.

And those do not need to progress in the short term to see hypertrophy.

Weights could even regress for a while and hypertrophy can still occur simply from putting forth sufficient effort.

[jaxqen]

Do any of you think you can create hypertrophy without progression?

If so, how?

No, if by progression you mean more weight, more reps, more sets, less rest, better form, more ROM, pauses, slower negatives, more explosive positives, better MMC with the target muscle/making the weight feel harder than it actually is - well, the last one is more for more advanced lifters.
And I am talking about long periods of time.
For shorter periods, I tend to agree with Filmbuff.

But you can have progression without creating hypertrophy.

Something I experienced in the past. An I've seen it also in one of Mike Israetel's talks about non-optimal rep ranges and not targeting the right muscle:
"A lot of the strength gain is neural, is technical, is architectural. You can say 'my ability to do bicep curls with a cable and tricep extensions has over the past months substantially improved, and I'm really feeling like I'm trying hard on the exercise and getting new PRs, but at the same time I don't get big pumps, big soreness, my muscles don't feel tired, my elbows hurt, my shoulders start to hurt and you notice that your triceps don't look bigger' "

[Filmbuff81]

No, if by progression you mean more weight, more reps, more sets, less rest, better form, more ROM, pauses, slower negatives, more explosive positives, better MMC with the target muscle/making the weight feel harder than it actually is - well, the last one is more for more advanced lifters.
And I am talking about long periods of time.
For shorter periods, I tend to agree with Filmbuff.

But you can have progression without creating hypertrophy.

Something I experienced in the past. An I've seen it also in one of Mike Israetel's talks about non-optimal rep ranges and not targeting the right muscle:
"A lot of the strength gain is neural, is technical, is architectural. You can say 'my ability to do bicep curls with a cable and tricep extensions has over the past months substantially improved, and I'm really feeling like I'm trying hard on the exercise and getting new PRs, but at the same time I don't get big pumps, big soreness, my muscles don't feel tired, my elbows hurt, my shoulders start to hurt and you notice that your triceps don't look bigger' "

This is what I’m driving at.

Especially since there’s been multiple studies where they are like 8 weeks in and you don’t see ANY differences in hypertrophy and then the 2nd half you get measurable results.

So yes over the career of training you need to progress load/reps/sets.

But it’s about the long term accumulation.

On the weekly and even monthly level it’s not necessarily required because daily variability in performance will dictate what you lift.

I did 405x10 on squats last week, this week I had to drop load to match rpe and not drive myself into a recovery hole.

Does that mean I didn’t stimulate the muscle to induce hypertrophy? Of course not because there was still sufficient effort even though fatigue was causing an apparent performance decrement.

[EliKoehn]

I did 405x10 on squats last week ...

In one set? Either way, reps.

[Filmbuff81]

In one set? Either way, reps.

Lol thanks. Yeah it was 1 set.

Just trying to illustrate a point that waving and alternating reps/load and periodization still will induce a stimulus for hypertrophy.

I’ve had blocks where my lifts drop hard, but muscle is still being built.

I think it’s pretty tough to not build muscle if you’re working with sufficient relative intensity.

[EliKoehn]

Lol thanks. Yeah it was 1 set.

Just trying to illustrate a point that waving and alternating reps/load and periodization still will induce a stimulus for hypertrophy.

I’ve had blocks where my lifts drop hard, but muscle is still being built.

I think it’s pretty tough to not build muscle if you’re working with sufficient relative intensity.

Agreed, but you're much further along than me.

I think you've dropped the mic because no one here can come close to that lift.

[MyEgoProblem]

Agreed, but you're much further along than me.

I think you've dropped the mic because no one here can come close to that lift.

I mean....
Some of us can 😂

[Filmbuff81]

I mean....
Some of us can 😂

Got a feeling you could do that and more lol.