Building Strength vs Building Muscle Size (Hypertrophy) | Dr. Andy Galpin & Dr. Andrew Huberman

Dr. Andy Galpin explains how to build strength and muscle size to Dr. Andrew Huberman during episode 2 of the Huberman Lab Guest Series.
Dr. Andy Galpin is a professor of kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton and world expert on exercise science. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab podcast.
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[@HubermanLabClips]

This clip is from the Huberman Lab Guest Series with Dr. Andy Galpin "Guest Series | Dr. Andy Galpin: Optimal Protocols to Build Strength & Grow Muscles." The full episode can be found on KZbin here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eaqnfZWoj7Bqa7c

[@labsanta]

At time: 00:02 measure of function. Understanding the difference between strength and hypertrophy is crucial when designing training programs that are specific to achieving either goal. Below is a task list summarizing the key points: [ ] Define strength and hypertrophy and explain the specific adaptations they represent [ ] Recognize the overlap between strength and hypertrophy for beginners and intermediate trainers [ ] Differentiate between strength and hypertrophy as they become disentangled for advanced trainers [ ] Highlight the relationship between strength and hypertrophy, and how one can lead to the other but is not necessary for the other to occur [ ] Clarify common misconceptions about the relationship between strength and muscle size [ ] Emphasize that it is possible to get stronger without adding much muscle mass, and vice versa [ ] Explain how understanding the difference between strength and hypertrophy can help design effective training programs tailored to specific goals. At time: 03:40 [x] Define components of strength: physiology and mechanics [x] Physiology: ability of neuromuscular system and muscle fibers to contract and produce force [x] Mechanics: includes biomechanics, technique, skill, sequencing, and order [x] Mechanics can impact competition outcomes even if one has more force capability [x] Rhythm is a crucial factor in speed and power performance [x] Hypertrophy is related to muscle size [x] Strength and hypertrophy are related but distinct concepts

[@nikitachekanov7204]

Thank you to Andrew Huberman for educating all of us (the youth especially) on all of these interesting and critical details of actions that we subconsciously do in our everyday lives!

[@rustyjones7560]

These are life changing videos. Andrew HuberTHEman.

[@DannySullivanMusic]

i concur. utterly right

[@JrobAlmighty]

I would've went with Andrew the (h)Uberman

[@DrinkingStar]

Dr. Galpin was right of target. I trained in a hardcore gym which had a number of "juicers' whose members won titles in bodybuilding and powerlifting. I was one of the few members who were natural and who won bodybuilding contests against the "juicers". There was also a teenager in that gym who was natural and who beat the "juicer" powerlifting deadlift record for his age and weight by 35 lb. If you looked at him you would never have thought he lifted a weight. P.S. When I was researching the literature for my Master's thesis in human nutrition, I was amazed by how few doing research on weightlifting formed conclusions without distinguishing between training for size vs. training for strength. Dr. Galpin summed up things nicely and very succinctly. Hats off to the good Doctor. I hope some day that you do a video about obesity as measured by body fat % vs. body weight. By weight, I am obese even though my body fat % is about 10%. When I competed in bodybuilding, my body fat % was just under 5%( an unhealthy level) but I was still overweight for my height and body frame.

[@gojira444]

being scared of needles doesn't make you special.

[@davecom3]

Natural and 5% body fat...and you won comps? I read your comments with interest but there's no way you're building or maintaining any decent amount of muscle as a natural lifter at anything less than 8% body fat.

[@montuckyman4982]

@@davecom3 I'm sure he's talking about only hitting about 5 percent on the DAY OF competition for bodybuilding. Not walking around at 5 for the year. But yes that is extremely low and takes insane dedication to hit.

[@montuckyman4982]

@@gojira444 liking needles doesn't make you special.

[@deebee4575]

@@gojira444 OK, druggie

[@MindNow]

Dr. Andy Galpin has explained it so well. Thank you for the series that you have put out Dr. Galpin. Thank you Andrew and the team as well

[@spearruler70]

I'm the biggest guy in my gym, but I'm far from the strongest. I use a moderate weight with 12 to 15 reps at a very slow and controlled pace. My goal is to make a deep mind muscle connection.

[@Lars92789]

Do you use buffer or max wight for those 12/15 reps? Wich are the sensetion thai you reserch in every set? Sorry for my english

[@ankitvarma1652]

Me too

[@matterequalsli4e]

Keep that shit up dog your doing exactly what he is talking about. Strength 4:08 that's exactly what you are doing perfecting your technique by firing the right muscle group in the right sequence. That can only be achieved by learning slowly how all your muscles play accordingly in a rep. Feeling the areas where you need to add tension. Best way I could describe it is if when you are lifting something and it feels easy and the feeling is not rewarding physically. You are most likely not doing it right. Most ways in which I see people doing this is by trynna get extra strength by swinging the weights with their whole body in order to do more reps or more weight. Which in my opinion is a form of cheating to yourself. But instead the right way would be to go slow, testing your core strength seeing where that gets you, see how many you can do. Don't get me wrong though if your form is perfect and fast that's perfect. But I just see a lot of dudes out there doing the freaking whipping thing. When in reality it all comes from the core even if you are doing biceps the arms are still connected to the torso, abdomen, pelvis so forth. I'm glad you brought that up u a real one!

[@doodelay]

My takeaway here is that it seems hypertrophy contributes to strength MORE than strength contributes to hypertrophy. And that seems really important

[@Angry_Lion]

yes

[@bweazel1592]

Aside from sarcosplasmic hypertrophy, gaining muscle size will result in the muscle being stronger. But “Strength” training mainly involves neurological adaptations.

[@clarity2115]

It depends, you'll see gym goers that go to the gym for years and still bench 135 for reps & 8-10 random exercises and look the exact same. Way easier to learn how to build muscle through strength training for a novice

[@shaunfisher9292]

If you demand extra strength from your body, in the form of gradual overload. Then your body will do its best to supply it. This usually meens your muscles changing size and shape, as you get stronger. Compound exercises are the best for this purpose.

[@MinervaMiraval]

What's compound exercise?

[@Andomarn]

Exercises that target more than one muscle group at a time. Pull-ups, for example. @@MinervaMiraval

[@cptbaguette]

@@MinervaMiraval lifts like bench press, deadlift, squats, standing overhead press

[@LiveGame555]

@@MinervaMiraval An exercise movement that uses many different muscles together as opposed to the opposite, isolation exercise that isolates one specific muscle. Good examples of compound lifts are the big three lifts: Bench Press, Squats, and Deadlifts. Good examples of isolation exercises are Bicep Curls, Calf Extensions, and Crunches. Compound exercises workout more muscles at once, which saves time and usually balances the muscles involved well, whereas isolation exercises focus on just one muscle allowing for more specialization of training. If your goal is to be as big as possible for it may be beneficial to have a bunch of isolation exercises in your workout routines, however, if you are just an average joe trying to get in shape, compound exercises are probably your best friend as they save loads of time and planning. Hope this helps (even though its 6 months after you posted).

[@zachmartinez7248]

The two types of hypertrophy should be clrarified. Sarcoplasmic (cell swelling) and myfibril, the former is shit for strength gain but you get chasing pumps, and the latter is more dense and is actually functional. Muscle "growth" alone does not distinguish which is which.

[@gabrielfelixmunoz739]

I was hoping to get the techniques and methods for each...

[@rubeng9329]

Do some research of your own… he laid the foundation for you

[@omarfliyou5556]

Watch the full video there is way more there

[@deebee4575]

For size: lots of reps.

[@user-rm8by9fm]

Muscles will also find ways to adapt and "cheat reps" such as speeding up the repitition, not controlling as much on the ecentric etc which is why feeling the target muscle contract hard is no 1. for muscle size

[@graceenstine1486]

I’m would love to here your guy’s opinion on gymnastics:) having them break it down would be very interesting

[@Ice-Fall]

Muscle density dictates strength, but is not always true for muscle hypertrophy, which is considered the softer muscle. Muscle size, from hypertrophy, can decrease rapidly, whereas strength, from continuous working can be maintained far longer. An example of this is 'old man strength'.

[@ColoSon]

So, what I have to do now to become stronger, without putting more muscle on? Stick to 3-5 reps? 5x5?

[@jan-patrickbollstrom4708]

Even better if you try hitting 1 to 3 reps with your absolute 1RM or 3RM and with atleast 3min rest time between sets. 3 to 5 sets I think is the sweet spot. You might need to start doing hypertrophy sets when you start hitting a plateau but neuromuscular adaptations that come from purely training for strength can take you far

[@abdolhamedsharef2924]

Your broad knowledge of psychology and behaviour and excel in neuroscience and opthomology has led us to gain this great mysterious knowledge of the mind and body, however knowledge has limitations there are things about science that has no explanation so far for example life and death and the soul It is thanks to professor Andrew we are exploring science at a zero cost at may God bless you and reward you the best professor ever❤❤❤❤❤

[@JayVincentFitness]

Muscle grows as a side effect of improving muscle force output. The additional myosin allows the muscle to produce more force. The muscle cells expands and grows to make room for them. A muscle will not grow without getting stronger. You might be able to do more weight in a particular lift without growing stronger due to improved skill and neurological efficiency. But this is not an improvement in muscle force itself. It is an improvement in skill which allows you to move more weight.

[@Jafmanz]

So much nonsense... a motor unit is recruited by the brain to produce force. A motor unit is a motor neuron and all of the muscle fibers that it innervates. Strength training aims to recruit more motor units enabling maximal use of the muscle fibres that are already in existence. It is indeed an improvement in the ability of a muscle to produce force... You contradict yourself with your word salad!

[@user-rf6mt9zs5f]

I'm currently following your functional fitness protocol. I use a home gym with dumbbells(50 lb. max) and a pull up bar. I enjoy the Peloton strength classes. Is it safe to assume that these qualify for my hypertrophy workouts. lots of reps with lower weight. For my strength/power workouts, I think I'm going to have to join a gym for higher weight requirements.

[@sherflex6233]

Thanks loving these episodes! For hypertrophy training, what supplements would you recommend to achieve an effective "pump" intra workout?

[@jakeelsner2963]

Creatine

[@sherflex6233]

@@jakeelsner2963 Definitely taking creatine, but also looking into beetroot juice as a muscle vasodilator. Something Dr. Galpin briefly mentioned.

[@jakeelsner2963]

@@sherflex6233 woah that’s cool I’m gonna try that out too

[@deebee4575]

@@jakeelsner2963 Yep. Creatine.

[@AlterEegums]

​@@jakeelsner2963what did they say to you other than creatine? The comment you're replying to is gone :(

[@titsmcghee9869]

Is protein intake and a calorie surplus as important in strength training as it is in hypertrophy??

[@Blinkers2007GameDev]

You don't have to recover as well because you don't need as much volume. Also, Calorie surplus is more for muscle size as your giving the muscle building blocks to build itself up. For strength, I would recommend only protein intake, as your goal is not to get bigger, but just stronger. You want to grow those fibers but not the other fibers. So protein matters for strength, but for size, calorie surplus is more important.

[@VinoWoods]

Question. In regard to adding more muscle to promote fat burning, would it be size or strength of muscle that is most effective? Also, Great video and thank you for the content ❤

[@skatepark02]

This explains why one time I saw a very petite girl squatting 100kg. Strong people are small is my take from this. That explains callisthenics and gymnasts too.

[@mikedavidson8879]

When i was in my 20's, i weighed about 165lbs on average at 6'2" tall. People and friends would often comment on how strong i was compared to my size. A best friend actually said once, as i was helping him move a half emptied king size waterbed (get out of the way, i got this "helping") that i was "freakishly strong". but i had spent my life working outdoors in the landscape industry, in TEXAS, pushing, pulling, digging, stooping, stretching reaching, basically a 8-10 hour a day workout, 6 days a week for over a decade, and did it with very little food or water input DURING the day. then i decided to go to the gym because i wanted to be bigger and found that i was moving the same weight and same reps as guys twice my size. i did end up putting on 30 lbs of muscle, but felt SLOWER and WEAKER doing daily tasks than i did at 165 lbs.. so... there's that i guess ..??

[@paulsharp5738]

Also how is the strength measure from the group that goes for a strong muscle but doesnt add to it, like whats the scientific forumla for that mass being able to move X weight? I Believe what ever the explanation for “lifting this heavy weight makes your muscle stronger even though theres no change” is also the key to why some people are just naturally so strong even being small, rather than just choccing it up to genetics.

[@BenSemisch]

If your primary goal was glucose control, would it be better to focus on hypertrophy or strength? Or does it matter? From what I've read, it seems that the strength work will actively soak more glucose up during the work because you're doing more reps. On the other hand, having more muscle mass will act as a large glucose sink to constantly be pulling glucose. Is there a clear winner here, or should those with type 2/prediabetes aim somewhere down the middle?

[@jastheavatar7860]

Are hypertrophy muscles stronger than larger hyperplasia muscles for example? Are those huge Belgian blue cows caused by Myostatin deficiency actually stronger than normal cows?

[@hoodparticles]

sweet thanks for the edumacation bud 💪🏼

[@RailbladerX]

soo.. what is the benefit of hypertrophy? if its not required to get as strong as i want? is the reason just Vanity?

[@Blinkers2007GameDev]

To look bigger, be bigger, and be able to produce force for a longer time. Not more, but for a longer time.

[@MrPathorock]

silly strong men picture?

[@shadesofmood-uj4wl]

I wish he explained techniques to do one or the other or both

[@kxng865]

they actually have an existing podcast together where they go way more into depth and discuss techniques. it should be under Hubermans channel

[@toddgakk5783]

​@Sharan stick 8-12 reps for hypertrophy

[@beepboop212]

Look up the podcast.

[@rosspirowskin7413]

In regards to protocols for hypertrophy, is it important to hit the sets per week per muscle? For example the shoulders, do I need to hit the sets per week for anterior, middle, and posterior?

[@ankitvarma1652]

Absolutely for hypertrophy every muscle needs to be hit in a week. For strength not so much. For example if you are doing chest, for hypertrophy you have to go through flat, incline, decline bench press with optimal 8 to 12 reps. But for strength flat bench press with gradual increase in load with optimal 2 to 3 reps is good enough. If you are not preparing for powerlifting competition go for hypertrophy. Because its not like you will not gain any strength at all by hypertrophy. Arnold can't lift like Eddy hall but thay doesn't mean he is not strong. Also it helps building well defined muscles.

[@user-ep6wd7ip7v]

They didn’t not tell you one single thing how to gain muscle

[@allfusionx]

You gotta listen to this series; absolutely fantastic and awesome investment of time. Took me ages to get through the material but it’s so worth it

[@deebee4575]

Lots of reps. Like 100-150 reps per workout per muscle group.

[@883kodiak]

This segment wasn't about how to build muscle

[@gptrage4662]

Read the title

[@pohltergeist]

30-80% one rep max for 30-60 reps per muscle per workout with 48-72 hours rest before training muscle again

[@royrachman7615]

Thank you👍

[@donotmissDutch]

What about grounding and information? Grounding pin and sheets and shoes?

[@ScottToavs]

Great video, thanks.

[@bhaskarjyotidas3203]

Whats ths conclusion for muscle building ?

[@secretagent4610]

If hypertrophy hardly does anything for strength, then what evolutionary or functional purpose does it serve?

[@collwatt]

there's a limit to how strong you can get at a certain weight. then you'll to get bigger to gain more strength. size might be more abt food n sleep

[@x-techgaming]

Great... So how do we MAXIMIZE each one..? Watch the full video, I guess.

[@ilustradorel-javi5566]

Didn't explained at all why and how all of that happens

[@Ti_Mur]

Hot to gain strength without much highering body weight?

[@calebalebalebaleb]

Lot of words to skirt around the fact that the main way to get stronger is by making your muscles bigger and the main way you get your muscles bigger is by getting stronger

[@JGH1708]

Elite very skinny and tall female high jumpers could out Squat the average male in a gym by a long way.

[@SomTugnait]

Strength training is 4 to 6 rep range . That causes myofibrilar hypertrophy which is the actual functional hypertrophy. That will cause greater sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Think about it and understand science.

[@abrayohany6442]

All this blabbing and you said NOTHING You left out all the presumed explanation by simply saying....." for a number of reasons"..... You know nothing

[@josephshmoe1647]

are these the lyrics to Ramble On?

[@nikosogamias]

paul carter is the goat hypertyrophy coach

[@vondalironfist5753]

Ok, but which one would give me better endurance/help me improve at sports?

[@ArcoZakus]

Depends on which "sports" you mean. (Compre Tour de France winners to Olympic swimmers to heavyweight boxing champions. All excel at their own sport, but none could succeed at the others without changing how they train. (Specificity of training)

[@gauravraikar]

I didn't understand anything 😅

[@davidolajide3707]

I do both.

[@timmybear4449]

Does more atp spent = more hypertrophy?

[@kvy55]

Going heavy really destroys my muscles just in two sets only. It's really good if you don't have much time to go to the gym.

[@clint.b.j.5490]

Thank you Mr. Huberman and thank you Mr. Galpin for your contribution to my late evening youtube binging session. Me and my team (me, myself, and I) here at my roommate house are very grateful for your punctilious evaluation of the stringent, factual, informatoidal, brainioplastic, data, and we looo forward to working with you again (i.e. binging more youtube instead of getting a healthy amount of sleep.) Goodbye for now Mr. Dr. Sr. Incumbent expert Huberman and Galpin alike. I'm going to go jerk off to how official and scientific I feel right now. Goodbye.

[@acespree909]

Basically to maximize hypertrophy or strenght calories(size) is necessary but you can still get stronger indefinitely but it wont to the same degree if you had the calories(size) to go with it hence men like eddi hall is the strongest because their size brings natural advantages that pure strength cant make up for

[@paulsharp5738]

If hypertrophy helps muscle fibres grow, why must you lift heavy to get big? I train more towards the hypertrophy area and I like my physique but as a naturally petite man it doesnt nothing for me clothed

[@paulsharp5738]

I think i just dont eat enough tbh

[@MrLamans07]

Can you do a podcast on muscle definition as well? This topic doesn't seem to be explored very well

[@deebee4575]

Lose body fat, lift.

[@AlterEegums]

What he👆 said. Basically ingest less calories than you're expending, and work out

[@lindamon5101]

Let's talk about BOBBING TANKS. AND an episode of Andrew x 2 Andrew Weil.

[@johncalla2151]

It seems like 1-rm / powerlifting and olympic weightlifting are such poor proxies for strength though because pivotal to those sports are momentum, technique, leverage, "cheating" the movement, explosiveness, etc. What's the strategy for building strength without focusing on optimizing technique, momentum, etc.? Like if somebody is a wrestler and has to have strength in all kinds of de-leveraged positions.

[@RodCalidge]

Musclularity is about density, not size.

[@ashraymulki4192]

Ronnie Coleman is the exception he's talking about

[@doctorartphd6463]

A larger muscle does mean stronger. There is a correlation. I fail to see the kinesiology you are discussing. Lifting heavy weight leads to both increase size AND strength, in a physiologic sense.

[@omarfliyou5556]

Damn you did watch the video right ? Or you dont fully understand what he is saying

[@lachlanogrady]

Thats exactly what he said??? Bro watch it again

[@M0RN1N6_5T4R]

At some point the muscle will get bigger. But you can look at a Bud Crawford, a boxer who can deadlift 500lbs and he is not big at all. Artur Beterbiev another boxer not big but freakishly strong.

[@Angry_Lion]

you can get stronger without adding much muscle but never realy strong. muscle 2 fibers equals strenght. if you dont have them you cant be strong strong

[@michaelcorcoran3942]

Hmm he said its not like worlds strongest man. Two of those athletes are the only two to vreak the 500kg deadlift officially

[@jayinderkaushik]

A big muscle has more capability to become stronger than a smaller muscle. A smaller muscle can be stronger than a bigger muscle.

[@JayVincentFitness]

Incorrect. Particular genetics gravitate towards activities they have an advantage in. Powerlifting only tests strength and not muscle size so individuals with high neuromuscular efficiency and proportions favorable to those movements gravitate towards powerlifting. It’s got a lot less to do with their training more to do with their genetics.

[@rossiikhan]

This man is the leading expert in the field bro. He's taken hundreds of biopsies in his examinations in his lab. The best athletes in the world come to his lab to be get advice. You're gonna look at a man like that and say he's wrong 🙄

[@deebee4575]

Nice broscience, bro.

[@lachlanogrady]

Imcorrect?? Mate I don't see you being invited on podcasts with your extensive knowledge.... Sit down and shuddup

[@anthonysmith4072]

SO WHATS THE DIFFERENCE??? Is strong muscle denser??? WTF?

[@verdinate6750]

The goat

[@willymakeit5172]

A lovely academic discussion, but it didn’t help me one bit.

[@thunderkat5282]

Myofibrilar?

[@arrowdepaul1999]

He spoke very quickly and probably crammed hundreds of sentences into this 5mn clip with lots of big words and technical terms. Unfortunately all he really said was hypertrophy is muscle growth and strength training is training to get stronger.... at the end of my life I gonna want that 5mns back.

[@LadyDayDreamm]

Can't hear a word no lie there's something wrong with the sound

[@svetu9411]

3x10 all day every day

[@deebee4575]

Try 10x10.

[@jasonqing7083]

Mark rippetoe is going to hate this video

[@montuckyman4982]

Good! Old goat hates everything anyway🤣

[@PNWTruckCamper]

Didn't say very much

[@LadyDayDreamm]

I have a evidence about it

[@StoweLauren-t1c]

Perez Larry Davis James Rodriguez Christopher

[@peacefulbeast8386]

How you gonna listen to guys that have no muscle talk about building muscle? 😒

[@cesarrivera-d4v]

This guy said a whole lot of nothing.

[@YouAreDifferent]

This was such an incomplete content. He basically repeated the same thing for 4 minute without shring any deep insights

[@TK-ux3mr]

I don’t know if I want to take advice from a guy who has no muscle definition

[@JamesTudsbury]

Uh, this is just observational science, anyone can conduct it and report on findings. This isn't some influencer video you've stumbled upon, noone is trying to convince you any of this is true, or give you advice godforbid.

[@johnsanto8886]

Muscle size and strength go hand in hand... The more tissue you have... The more potential there is to lift heavier weight... What are these guys Doctors of? 😂

[@lachlanogrady]

You need to watch it again

[@ltltlt45]

How to grow the muscle hahahhahha doctor 😂😂😂

[@GeraltOfRivia99]

This guy didnt articulate or explain anything.... Waste

[@apexclip3458]

Let me save you some time. He never answers the question. Lots of words that describe the word hypertrophy. Waste of time.

[@toddgakk5783]

Less talking. More lifting.

[@ashash5186]

And the point is?????

[@АндрейБ-у4ю]

How to talk for 5 minutes and not say anything more than the topic already said

[@cuckoldingstrengthandfitne9473]

Why would you have all this knowledge about training but not be big or even look like you lift???

[@slickrick9522]

This is 6 minutes of them saying the same thing on repeat. Save your time go next.

[@archuss]

Kids: i love to watch Andrew Tate Legends: ...... Full it

[@JohnPodobnikRMT]

Waste of time... Skip this clip

[@andreasdagen]

Simplified version "Either get twice as good at contracting your muscle, or make your muscle twice as big."

[@fredbagley2097]

Bla,bla,bla,bla,bla. Want to get strong lift heavy weight less reps. Want hypertrophy, lift less weight with many more reps.

[@danin95626]

Ehhhhhhh not quite .but getting active is always a W

[@ronmccarty7537]

How is this anything new?

[@JamesTudsbury]

Where you promised something new? By whom?

[@johncalla2151]

@@JamesTudsbury I guess it is a fair question: why are we just repeating the same general stuff over and over again for the past 25 years? It would be good if there was some focus on learning things "outside the box", so-to-speak, but there's not much interest in that out there.