Hypertrophy refers to an increase in muscular size achieved through exercise. When you work out, if you want to tone or improve muscle definition, very high volume lifting is the most common way to increase hypertrophy. Typically when we see hypertrophy style programming, it is associated with bodybuilding style training. However, the benefits of it for CrossFit athletes can not be argued.
First and foremost, hypertrophy training is going to result in increased strength. Is it possible to build muscle using heavy weights and low reps? Of course. However, for well-trained athletes, it doesn’t always work as well as using lower weights with high rep schemes. Training that way also comes with a plethora of other CrossFit advantages.
Just as Hypertrophy training can help us build muscle and create a better strength foundation, it can also result in improvements in muscular endurance, which we all know is critical in CrossFit! Both newer and more advanced athletes can benefit from this, but for newer athletes especially, it’s a great way to create an endurance baseline.
We are also going to see improvements in technique from strength camp! This programming is going to be a great opportunity for us to reduce the intensity of our training and focus on a lot of perfect reps with relative lightweight. It’s also going to allow us to analyze and improve some technical flaws in our lifts. Often when we breakdown at a specific part of a lift, it shows us a lack of strength in a particular muscle or group of muscles. Targeting that area in question will help eliminate the weak spot and improve mechanics!
With that all being said, what should we expect to see in the programming for Strength Camp?
- A focus on loads between 60-80%, with the bulk of the work being done between 65-75%
- Work primarily in sets of six to twelve reps
- One upper body training day and one lower body training day per week
- Your choice of one complimentary accessory program (arms, abs, shoulders or glutes) Stay tuned for more info on this!
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