Masheen

Planning a week

Hypertrophy

Also called muscle hypertrophy, muscle growth, hypertrophy training

Hypertrophy is the growth of a muscle in size; training for hypertrophy means training with muscle size as the goal rather than a heavier single.

ACSM10Wk 112Wk 212Wk 314Wk 4
Week 4: 14 sets. Chest training over four weeks: 10, 12, 12 and 14 sets a week, each at or above the 10 weekly sets the ACSM links with more growth.

In plain words

Hypertrophy is the word for a muscle getting bigger. A program labelled "hypertrophy" is one aimed at size rather than at a heavier single. Lifters often use the word to mean a rep range, 8 to 12 reps, but the research does not line up with that. A 2017 meta-analysis by Schoenfeld and colleagues, pooling 21 studies in which every set went to failure, found one-rep-max strength grew more with heavy loads above 60% of one-rep max, while muscle growth was similar with light and heavy loads. A 2021 paper by Schoenfeld and colleagues re-examined the old strength-and-size rep ranges and proposed that muscle can be built across a wide spectrum of loads.

An example

Four weeks of chest work, counted in sets a week: 10, then 12, 12 and 14. Every week sits at or above 10 sets, the mark the ACSM's 2026 position stand links with more muscle growth. A 2017 meta-analysis of 15 studies found a graded pattern: each extra weekly set for a muscle went with a little more growth. The reps and loads inside those sets can vary.

Volume Volume is how much training you do, counted either as the number of hard sets for a muscle in a week or as weight × reps added up across sets.
Rep range A rep range is a low and a high number of reps to aim between on each set, written with a dash, such as 8–12.
MEV MEV stands for minimum effective volume: the weekly sets for a muscle below which you only maintain.
Volume landmarks Volume landmarks are named marks on the scale of weekly sets for one muscle: how few still do something, and how many is too many.
Failure Failure is the point in a set where you try another rep and cannot finish it.

Sources

  1. Schoenfeld et al. 2017. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res 31(12):3508–3523 Read
  2. Schoenfeld et al. 2021. Loading recommendations for muscle strength, hypertrophy, and local endurance: a re-examination of the repetition continuum. Sports 9(2):32 Read
  3. Schoenfeld, Ogborn, Krieger 2017. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass. J Sports Sci 35(11):1073–1082 Read
  4. Currier et al. 2026. ACSM Position Stand: Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc 58(4):851–872 Read

Updated . How these pages are researched and corrected: editorial policy. Every term in the glossary.