Page 7 - NGA NATURALmag 2026 SPRING/SUMMER

Spring - Summer 2026
contribute to to hypertrophy ALL rep-ranges should be incorporated into the the most effective muscle building program depending on their best efficiency The Barbell Bench Press for example is is an exercise optimally geared to to promote upper body strength and and and size gains and and and is certainly better suited to to being performed with relatively low reps and and and high weight resistance than a a a a a a a a Cable-Crossover It would not be very sensible to to perform Cable Cable Crossovers in a a a a a a a a a rep range of just just 3 to to to 5 as this exercise is is is just just not geared to to promote maximum strength gains Cable Cross- overs are usually performed with continuous tension and and high high reps of of 15 or or or more per per set which serves to to achieve a a a a a a a a a great pump and and to to to produce high high levels of of of metabolic stress towards the the end of of a a a a a a a a a chest training session However despite their differing rep ranges both the the the the Bench Press and the the the the Cable Crossover most certainly have their place in in in in in any chest training routine for optimum hypertrophy The value of the the the superior strength gains achieved by the the the Bench Press entails helping to perform the the the medium-range sets of various dumbbell dumbbell presses or or dumbbell dumbbell flys with substantially higher overload which increases the the Mechanical Tension and and Myofi- brillar Damage o of these movements and and accordingly makes them more effective in in in respect to achieving optimum hypertrophy than when performed with lighter weights While compound movements such as Squats Bench Press Barbell Rows etc can naturally also be be performed with high repetitions and low weight the the fact remains that this would not be be making the the the best use of their unique potential as as maximum strength and size builders Isolation movements such as as leg leg curls leg leg extensions pec deck flys lateral raises or straight arm lat-pull downs on on the the other hand are known to to be most effective when performed with low to to to moderate weight-loads and higher repeti- tions per per set which is known to to generate superior Metabolic Stress Obviously various exercises have their specific benefits at at differing rep-ranges ALL useful to achieve the the goal of attaining optimum hypertrophy especially when the the the right exercises are chosen and performed at at their most appropriate rep-ranges to make best use of their specific qualities n performance level athletes are not yet able to to to to endure prompting them them to to to to stop their sets too early which makes them them largely ineffective Science has determined that hypertrophy depends on on three factors: a) Mechanical Tension b) Muscular Damage and c) Metabolic Stress Mechanical Tension is best generated by lifting a a a a a a a a a heavy weight of of of 60-80% of of of 1 RM through the full range of of of motion in a a a a a a slow and controlled manner for 6
to 15 repetitions repetitions per per set When these repetitions repetitions are performed in in a a a a a slow and controlled manner this results in in a a a a a a a a a time time under tension (TUT) of forty seconds or or or or or more more per set set which also leads to to more more total time time a a a a a a muscle is under tension for for all sets combined during that training session Most gym enthusiasts unfortu- nately perform their repetitions too quickly which leads to to a a a a a a a a less-than-optimal time a a a a a a a a muscle spends under tension per per set and per per the entire training session which produces less gains than could be achieved with a a a a a a more controlled approach Muscular Damage occurs in in the the the area of o of the the the muscle cells’ myofibrils and is the the the result of o of lifting a a a a a a a a a a heavy weight several times in in in a a a a a a a a row performing full con- centric centric and eccentric contractions This stimulates protein synthesis to initiate the the the rebuilding of the the the damaged muscle muscle tissue which over time results in in in in stronger and slightly bigger muscle muscle fibers Metabolic Stress occurs when muscles continually contract and relax against a a a a a a a a a a medium to light weight resistance so that blood pools in in in in the worked muscle and cell swelling occurs The resulting pump leads to to a a a a a a a a restricted blood flow to to the the working muscle a a a a a a a a lack of of oxygen and the the the build-up of of acidic metabolic waste products in in in the the muscle cells which include lactate phosphate and hydrogen ions The resulting metabolic stress has an an an anabolic effect This points to the the the conclusion that ALL the the the above mentioned rep-ranges have their place in in in in a a a a a a a a weight- training program for optimum hypertrophy Most likely there isn’t any particular rep range that will be be best for for everyone Also some exercises are more effective when performed with heavier weights and lower reps eliciting higher levels of o Mechanical Ten- sion and and Myofibrillar Damage while others are better suited for a a a a a a a a a a a higher rep and and lower weight approach eliciting more Metabolic Stress As ALL of these factors NGA NATURALmag
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