Galpin’s Guide to Strength & Hypertrophy (+ Workout Plans)

May 08, 2025

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This comprehensive guide distills Dr. Andy Galpin’s evidence-based approach to strength and hypertrophy training into practical, actionable advice.

Whether you’re a beginner or experienced lifter, you’ll find scientifically-backed strategies, sample workout routines, and programming principles to optimize your training.

TLDR

Dr Andy Galpin’s Hypertrophy Routine

Dr. Galpin’s hypertrophy-focused workout plan consists of two rotating workouts (A and B) with carefully structured exercise selection, volume, and rest periods designed specifically for muscle growth.

Workout A

Workout B

This program balances compound movements (deadlifts, bench press, squats) with isolation exercises, primarily using the 8-12 rep range which is optimal for hypertrophy.

Note: It’s difficult to find public info on specific workout plans. This plan was found on Reddit and may not be officially created by Dr. Galpin.

The 3×5 Method: Protocol for Strength

The 3 by 5 Concept” offers a simple yet powerful protocol for building strength and power:

Select 3-5 exercises
Perform 3-5 repetitions per set
Complete 3-5 sets
Rest 3-5 minutes between sets
Rrain 3-5 times weekly.

Dr. Galpin’s 10-Steps to Designing a Training Program (source)

Choose a S.M.A.R.T. goal – Focus on one specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound goal
Identify potential roadblocks – Recognize what might prevent success and work with your “non-negotiables”
Set a realistic timeline – Account for life events and work backward from your end goal
Determine weekly frequency – Commit to a training schedule you can consistently maintain
Select appropriate exercises – Choose movements you’re comfortable with that balance different muscle groups
Arrange exercises in order of importance – Prioritize crucial exercises when you’re freshest
Set intensity – Match weight/speed/heart rate to your goal, increasing by about 3% weekly
Define volume – Establish appropriate sets/reps with 5-7% weekly increases and regular deload weeks
Establish rest intervals – Align rest periods with your goal (2-5 min for strength/power, 1-3 min for hypertrophy)
Anticipate obstacles – Identify potential failure points and develop solutions in advance

Building Strength and Hypertrophy Programs

Before diving into specifics, it’s important to understand a few non-negotiable concepts that apply to any successful training program. The first is adherence. Consistency beats intensity every time. Research clearly shows that adherence is the number one predictor of physical fitness outcomes.

You need to choose a program you’ll engage with, put effort into, and repeat consistently over time.

The second concept is progressive overload. Your body works as an adaptation mechanism, and you must continue to challenge it with increasing demands. Without progressive overload, you can still burn calories and get benefits like improved mood and flexibility, but you won’t see gains.

Individualization is the third concept. This includes personal preferences, equipment availability, and specific limitations you might have.

Finally, you need to pick appropriate targets based on your limitations and goals.

If you follow these concepts, you’ll be in a good position to balance specificity and variation. If you want to grow your biceps, you need to make sure your biceps are working. However, too much specificity increases the risk of overuse injuries, which can hurt consistency. On the other hand, too much variation means not enough direct stimulation of specific muscles or movement patterns.

It’s important to understand that exercises themselves don’t determine adaptation. What determines adaptation is how you execute those exercises. A deadlift will only increase your strength if you’re executing it properly. The same goes for power exercises like box jumps – if you don’t move powerfully, you won’t increase power.

There are two major categories of periodization: linear and undulating. Linear periodization involves training one adaptation at a time, like doing only strength training for 6-8 weeks.

Undulating periodization involves doing multiple styles of training, either within the same day or on different days of the week. Studies show both are equally effective, but they have different benefits.

Linear periodization provides focus on one specific outcome, which can lead to larger adaptations in that area. The downside is you might lose other adaptations during that time. Undulating periodization allows you to work on multiple adaptations simultaneously but might not maximize any single one. Neither is better – it depends on your goals and what you’re willing to sacrifice.

One major mistake people make is not planning beyond their next workout. It’s important to set blocks of 6-12 weeks with a specific plan, and ideally have a structure for the whole year.

Exercise selection and frequency are also important considerations. Some people believe they need 3-5 days to recover between training the same muscle group, but it really depends on your training style, not your physiology. Olympic weightlifters squat every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Athletes train their legs daily. You can train any muscle every day if you manage volume, movement type, and intensity appropriately.

For beginners, it’s recommended to pick 3-5 exercises and stick with them to get your skill, movement, positioning, and breathing dialed in. Then you can start experimenting by varying one or two exercises over time. The strongest powerlifters use a model where they keep almost the same weekly structure but make small variations in exercises each week.

A major mistake many people make is changing their exercises too often. It’s better not to change anything for 6-12 weeks. It takes about three weeks to figure out the groove of an exercise, how to load it properly, and what feels right. Changing before that makes it hard to progressively overload because you don’t know exactly where you’re at with each exercise.

For progression, aim for a 3-5% increase in intensity per week, and up to 5% increase in volume per week.

This can be maintained for about 5-8 weeks before you should include a deload or back-off week. Following these guidelines will generally keep you in a good spot for making consistent progress.

Exercise Repetition Cadence for Strength vs Hypertrophy

If you want to build strength, your approach will be different than if you’re trying to build muscle size (hypertrophy). Many training “truths” actually come from the bodybuilding world and are focused on muscle growth rather than strength.

For strength, you’re trying to produce force through a movement. Since force equals mass times acceleration, going slower actually reduces acceleration. Therefore, to get stronger, you need to practice lifting heavier weights at a faster rate. You’re essentially trying to get better at moving a heavier mass with faster acceleration.

For hypertrophy (muscle growth), the goal isn’t a functional outcome but rather what causes the most muscle growth. Your cadence options are more flexible here. You could use the same cadence as your strength training or modify it with slower movements or pauses.

One approach is “triphasic training,” where you spend several weeks focusing on different phases: first eccentric movements (lowering the weight), then isometric holds (pausing at the bottom), and finally concentric movements (lifting the weight). This develops strength and some hypertrophy by manipulating how you execute each repetition.

A standard strength protocol is the “3-1-1” cadence. This means lowering the weight for a count of three, pausing briefly to ensure control, then lifting as fast as possible. The pause doesn’t need to be precisely one second—it’s just making sure you’re in control before transitioning between phases of the movement.

For hypertrophy, you might use a “3-1-2” cadence, adding a little more time to the lifting phase. But honestly, the “3-1-1” works fine for hypertrophy too. This is a case of the 80/20 rule—80% of your results come from the basic concepts, while these details account for maybe 20% of your progress.

If you’re working out with limited equipment, like in a hotel room, you can manipulate time under tension to make exercises more challenging. Try a 10-second lowering phase, 10-second hold, and 10-second lifting phase with bodyweight exercises. Handstand push-ups against a door, dips between beds or chairs, rear-foot-elevated split squats with your back foot on the bed, and glute bridges are all great hotel room exercises. And if you hear someone jumping rope in the morning at a hotel, it might be Huberman getting his cardio in.

Exercise Choice for Muscle Hypertrophy

Exercising effectively for muscle growth doesn’t have to be complicated. You can choose exercises based on body parts (like chest and back) or movement patterns (like pushing and pulling) – both approaches work equally well.

It’s good to include a mix of two-legged and single-leg exercises to prevent imbalances.

Machines are actually fantastic tools, especially if you’re new to fitness or struggling to target specific muscles. While compound movements like squats should form the foundation of your program, your unique body structure means exercises affect you differently than others. For example, the way you position a barbell during squats changes which muscles get emphasized.

When prioritizing certain body parts, you don’t need to completely avoid training muscles that grow easily – just reduce their volume. Maybe do 2-3 sets twice weekly of movements that target your genetically gifted areas, while focusing more effort on stubborn muscle groups.

For exercise order, you have flexibility. Unlike strength training where you’d put compound movements first, with hypertrophy you can start with isolation exercises to “pre-fatigue” muscles before hitting them with compound movements.

Cardio won’t hurt your muscle gains as long as you eat enough calories to compensate and avoid excessive eccentric loading (like running).

High-intensity intervals might actually help muscle growth by creating metabolic stress. Being cardiovascularly fit allows you to handle more training volume overall.

For optimal results, aim for 10-20 sets per muscle group weekly, with 8-15 reps per set, though anywhere from 6-30 reps can work. Train close to failure occasionally, but not every set. Rest periods can range from 30 seconds to 4 minutes depending on intensity.

Don’t forget often-neglected areas like rear deltoids and neck muscles. For rear delts, try reverse flies while stabilizing your body on a bench. For neck training, stick with isometric exercises rather than potentially dangerous neck bridges.

The beauty of hypertrophy training is its flexibility – progress can come through adding weight, changing tempo, adjusting volume, or modifying your training split.

Working Sets per Muscle Group for Hypertrophy

For muscle growth, you need at least 10 working sets per week for each muscle group. This is the absolute minimum to maintain your muscles. If you’re more advanced, aim for 15-20 working sets weekly. Well-trained people might even push toward 25 sets, though we don’t have much research beyond that point.

When thinking about working sets, consider which muscles are being activated. For example, chin-ups (palms facing you) work your lats, rhomboids, and biceps, while pull-ups (palms facing away) activate muscles differently.

Galpin explains that whether to count an exercise toward a specific muscle group depends partly on what you feel working. If your biceps are “blowing up” during chin-ups, count it toward your bicep work.

Some muscles are easier to isolate than others. Huberman notes that muscle groups he used extensively in childhood sports are easier for him to selectively target now. As a former swimmer, his lats are easy to activate, while deltoids are challenging because he didn’t play sports requiring those muscles.

This highlights why children should try various athletic activities—it creates better mind-muscle connections for the future.

How often should you train each muscle? Protein synthesis peaks around 24-48 hours after training and gradually decreases afterward. There’s no advantage to training a muscle group more frequently than every 48 hours if your goal is hypertrophy. Training every 48-72 hours is reasonable, but you can wait 5-7 days without losing gains.

The challenge with training once a week is fitting in enough total volume in a single session without becoming completely exhausted.

For repetition ranges, hypertrophy can occur anywhere from 4 to 30 reps per set. However, a crucial caveat is that you need to get somewhat close to failure—within about two reps of being unable to complete another repetition with good form. If you’re doing 25 reps and it’s only “kind of starting to get hard” at the end, that’s not enough stimulus.

Going to complete failure isn’t always necessary and might be smartest on safer exercises. For example, taking a barbell back squat to absolute failure multiple times weekly isn’t the best approach.

Instead, you might save failure sets for machines or your final exercise of the day.

The 8-15 rep range is particularly effective for hypertrophy. While you can go higher, maintaining focus and proper form beyond 15 reps becomes challenging for most people. If you want a combination of strength and size, the 5-8 rep range is excellent. For those wanting strength without much size gain, stay below 5 reps per set, do more total sets (like 8 sets of 3), and keep your caloric intake only slightly above maintenance.

Exercise Order, Volume and Rest Times for Power and Strength Training

Our next variable to consider is exercise order. For power and strength training, quality is the key, so these exercises should be done at the beginning of your workout when you’re fresh. Don’t do cardiovascular training or repetition-to-failure exercises beforehand, as this will only make you slower and compromise your results.

These movements require your nervous system to be fresh because they’re neurologically demanding, complicated, and often involve multiple planes of movement.

One major mistake people make when training for strength and power is worrying too much about fatigue. These should not be fatiguing movements – if they are, that’s a sign you’re not doing them correctly.

For volume, power and strength training are basically identical – generally 3 to 20 sets total per workout, though 3 to 5 sets is most common. The higher end would be for special cases.

Galpin confirms that it’s okay to add calf raises, curls, forearm work, or some light jogging after completing your strength or power workout. There’s little risk of interference for speed and power training, though strength training has a bit more risk because fatigue might compromise recovery.

Huberman points out that finishing a strength routine with hypertrophy arm work could seriously compromise your ability to perform compound movements the next day, not just because of soreness but because muscles may still be damaged.

If you’re truly trying to maximize strength, you’d do nothing outside that training. But if you’re willing to lose about 5% of your strength gains to add other training, that’s fine. This applies to supersetting as well – where you alternate between exercises to save time.

Research shows this reduces strength performance somewhat, but for most people, cutting workout time by an hour while losing 5% of strength gains is a worthwhile trade-off. Only those close to competition or trying to set lifetime PRs might prioritize the extra rest.

Huberman notes the practical challenges of supersetting in commercial gyms – you need to take over multiple pieces of equipment, which can lead to variable rest times or conflicts with other gym-goers.

For behavior between sets, Galpin recommends finding a balance between staying “stiff but fresh.” For power and strength, you don’t want to just sit on a bench for the full rest period as you’ll feel stiff when you stand up. However, fatigue management isn’t an issue since you’re not actually getting fatigued with just a few reps.

Static stretching between sets isn’t recommended for strength and power work. Research from multiple labs shows it can significantly reduce maximum power production.

However, if you need to stretch to get into the right position to avoid injury, it’s worth the 5-10% power reduction. After stretching, do something fast like a vertical jump to “reactivate” the system.

For hypertrophy training, rest periods can be flexible. The traditional recommendation was 30-90 seconds between sets to create metabolic disturbance and “pump,” but newer research shows even 3-5 minutes of rest can work fine for most people. The key is that if you rest longer, you need to increase either the weight or volume to maintain the same challenge level. Generally, staying in the two-minute range is practical for most people.

Huberman proposes a workout structure combining different adaptations: starting with heavier loads (5-8 reps) and longer rest periods, then moving to medium-range (8-15 reps) with 90-second rests, and finishing with higher reps (12-30) and shorter rests. Galpin confirms this works well but notes you could also separate these different styles into different workouts. The approach should fit your personal situation.

For frequency, Galpin prefers three total-body workouts per week rather than body-part splits for most people. This creates resilience against missed workouts – if you miss one day of a body-part split, you might go 13 days without training that muscle.

A combination approach could work too: two whole-body days plus two body-part split days per week.

The good news is these workouts don’t need to be long. You can get enough work done in 30-40 minutes if you’re efficient. If your goal is 15 working sets per muscle group per week, that’s just 5 sets per training day on a three-day schedule. Even a simple program of squats (Monday), deadlifts (Wednesday), and split squats (Friday) would hit most leg muscles adequately.

Huberman shares that he finds training sessions over 60-75 minutes leave him too fatigued to focus on cognitive work later in the day. Restricting workouts to about 55-60 minutes three or four times weekly has worked well for him.

Cluster Sets: Mini Breaks Between Reps for Better Performance

Cluster sets can be incredibly effective for strength, power, and even muscle growth. Here’s how it works: do one rep, set it down, pause for 5-10 seconds, then do the next one, and repeat until you’ve completed your set.

After finishing those 3-5 reps, take your normal 3-5 minute break before starting your next set.

What makes cluster sets so powerful is that they keep the quality and force output very high throughout your workout. After just one repetition, you start to see small reductions in power output due to fatigue.

By taking those short breaks, you essentially get five “first repetitions” instead of one first rep followed by increasingly fatigued reps.

This technique works great with some exercises and not so well with others. It’s perfect for deadlifts because you can set the weight down, shake out your hands, and regrip. For bench press, it’s more inconvenient since you have to rack and unrack the weight each time.

You can make cluster sets your primary training strategy for weeks at a time, especially for compound movements. Or you could just use it for your most important exercise of the day.

It doesn’t have to be strictly planned – if you’re not feeling “poppy” after two reps, just re-rack, catch your breath, and continue. It’s basically permission to stay fresh for every rep that matters.

Another advanced technique worth exploring is dynamic variable resistance. This addresses the problem of the human strength curve. When lifting weights, you’re only as strong as your weakest point in the movement. For example, in a deadlift, some people fail at the bottom, others just below the knees, and some right before lockout.

With constant weight on a bar, the strongest parts of your range of motion never get fully challenged because they’re limited by your weakest areas. Dynamic variable resistance solves this by using bands or chains attached to the barbell. As you lift higher, the bands stretch and create more tension, making the weight heavier as you gain mechanical advantage in your positioning.

This technique allows you to train your full strength curve, challenging stronger areas with heavier resistance and weaker areas with lighter resistance. You can apply this to bench press, squats, and other exercises.

While you’ll need to use less weight on the bar itself (since the bands add significant resistance), it’s an effective and fun training method that forces you to become very stable very quickly.

When planning your strength or power training, focus on 3-5 compound exercises per workout, performing 3-5 repetitions for each. Rest 3-5 minutes between sets. For power training, use 30-70% of your one-rep maximum (with heavier weights for larger movements like squats and lighter for movements like bench press). For strength training, use 70% or more of your one-rep maximum.

It’s perfectly fine to do fewer than 3 reps per set – singles and doubles work great. However, going beyond 5 reps generally isn’t recommended for these specific goals.

If you want to include some additional hypertrophy work for muscle groups that might not get enough attention in your main program, do that after your primary strength or power training. Just be aware that this extra work might compromise recovery for your next strength or power workout.

When planning exercise splits, remember that legs aren’t just one muscle group – they contain many different muscles. A common mistake is dedicating multiple days to upper body parts while grouping all lower body work into a single “leg day.”

This creates imbalance over time. If you do choose to train legs just once weekly, that session needs to be very challenging with sufficient volume to ensure you’re getting enough weekly stimulation for optimal growth.

Nutrition and Supplementation for Hypertrophy

When it comes to building muscle, getting the right amount of protein isn’t just important – it’s essential. According to Dr. Layne Norton, you should aim for about 1.6 to 2.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, which is roughly one gram per pound of body weight.

If that sounds like a lot, it is! But here’s the good news: if you hit that higher protein target, you don’t need to worry as much about timing or protein types.

Galpin explains that while protein timing doesn’t matter too much if your overall intake is high enough, carbohydrate timing absolutely does matter. If you’re training for strength, aim for a 1:1 ratio of protein to carbs after your workout – something like 35 grams of each.

For harder conditioning workouts, you might need a 3:1 or even 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein.

For pure muscle building (hypertrophy), Galpin recommends getting nutrients around your training session. Whether you prefer eating before, during, or after your workout depends on personal preference, but fueling properly helps maximize growth and jumpstart recovery before your next session.

When it comes to supplements, creatine stands out as the clear winner. It’s extremely well-studied and offers benefits far beyond just muscle growth – from improving bone density to enhancing cognitive function and potentially helping with neurological disorders and depression.

The standard dose is 5 grams per day, but Galpin adjusts this based on body size. Smaller individuals might need only 3 grams, while large football players might require up to 10 grams daily.

The best part? Timing doesn’t matter at all – take it whenever is convenient for you.

With proper nutrition and supplementation, your body will have everything it needs to build muscle effectively. The key is consistency with your protein intake and considering the right carbohydrate strategy based on your specific training goals.

Muscle Hypertrophy Mechanisms and Protein Synthesis

When our muscles grow, something called hypertrophy happens. This is a process with lots of changes in our muscles, nerves, and more.

Surprisingly, just eating protein can make your muscles grow, even without exercise!

When you eat protein, your body gets a signal to build muscle. This happens because your body sees the amino acids in protein and thinks, “Let’s use these before they’re gone!” Protein doesn’t store easily in your body, unlike fats and carbs.

Of course, if you exercise AND eat protein, the effects stack on top of each other, giving you even better results. Adding carbs gives even more benefits because they provide fuel for the muscle-building process.

Unlike strength training, going for a jog won’t increase protein synthesis. Different types of exercise trigger different pathways in your body. Strength training activates the MTOR pathway (for growth), while cardio activates the AMPK pathway (for energy and mitochondria).

When muscles grow, they get thicker because of more contractile proteins (myosin and actin). As these proteins get thicker, your body increases the diameter of the whole muscle cell to maintain proper spacing.

There are actually different types of muscle growth. Sometimes your muscles get bigger because of more contractile proteins (which makes you stronger). Other times, muscles grow because of more fluid in the muscle fiber – this increases size without adding strength.

Your muscle cells are special because they have thousands of nuclei (most cells only have one nucleus). These nuclei act like control centers that tell the muscle when to grow, repair, or change.

Scientists are learning that these nuclei might “remember” how to grow muscle, which explains why it’s easier to regain muscle you once had than to build it the first time.

The good news is that while we’re still learning about how muscles grow, we already know what to do to make it happen. To grow muscle, you need to challenge your muscles enough to signal them to grow, and then provide the nutrients they need to actually build that new tissue.

You can stimulate muscle growth in several ways: with a strong signal (heavy weights), frequent signals (training often), or a combination. As long as one of these variables is high enough, you’ll see growth.

You don’t necessarily have to “break down” muscle to make it grow – that’s actually a myth!

Remember, to build muscle, your body needs both amino acids (from protein) and energy (mainly from carbs). Your body won’t build bigger muscles unless it’s convinced it’s worth spending these valuable resources.

Warm-up Approaches

Some individuals respond well to minimal warm-ups, while others need extensive preparation to reach peak performance.

For example, a professional baseball pitcher might reach his peak vertical jump on rep 70, while others might start declining in power after just 2-3 reps.

When planning your workout, consider your training goals. Volume drives hypertrophy (muscle growth), while intensity is the primary driver for speed, power, and strength. For hypertrophy training, you don’t want an extensive warm-up that compromises your overall training volume. For strength and power, your warm-up should continue until you’re moving at peak power – anything less isn’t truly a working set.

A good general warm-up typically involves 5-7 minutes of dynamic movements rather than static stretching. Think high knees, butt kickers, and movements through various planes that activate your whole system.

For your first exercise, which is usually the most important and complex, take whatever time needed to achieve perfect movement patterns. After that, you don’t necessarily need specific warm-ups for subsequent exercises unless they’re very different or you’re working on improving technique.

Proper breathing during exercise involves creating intra-abdominal pressure for spine stability while managing blood pressure. The goal is to breathe while maintaining a braced core – visualize filling your torso like a cylinder with air, creating pressure from the inside out while using muscles to compress from the outside in. For very heavy single repetitions, you might hold your breath throughout the movement, but for multiple reps, you’ll typically inhale before lowering and exhale during the exertion phase. As you approach failure in higher-rep sets, breathing frequency typically increases.

Intention matters tremendously in strength training.

You can generate significant strength gains even with lighter weights if you contract muscles as hard as possible. This applies to bodyweight exercises like planks too – maximum contraction creates greater training effect even when the external load remains constant.

Finally, minimize distractions during training. Set your playlist before entering the gym or ditch the music entirely to focus solely on your workout.

Strength and power training won’t always give you the “burn” or pump feeling of hypertrophy work, so you need to focus on moving as well and as hard as possible. This intentional approach will produce better results in less time.

Speed and Power Training Principles

Many fitness enthusiasts focus on muscle growth, but speed and power development are equally important for overall athleticism. While high-performance athletes might separate these concepts, most people can think of them together.

The “three to five” concept provides a simple framework for developing speed, power, and strength. This means training 3-5 days per week, selecting 3-5 exercises, performing 3-5 repetitions per set, completing 3-5 sets, and resting 3-5 minutes between sets.

Intention is absolutely critical. You don’t get faster by moving “kind of fast.” You must give maximum effort with each repetition.

When training for speed or power, you’ll naturally use submaximal weights, but your focus should be on how quickly you can move those weights.

This approach is flexible, ranging from minimal volume (3 exercises, 3 sets of 3 reps, 3 days weekly) to higher volume (5 exercises, 5 sets of 5 reps, 5 days weekly). For progression, aim to increase your load by about 3-5% weekly.

The beauty of speed and power training is that it’s not very fatiguing. You could do medicine ball throws at the beach for 20 minutes, then continue with other training like anaerobic capacity work, steady-state cardio, or hypertrophy exercises.

When selecting exercises for power or strength, focus on compound movements rather than isolating specific muscles. Think about training movements, not muscle groups. A balanced program should include pushing movements, pulling movements, and rotational exercises. For example, you might choose a bench press (push), a row (pull), and a cable rotation exercise.

For power development specifically, use 30-70% of your one-rep max with maximum speed intention. Effective power exercises include plyometrics, medicine ball throws, short sprints (even on an air bike), Olympic lifts (snatches and clean and jerks), clapping push-ups, speed squats, and kettlebell swings.

Strength training follows similar principles but requires some adjustments. You’ll need to reduce the total volume since heavier loads create more fatigue. While power training might use 30-70% of your max, strength work typically uses loads above 70%, with working sets often at 90%+.

For strength, you’ll rely more on barbells and machines than bodyweight exercises, especially for lower body training.

Advanced techniques like eccentric overload training can be particularly effective for strength development. This involves lowering weights heavier than your one-rep max (since you’re stronger eccentrically than concentrically), but always with proper spotting and safety measures in place.

Remember that injury prevention should be a priority—if you get hurt, you can’t train, which means no progress and potential regression.

Handling Failed or Easy Lifts

The journey of strength training is as much about strategy as it is about effort. When you attempt a lift and it doesn’t go according to plan, whether it’s too heavy or too light, how you respond matters.

Galpin introduces the concept of autoregulation – a training model where you adjust based on how you’re performing that day. Instead of rigidly following predetermined percentages, you adapt to what your body can actually do in the moment.

For a standard three to five rep workout, the load determines whether you’re training for power or strength. If you’re working at 30-70% of your max with high intent (meaning you’re trying to move as fast as possible), you’re developing power.

For strength gains, you need to be at 70% or higher of your one-rep max. Anything below that is essentially a warm-up for experienced lifters, though beginners can make strength gains at lower percentages.

A useful reference is the Prilipin chart, which outlines optimal training volumes at different intensity ranges. This chart balances specificity (training exactly what you want to improve) with variation (preventing injury and overtraining). While specificity is technically optimal – like the Bulgarian method where athletes perform maximum lifts multiple times daily – it’s often too brutal for most people.

The Prilipin chart suggests how many reps to do at each intensity level. For instance, at very high intensities (90%+ of max), you might only do 1-2 reps per set for a total of about 7 reps, while at moderate intensities (55-65%), you might do 3-6 reps per set for a total of 18-30 reps. This provides structure while keeping you in the effective 3-5 rep range.

When it comes to training to failure, Galpin doesn’t see a need for it to gain strength, especially for beginners or intermediate lifters (those with less than 5 years of serious training).

Many can benefit from stopping at “technical failure” – the point where your form starts breaking down. However, beginners sometimes benefit from occasionally going to failure just to understand what 100% effort actually feels like.

Is failure training dangerous? Not necessarily. As Galpin points out, attempting one rep at 205 pounds isn’t much more dangerous than five reps at 190 pounds. Just ensure you have proper spotting, especially for exercises like bench press where safety is critical.

Training hard can be fun and educational. You learn a lot about yourself by occasionally pushing to your limits, though it’s exciting to know you can still make excellent progress without always going to failure.

Growth and Adaptations in Connective Tissue

When we strength train, our bodies undergo amazing changes in more than just the muscles we see. Muscles themselves are actually organs—in fact, they’re the largest organ system in the body.

They don’t just move us around; they communicate with our immune system and help regulate blood glucose levels.

But what about tendons and ligaments? These connective tissues also adapt during strength training, though more slowly than muscles because they have less blood flow. This slower adaptation is one reason many people get injured when returning to exercise after years away—their muscles might be ready, but their connective tissues need more time.

Bones also change with resistance training. They release osteocalcin when loaded, which travels to the brain and enhances memory. Bone mineral density increases most dramatically during our teens and twenties, but positive changes can happen at any age, especially with proper nutrition and axial (up and down) loading.

What makes us stronger? The changes are amazingly complex. When you lift weights, your nervous system becomes more efficient at firing signals. Motor units (nerves connected to muscle fibers) synchronize better. The chemical messengers between nerve and muscle (acetylcholine) work more effectively.

Inside the muscle fibers themselves, contractility improves even without size increases. Your sarcoplasmic reticulum (which stores calcium needed for contraction) becomes more efficient. The angle at which muscle fibers connect to bone (pennation angle) can change.

Even your energy systems adapt by storing more phosphocreatine for powerful contractions.

This explains why you can get stronger without getting bigger. Strength and muscle size are related but not identical. You can actually increase muscle size while slightly reducing strength if the spacing between contractile proteins isn’t optimal.

The adaptations are remarkable—nearly everything along the chain of human movement improves with proper strength training.

Exercise Responders and Non Responders

Galpin explains that many factors affect physical training results, including intensity, intent, sleep, nutrition, and other stressors. He highlights the concept of “responders and non-responders” – why some people gain muscle quickly while others don’t see results despite following the same routine.

When publishing research, Galpin always reports individual data rather than just group averages. This is crucial because when you train, you’re an individual, not a statistical average. The data typically shows hyper-responders, normal responders, and non-responders.

Often, non-responders aren’t physically incapable of improvement – they simply need a different approach. Many just need more volume if they can handle it without excessive fatigue. This applies to breaking through plateaus too.

If you’ve been training in the 60-70% one-rep max range, you might need to go heavier with fewer reps. Alternatively, you could do the opposite – using very high rep ranges (20-25 reps) which typically cause less soreness than lower-rep, higher-intensity work.

When discussing systemic recovery and determining when the entire body needs rest, Galpin recommends starting with local assessment before considering system-wide fatigue. For hypertrophy training specifically, use a subjective soreness scale: if you’re below 3/10 soreness, you’re fine to train; at 3-6/10, proceed with caution; above 6/10, you should probably rest.

For monitoring systemic stress, they use various biomarkers from blood tests including creatine kinase, LDH, myoglobin, ALT, and AST to assess muscle breakdown. Sleep quality, heart rate variability (which is more sensitive than resting heart rate), and even motivation levels provide important feedback.

Galpin cautions against overreacting to a single day’s measurements – look for trends over 3-5 days minimum. If you’re overtrained but hypertrophy is the goal, consider reducing intensity rather than skipping workouts entirely. Perhaps train at 50% effort with moderate reps to maintain some volume while promoting recovery.

Regarding cold exposure (ice baths, cold showers), Galpin advises against using these immediately after hypertrophy training.

Cold exposure blocks the signaling cascade that drives muscle protein synthesis and growth. It’s not ideal before workouts either, or even on the same day as hypertrophy training.

Cold therapy might be acceptable for other training goals or during competitive seasons when recovery takes priority over growth. Brief cold showers generally don’t have the same hypertrophy-blunting effect as ice baths since you’re not exposed long enough to significantly lower your temperature.

Wrapping Up

Dr. Andy Galpin’s approach to strength and hypertrophy training cuts through fitness industry noise with science-backed principles that work for everyone from beginners to advanced athletes.

The key takeaways are clear: consistency trumps perfection, progressive overload drives adaptation, and individualization matters.

Whether you follow his 3×5 method, implement his hypertrophy program, or design your own routine using his 10-step framework, the fundamentals remain the same.

Focus on executing movements properly, stick with exercises long enough to master them, and plan your training in multi-week blocks.

FAQs

What’s the biggest misconception about strength training?

Many people mistakenly believe strength training is only for athletes or those wanting bigger muscles, while cardio is just for heart health and fat loss. As Nike founder Bill Bowerman said, “If you have a body, you’re an athlete.” This misconception creates unnecessary barriers that prevent many from experiencing the full benefits of a complete exercise program.

Why is resistance training important as we age?

Resistance exercise and strength training are the number one tools to fight neuromuscular aging – something you cannot get through any other form of exercise. Human movement requires nerve activation, muscle contraction, and muscles moving bones. All three are essential for independent living as you age.

How quickly do we lose muscle and strength as we age?

After age 40, you typically lose about 1% of muscle size per year, but 2-4% of strength, and 8-10% of muscle power annually. This is why preserving strength and power through proper training is critical for everyday activities like standing up easily and preventing falls.

How does strength training affect the nervous system?

According to Dr. Huberman, “Strength and hypertrophy training is a way to keep your nervous system healthy and young.” Dr. Galpin confirms this is absolutely true, adding it’s the only exercise method we have for this purpose. Older individuals typically have 30-40% fewer motor units (connections between nerves and muscles).

Is it too late to start strength training if I’m older?

Not at all! Even people in their 90s can see improvements of 30-170% in muscle size and strength in just 12 weeks of training. If you’re 50 and haven’t been strength training, you can still get fantastic results quickly. Recent research shows that loss of muscle strength with aging isn’t inevitable – it happens because people stop training, not because of age itself.

How does strength training benefit the brain?

A significant portion of our brain is devoted to movement, especially resistance-type movements. Continuing these movements throughout life keeps the brain young, healthy, and vital. The nervous system controls the strength of muscle contractions, creating an important neuromuscular link many people overlook.

How quickly can I see results from strength training?

You can see noticeable changes in muscle size within a month, and definitely within six weeks. This creates a powerful feedback loop that helps with consistency – the number one predictor of any exercise program’s success.

What’s the difference between strength and hypertrophy?

Strength is about function – can you create more force with your muscles? Hypertrophy is simply about size – making muscles bigger. While related, they’re not the same thing. Powerlifters (strength specialists) are significantly stronger while bodybuilders (hypertrophy specialists) have more muscle mass.

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Articles Mentioned

Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy in Skeletal Muscle: A Scientific “Unicorn” or Resistance Training Adaptation?: https://bit.ly/3j4sXxq
Towards an improved understanding of proximity-to-failure in resistance training and its influence on skeletal muscle hypertrophy, neuromuscular fatigue, muscle damage, and perceived discomfort: A scoping review: https://bit.ly/3Dd9MIy

Dr. Andy Galpin Academic

Website: https://www.andygalpin.com
Profile: http://hhd.fullerton.edu/knes/facultystaff/AndyGalpin.php
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drandygalpin
Instagram: https://instagram.com/drandygalpin
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3R2e3zYxWwIhMKV36Qhkw

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