Strength vs Size: how to train each the “best” way
If a lift feels generally easier during a muscle growth session, there’s a good chance you’ve slipped into strength mode. For hypertrophy, the target muscle should be the limiting factor - it should burn, fatigue and make you earn every rep. For strength, the goal flips: you want the movement to feel as easy and efficient as possible while you move the heaviest load with rock solid technique.
Below is a clear, no nonsense guide you can use to set up training for size, for strength or for both - without mixing signals or wasting sessions.
The two goals (and what they actually measure)
Hypertrophy (size)
What the f*** is a hypertrophy? It’s a fancy word given for the process of making muscles bigger.
Strength (1RM strength)
What actually is strength? The most weight you can lift once in a given movement (squat, bench, deadlift, etc.)
Strength is built from four pieces:
Muscle size (bigger engine)
Muscle architecture (fibres aligning to the task you practice)
Technique (the most efficient bar path for you)
Neural drive (switching everything on, on command)
Same exercise, different intent (the squat for example)
Hypertrophy squat (quad focus)
Bar/stance: Often high bar (barbell placed on your upper traps), heels elevated is fine.
Torso: Tall and more upright to load quads.
Hips: Down/forward as you descend; knees track over toes.
Depth: As deep as you can own (deep stretch = FANTASTIC stimulus).
Feedback: Quads should burn; they’re the limiting factor.
Strength squat (move max load)
Bar/stance: Frequently low-bar (many do flat shoes).
Torso: More forward lean to recruit hips/back with quads.
Hips: Back + down to share work across more muscles.
Depth: Just below parallel is sufficient for testing rules.
Feedback: Bar path feels efficient; balance stays centred.
Quick tip:
If you “stop feeling” the quads in a hypertrophy set because you altered your mechanics to make it easier, you’ve drifted into strength technique.
Programming for muscle growth
Technique
The target muscle must be the limiter. Adjust setup until you feel it clearly and consistently.
Load & reps
5-30 reps per set can grow muscle. Choose ranges you can control with good form.
Relative effort
3 RIR → 0 RIR (three reps in reserve down to failure) works. Use the hardest sets sparingly; most work near 1-2 RIR is a sweet spot.
Weekly volume (per muscle)
5-20 working sets gets results for most.
Maintenance: 3-6 sets keeps size while you push other areas.
Specialisation blocks: With other muscles at maintenance, some lifters grow best at 25-35+ sets for the focus muscle (increase gradually and monitor recovery).
Frequency
Train each muscle 2-4×/week.
Progression (within a block)
Add 1-2.5 kg (2.5-5 lbs) or aim to add at least 1 rep per set each week while staying within good form and near failure effort. Both methods build size.
Programming for strength
Technique
Pick the variant and bar path that lets you lift the most safely and repeatedly. Efficiency over muscle feel.
Load & reps
Base work: 4-8 reps per set (heavy enough to build strength, light enough to get useful volume).
Peaking / testing: 1-3 reps.
Relative effort (RPE)
Most heavy work at RPE 7-9.
True RPE 10 / failure is for tests or rare occasions - it’s too fatiguing to live there.
Weekly volume (per movement pattern)
5-15 hard sets.
Maintenance: 2-4 sets keeps a lift ticking while you push others.
Frequency
2-4×/week per movement pattern.
Mix 1-2 heavy sessions with 1-2 light “technique/speed” sessions (e.g. 50% of your 1RM, 3×3 or 5×3, move it fast with perfect form). These dial in the groove, boost neural drive and aid recovery.
Progression
Progress primarily by adding load week to week on the key lifts. Save “adding reps” for specific contexts.
Shared ground (why they look similar from the outside)
Big compound lifts feature in both.
Good technique and full, controlled ROM matter for both.
Both require consistent overload and discomfort (just different flavours of it).
Most lifters thrive on 2-4 exposures per week per muscle or pattern.
Training both goals
Option 1: A same session approach (simple and works well for lots of people)
Start with strength work (4-8 reps) on the main lift while you’re fresh.
Follow with hypertrophy accessories (5-15 reps) that target the muscles you want to grow.
Pros: Simple, steady progress in both.
Cons: Never truly “optimal” for either; fatigue trade offs.
Option 2: Approach your training in phases (better when you’re more advanced)
2-4 months mostly strength → 2-4 months mostly hypertrophy → repeat.
In the hypertrophy phase, you may keep a small dose of heavy work (e.g. 2-4 sets/week per main lift) only if it doesn’t keep joints cranky.
If you keep most hypertrophy in the 5-10 rep range, you’ll return to strength smoothly even without that heavy “maintenance.”
Watch out for:
Joints/connective tissue. If the heavy work keeps elbows/knees aggravated, strip it out during the size block so you actually heal.
Skill fade. If your heavy groove feels rusty after a size phase, keep a tiny dose of technique work next time.
Practical cues you can use tomorrow
Hypertrophy set check: “Am I keeping the tension on the target muscle or did I change my path to make it easier?” If it suddenly feels easier and the burn vanished, fix your setup.
Strength set check: “Is my bar path balanced and repeatable, and did I move with max intent?” If you felt “wobbly but pumped,” fix the path and save the pump for accessories.
Progress audit (every 4-6 weeks):
Size focus → photos, tape, logbook loads/reps within 5-30 reps.
Strength focus → top sets/reps at fixed RPEs, consistent technique clips.
Common mistakes (and quick fixes)
Mixing intents mid-set. Choose muscle feel (size) or efficiency (strength) for that set.
Living at failure in strength blocks. Save it for tests; live at RPE 7-9.
Never pushing to near failure in size blocks. Most growth comes from hard sets done well.
Trying to specialise everything at once. Put some muscles/lifts at maintenance while others get the spotlight.
Bottom line
Hypertrophy: Make the target muscle work the hardest. 5-30 reps, near failure, 5-20 sets per week per muscle, 2-4 per week, progress by load or reps.
Strength: Make the movement efficient. Most work in 4-8 reps at RPE 7-9, 5-15 sets per week per pattern, 2-4 per week + light technique sessions, progress mainly by load.
Doing both? Start heavy, finish with hypertrophy or phase them across months. Pick the right tool for the day and let the weeks compound.
