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Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle
Skeletal muscle tissue is surround by connective tissue(CT). The superficial fascia, also known as the subcutaneous layer, is composed of connective tissue and adipose (fat) tissue., and this what seperates the skeletal muscle from the skin.
Underneath the superficial fascia lies an irregular connective tissue that holds the muscles called the deep fascia.
Now below the deep fascia are 3 layers of CT which strengthen the muscle:
1) Epimysium- Outermost layer which surrounds the entire muscle.
2)Perimysium- Surrounds fascicles, which are groups of muscle fibers.
3)Endomysium- Deepest layer that separates individual muscle fibers.
Muscle Fibers are the individual cells which skeletal muscles are composed of. These muscle fibers are located below a plasma membrane called the sarcolemma. Inside of the sarcolemma is the fibers cytoplasm, called the sarcoplasm. The sarcoplasm holds substances needed for muscle contraction such as glycogen and oxygen.
Each individual fiber is composed of many smaller myofibrils, which are elongated contractile threads. Myofibrils are divided into repeating functional units called sarcomeres. These things are what gives skeletal muscle its striated appearance. The easiest way to think of striation is when you look at an athlete with low body fat, and you can see their "definition". These lines of muscle definition are called striations.Finally, the myofibrils are surrounded by a system of membranous sacs, called the sarcoplasmic reticulum(SR).
Now this in no way fully explains skeletal muscle. I just provided a brief overview of information that is relevant to what I want to teach you. So don't go off on me and say shit like " What about T-tubules, myosin, ATP, Z Line, etc etc?". If you really wanna know that much then go read a damn A&P book.
Ok, so we got the boring stuff out of the way and it's time to learn why the guys that look like Greek gods commonly are lifting weights that are made for mortals, and the guys that looks like average Joes, are lifting 3-4x their body weight. Of course these examples that I used are extremes of what happens with just Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (size) training and Myofibrillar hypertrophy (density, strength). There are many athletes out there that actually use a combination of both types such as MMA athletes, football players, and rugby players. But before I go more in depth about those athletes and training styles, lets take a look at the two types of hypertrophy.
Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy (SH)
Now you know how I just explained what the sarcoplasm is? Well sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is an increase in the volume of the sarcoplasm. 25-30% of a muscles size consists this fluid. Even though the cross sectional area of the muscle increases, the density of muscle fibers decreases, and there is no increase in muscular strength. This is the typical 8-12 rep, 3-4 set, moderate intensity/high volume, "bodybuilder" training. I like to call this aesthetic training. Now there is some scientific evidence that a bigger muscle has a better chance of becoming a stronger muscle once the proper strength training methods are applied. However this type of hypertrophy has very little t do with explosive moments. Hence why bodybuilders are packed with muscle mass, but are not the fastest or the strongest of athletes. So this type of hypertrophy is nice looking, but isn't really functional, unless of course you are a bodybuilder.
Myofibrillar Hypertophy(MH)
Myofibrillar hypertrophy is the total opposite of this. This type of hypertrophy is an actual enlargement of the muscle fiber due to it gaining more myofibrils, which generate tension and contract in the muscle. The density of the myofibrils increases and therefore this a significantly greater ability to exert muscular strength. This is 1-5 reps, 1-10 sets, high intensity/low volume, powerlifter/Olympic lifter training. This is very important to the majority of athletes since most athletic movements are explosive in nature. Besides training the parts of the muscle responsible for explosive contractions, 85-100% 1RM training has the added benefit of training the nervous system. Some of the benefits of training the nervous system, but not limited too, are: decreased inhibition by the protective mechanism of the golgi tendon organ (GTO), increased neural drive to the muscle, increased synchronization of motor units, and increased activation of the contractile apparatus. As you can see, this type of hypertrophy could be termed functional hypertrophy.
PHEW! That was a bit of knowledge to take in. If you had made it this far and not fallen asleep, then you are on your way to becoming a more well rounded athlete.Now is the time to get away from the purely scientific data, and get to my favourite part of every article I write. My opinion !
First off, let me start by saying that depending on what type of athlete you are, you may think SH is better than MH. Being a personal trainer I have tried many different types of training from pure SH to MH, MMA, hybrid SH/MH, bodyweight, bootcamp and many more. I like to try different techniques and styles of training in order to gain a perspective on how different athletes need to be trained, and to why some will swear by certain styles and oppose others. In doing so, I avoid having biased opinions about things. Yes I can have very strong opinions about certain subjects but I will always give legit scientific reasons why things are "good and bad". So what's my opinion about SH and MH? Honestly I believe for overall function and performance, a combination of both types of hypertrophy is the best thing you can do. Bodybuilders can benefit from MH because more strength means that they will be able to lift heavier weights in that hypertrophy range, and powerlifters can benefit from some SH because a bigger muscle can produce more strength when proper strength training is applied.
Now a friend of mine wanted to do a comparison of Crossfit and Bodybuilding/Powerlifting in the areas of athletic performance,hypertrophy, and overall health/fitness benefits. But, to me this is like comparing a car with all the bells and whistles, to a car that is just the base model. I don't mean this in an offensive way either.
It's really a simple answer if you look at what the different training styles incorporate in terms of physical skills\goals.
Cross Fit's belief is that a person who is fit requires proficiency in each of ten general physical skills: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, and accuracy.
Bodybuilding: size, definition, proportion, symmetry, and stage presence.
Powerlifting: maximum strength
So of course Crossfit is going to have many more benefits compared to the others because of what the goal of it is. Crossfit basically wants you to be an all round healthy person, and I totally agree that everyone should be like this, but if you are a powerlifter or bodybuilder, then all those other physical skills don't apply.
If you want to see some athletes that entail all ten of those physical skills , just watch a couple video clips of world strongman, or the Cross Fit competitions.
Crossfit Athlete
Strongman Athlete
All in all I think that any type of training which makes you work many factors of fitness is obviously the best choice overall, but as I have learned, not everyone likes this type of training. Some people just like bodybuilding, some like powerlifting, and some don't like doing any training. Many people find joy in rock climbing, or hiking a large mountain. So you got to do whatever gives you the most joy. Of course myself and many others would like everyone to be hardcore fitness enthusiasts , but the world just doesn't work that way. Oh well, not everybody can be a Demonator.
Demon
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