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BRMost powerlifters treat hypertrophy work like strictly an off-season thing.
Block it in, run it for a few months, then move on to strength work and leave it behind.
That’s the problem.
The problem is that approach leaves muscle building to a single window of the year. And a few months of hypertrophy work followed by months of pure strength training isn’t enough to consistently move the needle on your total long term.
Here’s a better way to think about it.
Hypertrophy work lives in your program year round.
The volume and emphasis shift depending on the phase..but the intent to build quality tissue never fully disappears.
In your off-season block, it’s the priority. Volume is high, intensity is moderate, accessories are front and center. This is when the most meaningful size gets added.
In your strength block, it drops to a supporting role. You’re still hitting your weak points, still building structural muscle, just with less total volume.
The goal is maintaining what you built and continuing to develop the tissue that supports your competition lifts.
In your peak, it gets stripped back. Volume comes way down. But even here, a handful of targeted accessory sets keep the muscle you built from walking out the door while your body focuses on expressing strength.
The result is a lifter who enters every training year with more to work with than the last.
Hypertrophy work isn’t a phase you run once a year. It’s a dial you adjust based on where you are in your training calendar.
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@bryk_squuaadd
