How can a smaller muscle from strength-focused training generate more force than a would-be larger muscle through training that maximises hypertrophy?

Question

To illustrate, it is my understanding that muscles will experience more hypertrophy within a certain rep range. They will increase in size, and so it makes sense how they would be able to lift more weight. However, lower rep ranges tend to increase strength more than they increase size. How can a smaller muscle generate more force than a would-be larger muscle through a different kind of training?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Muscle is made of lots of cells that all work together to pull in a certain direction. Having a higher muscle density means you can fit more of these cells in a given volume, so a muscle can get stronger without necessarily getting bigger.