As the title says. Why does hypertrophy (growing muscle tissue in size) does not correlate with the strength of the individuals training for strength (as in heavy weight lifting, without growing muscle tissue)?
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It DOES correlate with strength. Cross sectional muscle area is one of the biggest variables for strength.
But let’s talk about what else matters. First is anatomy – length of bones, where tendons attach, etc. a guy with say T. rex arms and good tendon insertions and a barrel chest will bench a lot more than some lanky dude.
Next is neural proficiency. Muscles are flexed by nerves. Nerves can fire harder or less hard, and in a better or less good pattern. This is both genetic and trainable.
Next is muscle fiber type – some people have more endurance-focused fibers, some are more power focused. This is somewhat trainable and somewhat genetic.
Next is muscle composition. There can be SMALL differences in muscle composition between the fibers (the part that pulls) and the fluid surrounding them that contains say nutrients, called sarcoplasm. The latter does help strength but less than bigger fibers, so there can be a bit of quality difference between the two.
So muscle size IS a huge factor, but so is anatomy, nervous system, fiber type and cross-sectional composition.
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