P.H.A.T stands for Power Hypertrophy Adaptive Training and is a workout program designed to optimize both strength and muscle growth. As the name suggests, this approach combines two training principles that are often considered separate – strength training and hypertrophy training – and adapts them to deliver the best results in both areas. What makes P.H.A.T unique is how it balances and integrates these two aspects of training, making it an effective method for those looking to develop both power and muscle mass.
Quick summary of the article
- Program Overview: P.H.A.T combines strength training and muscle growth to optimize both power and hypertrophy.
- Structure: 5 workouts per week: 2 strength-focused (low reps, heavy weights) and 3 hypertrophy-focused (high reps, lighter weights).
- Balanced Split: Strength days target upper and lower body; hypertrophy days focus on back/shoulders, legs, and chest/arms.
- Progressive Overload: Gradually increase weights by 2.5 kg for upper body and 5 kg for lower body each week.
- Target Audience: Suitable for intermediate to advanced lifters with at least one year of experience.
Strength and Muscle Growth – An Interconnected Process
Typically, training programs are divided into either strength training or muscle growth (hypertrophy), where strength training focuses on heavy weights and low reps, while hypertrophy training prioritizes lighter weights with more reps. The P.H.A.T program attempts to merge these two approaches and leverage the benefits of both.
The program was created by Layne Norton, an expert in strength training and nutrition, who claims there is a strong correlation between strength and muscle growth. As you increase your strength and lift heavier weights, you can perform more reps, thereby creating greater training volume – which promotes muscle growth. At the same time, increased muscle mass provides greater potential for strength gains. In short, the two factors are closely intertwined and can be trained effectively together for faster results. According to research from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), strength and hypertrophy can increase each other when trained in parallel (Schoenfeld, 2010).
P.H.A.T Program Structure: Five Workouts per Week
The P.H.A.T program consists of five workouts per week, making it a relatively intense schedule. The program is divided into two parts: strength workouts and hypertrophy workouts.
Strength Training (Power)
Two of the workouts are focused on strength and follow the principles of powerlifting. Here, you train with heavy weights and perform fewer reps to build maximal strength. During these sessions, the body is split into upper and lower body days, meaning you focus on one muscle group at a time during each strength session.
Hypertrophy Training
The remaining three sessions are geared towards hypertrophy, or muscle growth. During these workouts, you use lighter weights and perform more reps to stimulate muscle growth. These sessions are further split into three parts:
- Workout 3: Back and Shoulders
- Workout 4: Legs
- Workout 5: Chest and Arms
This way, each muscle group is trained twice a week, providing a solid foundation for rapid development in both strength and muscle mass.
Who is P.H.A.T for?
P.H.A.T is a demanding program that is best suited for individuals with at least one year of strength training experience. Since the program consists of five workouts a week and requires high intensity, it’s important to have enough time and discipline to maintain such an ambitious training schedule. It’s not recommended for beginners but is ideal for those who already have a basic level of strength and training experience.
With P.H.A.T, you’ll follow a comprehensive and structured training routine that ensures all major muscle groups are trained twice a week. This means you’ll be working on both strength and hypertrophy in a balanced manner, which is particularly beneficial if you want to improve both your lifting capacity and muscle volume simultaneously.
Progression – Gradually Increasing the Weights
A key part of P.H.A.T is the continuous increase of weights to ensure progressive overload, which is essential for building both strength and muscle. For the heavy exercises in the strength training workouts, aim to increase the weights by 2.5 kg per week for upper body exercises and 5 kg per week for lower body exercises. For isolation exercises, where the weights are typically lighter, the increase can be smaller, but the goal is to always increase the weight week by week when you are able to complete all reps with proper form. This is based on the principle of progressive overload, one of the most well-established methods for building both strength and muscle (Schoenfeld, 2016).
Recovery and Recovery Periods
Since P.H.A.T is an intense program, it’s important to listen to your body and ensure adequate recovery. After training the program for about four weeks, it may be a good idea to take a lighter week. During this week, you can reduce the weights to give your muscles and joints a chance to recover before resuming heavy training. Recovery is crucial to avoid overtraining and to allow continued progress (Zatsiorsky & Kraemer, 2006).
Summary
P.H.A.T is a training method that offers an effective combination of strength training and muscle growth by splitting workouts into both strength and hypertrophy sessions. With five workouts per week, where you train the entire body twice, the program provides a balanced and well-thought-out structure to optimize both strength and muscle mass. The program requires discipline, time, and commitment, making it suitable for individuals who have been training for at least a year and are looking to take their training to the next level.
If you’re dedicated and have the time to commit to P.H.A.T, you’ll be able to develop both your strength and muscle mass effectively, ultimately achieving impressive results.
Sources:
Schoenfeld, B. J. (2010). Squatting kinematics and kinetics and their application to exercise performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(4), 937–948.
Schoenfeld, B. J. (2016). The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(12), 3027–3035.
Zatsiorsky, V. M., & Kraemer, W. J. (2006). Science and practice of strength training. Human Kinetics.
