I find it interesting that Sheiko and other routines not intended to generate maximum hypertrophy are beneficial for an intermediate lifter who still has some room to grow. Wouldn't they be better off with a pure hypertrophy routine, and start training strength when they're very near the max muscle their frame can hold?
Routines like Periodisation seem to start with 10 reps, then as the weeks progress go to 8, 6, etc, and finish with sets of 3 and singles near competition time - then the program is begun again, back to sets of 10 for hypertrophy. A constant cycle of getting muscle to grow then refining that muscles strength?
You need to continually refine the muscle you grow into strength I guess? Is this why you can't just take a 130kg bodybuilder (who, say, might LOOK stronger than a 120kg powerlifter) and put him onto a strength based routine, and expect him to break all sorts of records? When the 120kg powerlifter is actually stronger in all the lifts.