This is the first in a series of educational posts. In these posts we will cover how to train for Strength, Power, Hypertrophy (muscle size), and Muscular Endurance. Each post will give you a recommended programming style to look for or develop so you can get better at what you want to get better at.
Muscle Strength
Muscle strength is a common gauge of how strong you are. When you are working on muscle strength there are 2 ways you can work on it. One is with just your body weight which has obvious limitations. The second way is to do weight training.
Unlike hypertrophy, which is gaining muscle size, strength does not always make you bigger. That is affected more by hormone levels (which is beyond the scope of this blog post).
It is a common misconception that to get stronger you will also get bigger.
Body Weight Strengthening
Depending on where you are at in your strengthening journey, you can become very strong by doing body weight strengthening. There are a few exercises that we recommend. These exercises are also beneficial to do as adjuncts to weight training.
Push Ups
Pull Ups
Inverted Rows
Muscle Ups
Single Leg Squats
Hip Thrusts
Dips
You can also add weight to these exercises as well.
Weight Training for Strength
When weight training for strength, there are two categories of exercises; Core and Assistance.
Core exercises are use one or more large muscle areas such as the chest, back, hip, thigh, or shoulder. They also use more than one joint when performed. Core exercises should be done before assistance exercises when designing a program.
Core Exercises:
Squat (Any Type)
Lunge
Shoulder Press (including strict and push)
Bench Press
Pull ups
Deadlift
Assistance exercises target use smaller muscles and usually only one joint (like bicep curls).
What You Need to Know to Get Stronger
Your One Rep Max (1RM) - You can get a one rep max by going to fatigue in any exercise (here is a 1RM calculator). When talking about a 1RM you are considering the core exercises.
Training percentage and reps for strength- You need to train your core exercises at 85% or more of your 1RM for 6 or fewer reps. The higher the percentage, the fewer the reps and sets. Some examples are:
2 sets of 3 reps at 90% 1RM
5 sets of 5 reps at 85% 1RM
When training for strength, the core exercises should be trained 2-5 times per week depending on how new you are to strength training. Due to the amount of weight and muscle mass involved, a day or two of recovery is always needed. You will need to figure out for yourself (or with your coach) how much rest you need.
Get Out and Go For It
Now you have what you need to begin a strength program. If you would like further guidance, you can reach out to us at info@bodyfixpt.com and we can help you decide if our fitness coaching is right for you.
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