What are the most important things to consider when approaching strength training?
When you look at it on paper, increasing your overall strength seems pretty straight forward. Hell, it almost looks easy.
But what do we need to consider when it comes to actually getting stronger?
This is where all of the intricacies come into play. Check this out.
I think the most important factor to consider when it comes to high quality strength training is the risk involved. Whether it's risk of injury or risk of failure, or anything else. If you don't accept that there is some inherent risk you're never going to push your physical capabilities enough to make real progress. We all need to accept that if we are truly pushing ourselves, we may fail, or suffer some minor aches and pains. It's all just part of the process.
Building strength isn't all just about 1 Rep Maxes either. We need to make sure that we are training a variety of rep ranges at varying intensities. Lifting strictly heavy weights all of the time isn't the best way to build muscle, just like using only light weights for an infinite amount of repetitions isn't going to a one way ticket to putting on mass. We need to use light, moderate, and heavy loads regularly if we want to get stronger, change the way our body looks, or change our overall body composition. Muscle growth occurs at all rep ranges, but it's not the reps that are actually causing the progress you make. It's the intensity of those repetitions that make the difference between looking like you've never touched a weight in your life and a chiseled Brad Pitt in the movie Troy. So if your goal is to put on some lean muscle mass and get a little bit stronger, vary your rep ranges, take your sets as close to absolute failure as possible, and make sure that your effort levels are high enough because without intensity there will be no progress.
There's a common misconception out there that as soon as you start lifting weights, you're going to turn into the Hulk. Let's be honest, if this were actually true there'd be hundreds of thousands of people running around the world absolutely jacked out of their minds. That's just not the case. Men and women alike have this fear that strength training is going to make them big and bulky. I think if you find yourself in this category and you're letting it get in the way of making the changes you want to see in your body, then it's time to trust the concept that weight training will not turn you into some freak show character. Unless you alter your lifestyle to do so. And if you're not sure what that means, read up on, or watch some video footage of what the most successful bodybuilders in the world do right now to look the way they look.
So here's the scoop. If you're interested in building some lean muscle mass, or getting stronger, then you need a plan. Mindlessly lifting heavy all of the time or doing 100's of light weight biceps curls won't get you the results you're looking for. You need to incorporate varying loads at proper intensities all while accepting the fact that it's going to require some hard work, there will be some bumps in the road, and that it requires commitment.
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