Understanding Strength

I hear many people come to me with their "Whoa is me" tales of not being able to make any progress with their exercise routine. Many claim they can't get past plateaus even though they spend 5 days a week in the gym. Some have no idea why they can't lose those last 10 pounds, or gain 10 pounds, or do a push up, or a pull-up, or whatever the case may be. My personal favorite is when I hear the defeatist cry that "It's my metabolism", not having any clue what the word even means, assuming it's a genetic set-point like body temperature that can never change.

Well it can change. In fact, the physiological quality that best predicts metabolic rate is lean muscle mass. That's right, the more lean mass the higher the metabolic rate, the easier it is for you to get more work done and burn more fat. And unlike a lot of studies that show correllations with no reasonable argument for cause and effect, the act of increasing muscle mass will in fact increase your metabolism. Obviously this isn't the only way to lost pounds, but it is a very important component.

So here's where the problem lies: How do we build lean mass? Being a naive (fairly) young trainer, I thought everyone had a good understanding on how to build strength, but it has become clear that most gym-goers have no idea even with all the science available to them to help them out. Don't take offense if this is you, but most men who workout on their own go into the gym with no real plan (other than "it's a bench day, or today is back and bi's). Most women who go will invariably spend 30-60 minutes rotating between their favorite pieces of cardio equipment while they read about 9 ways to please their man (Hint: if none of them include leaving us alone during the game, find a new magazine. But I digress), followed by a few isolation "strength" exercises.

And what they (you!) will both do is pick your exercises and do 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps every single time. The volume never changes, the rep scheme never varies, and you try to add a little bit of weight each time (men) or use the same (extremely) light weight to try to lose their trouble areas (women). You know what else never changes? You. You'll make progress for a few weeks, then either give up or just plateau and the excuses start flying.

So how do we build strength while avoiding plateaus? Once you've adjusted to a strength training routine, you need to adjust the volume, intensity, and exercises to keep things fresh. One of the simplest ways to do this, while keeping the same exercise routine for several weeks, is to have a pre-planned variance with your sets/reps and overall volume.

Here's an example of a very basic exercise list I might use with an average client:

1a) Walking lunges
1b) Push-up progression
2a) Stability ball bridge (hip extensions)
2b) Lat pulldown
3a) Front planks
3b) Stability ball side sit-ups

Now, three of these would use resistance (lunges, push-ups, and lat pulldown, and even side sit ups in some cases). The average person would do 3 sets of 8-10 reps. The total volume, for say lunges, would be 30 reps x external resistance. In keeping the volume the same every day, the only way to progressively overload (KEY for making progress) is to add weight every session.

Well this will only work for so long before we teeter out. So we need another way to progressively add volume. So what were the other factors? Sets, reps (you could also include rest intervals). This gives us 3 other ways to increase our volume without ever even changing the weight! Here's a set/rep scheme for 4 weeks that I might use with the lunges and push ups. This is written for someone who may be working out 4x/week.

Week 1: 3x10 each (30 total reps)
Week 2: 4x6 each (24 reps)
Week 3: 4x10 each (40 reps)
Week 4: 2x10 each (20 reps)


You'll notice the volume goes up and down from week to week; this is a great way to allow the muscles to regenerate without taking time off. I stole this pattern from Eric Cressey's Maximum Strength protocol, where week 1 is high volume, week 2 is medium, week 3 is very high, and week 4 is low. It has been very effective as I've been going through his 16 week program myself.

The key to making programs like this work however, are understanding how to use the sets/reps schemes. I have been really surprised at the number of people who would pick the same exact weight for 4 sets of 6 reps, as they would for 3 sets of 10.

If you want to make progress you must pick a weight that challenges you for that set! In other words, the last 2 reps should be a little slower, and much harder (but done with perfect form) if you want to continue making progress.

This was just a very basic example, and designing programs can get to be a lot of fun with committed clients who you can really make a difference with.

I turned this post into kind of a ramble, but hopefully some of it made sense and gave you a couple of principles you can apply to your own workouts if you aren't already.

Jon