How to become stronger
At Raise the Bar, our mission is to help people become healthier, happier, and stronger. I often find myself hesitating to emphasize the "stronger" aspect, fearing it might push some away. However, I truly believe that everyone should strive to get stronger. There’s a saying in the strength community: “Strength is never a weakness.” This principle applies to nearly everyone.
Recently, we’ve seen great progress with our members, particularly in traditional strength lifts like squats, bench presses, deadlifts, push-ups, chin-ups, and dips. But strength improvement isn't limited to these big lifts; we’ve also noticed significant gains in everyday movements like single-leg squats and lunges, which require balance and coordination.
In this blog, I’ll share some tips and insights on how we approach strength training at Raise the Bar, particularly for everyday individuals. Our methods are largely based on the scientific principles of strength training outlined in Chad Wesley Smith's book. Smith, the founder of Juggernaut Training Systems, is a respected authority in the powerlifting and weightlifting community. His principles are universal, easy to understand, and applicable across various fitness disciplines, particularly strength training.
Key Principles of Strength Training
Progressive Overload: This principle emphasizes gradually increasing the difficulty of your workouts. For example, if you lift 5 kg in week one, aim for 6 kg in week two, and 7 kg in week three. This progression can also apply to the number of repetitions. The key is to make your workouts slightly more challenging over time.
Specificity: To strengthen a particular area, you must perform exercises targeting that area. If you want stronger legs, you need to do leg-specific exercises. While this seems straightforward, it's essential to remember.
Individuality: Everyone's body is different, so it's crucial to tailor movements to fit individual needs. At Raise the Bar, we primarily conduct group training, which can make personalization challenging. However, we do offer personal training sessions designed to meet specific needs. For instance, some may prefer back squats over front squats, or a safety bar squat instead of a conventional deadlift.
Reversibility: This principle highlights that if you don’t use your strength, you’ll lose it. For example, if you stop squatting for a couple of weeks, you may notice a decrease in lower body strength. To counter this, we incorporate the fundamental movements regularly.
Stress, Recovery, and Adaptation (SRA): This principle involves applying a stressor (like 20 push-ups), allowing recovery, and then benefiting from the adaptation that follows. This concept applies to various exercises—squats, lunges, planks, etc. Adequate recovery is essential for strength gains.
Potentiation: We structure our training in blocks, where each block builds on the previous one. For example, if a group is currently doing dumbbell bench presses, the next block might involve close-grip bench presses, followed by traditional bench presses. This layered approach helps progressively increase strength.
Variation: To keep muscles guessing and prevent adaptation, we regularly change exercises. For instance, one week we might do forward lunges, the next week reverse lunges, and the following week Bulgarian split squats. Variety is key to maintaining progress.
Fundamental Movement Patterns
In our programming, we ensure to cover the basics, including squat variations, hinge movements, pushing and pulling exercises, both bilaterally and unilaterally. We also incorporate compound movements, like push-ups, as well as isolation movements, such as tricep extensions.
We pay attention to range of motion by including both long-range and short-range exercises. For example, a barbell Romanian deadlift has a longer range of motion, while a hamstring curl involves a shorter range.
Additional Considerations
Tempo: We vary the speed of movements, from slow, controlled descents to faster lifts, to keep the body engaged.
Weight Variability: We incorporate phases of lighter and heavier lifting, recognizing that “heavy” is relative to the individual. A weight that’s challenging for one person might be a warm-up for another.
Core Training: A strong core connects the upper and lower body, helping prevent injuries. We include movements that promote rotation, resist rotation, flexion (like sit-ups), extension (like supermans), and lateral movement.
By implementing these principles and considerations, we create well-rounded programs that help our members become stronger and healthier. Thank you for joining me in exploring the science behind effective strength training!