Natural Strength Training For Men And Women
Thirdly, Rest
Rest, like in any other sport is a mandatory part of training. A study conducted by the NIH on 10,125 university students aged 16 - 30 found that both men and women who slept for 6 hours or less had decreased muscle grip strength compared to those who slept 7 - 8 hours or more, (Yanbo Chen, Et al, 2017). Taking into account the results of the study (results shown on the left) it is safe to say that to optimise strength you should sleep for 7 - 8 hours or more as it optimises strength gains.But another aspect of rest is your rest time between sets, Ideally, you would want longer rest times to be able to recover better and push yourself harder. In fact, a study conducted by the NIH found that ‘resting 3-5 minutes between sets produced greater increases in absolute strength’, (Belmiro Freitas De Salles, 2009).
Fourthly, Let Us Get Into The Aspect Of Volume
Volume, which has already been described in the bodybuilding section, plays a great role in strength training as strength as having less volume allows one to lift heavier weights but for a shorter duration. That being said an article written by Built Strength recommends that ‘5 - 12 sets’ of an exercise per week is enough to maximise strength gains, (Hunter Bennett). So I would suggest following this principle.Lastly, Let Us Get Into The Dieting Aspect.
Similar to bodybuilding, dieting, already explained in the bodybuilding section, plays a great role in increasing one’s strength. More specifically eating in a calorie surplus with enough protein, as it gives your body the fuel it needs to adapt to the training stimulus from resistance training. For example, an article written by the Mayoclinic talks about how the more one’s muscle mass increases, the more likely one will be able to lift heavier weights for longer periods of time, (Mayoclinicstaff). If that is the general conclusion of the study, it would make sense for one to eat in a calorie surplus with enough protein.Like in bodybuilding to find your calorie surplus go to this website https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html, Calculate your calorie maintenance and add on about ‘10% - 20%’ extra calories on top of your maintenance calories to optimize muscle mass, thus optimizing your strength, (Gavin Van De Walle, MS, RD, 2019).And for your maintenance calories you want to make sure that you are eating ‘1.2 - 1.6 grams of protein per kilo of body weight’, (Lindsey Desoto, Et al., 2022).
Taking All This Information Into Consideration Here Are Some Training Splits I Would Recommend
Push, Pull, Legs, And Arms Split
Push (pushing exercises), Pull (Pulling exercises), Legs, Rest, Arms, Rest, Rest
This ensures that each muscle group gets 48 - 72 hours of rest optimising muscle strength.
Upper Body, Lower Body Split
Upper body, lower body, rest, rest, upper body, lower body, rest
This split ensures that each body part gets 72 hours of rest whilst also getting everything done quicker.
Now here are some exercises I recommend for certain body parts.
Chest (Clavicular head) - Inclined Bench Press, incline dumbbell press, inclined machine press
Chest (Sternal head) - Flat Grip Bench Press, Dumbbell Press, Machine Fly, Cable Crossover
Shoulders (Lateral Head) - Lateral raises
Shoulders (Anterior Head) - Front Raises
Shoulders (Posterior Head) - Rear Deltoid Machine, Standing Bent Over Lateral Raises
Shoulders (All Heads) - Overhead Press
Back (lattisimus Dorsi) - Pull-ups, Lat Pulldowns, Rows
Back (Erector spinae) - Deadlifts, Rows
Back (Trapezius) - Bent Over Barbell Rows, Shrugs
Legs - Squats, Leg Extensions, Bulgarian Split Squats, Hamstring Curls, Hacksquat, Deadlifts.
Legs (Quadriceps) - Leg Extensions, Squats, Bulgarian Split Squats
Legs (Hamstrings) - Hamstring Curls, Romanian Deadlifts
Legs (Glutes) - Barbell Glute Bridge, Squats
Legs (Calves) - seated calf raises, standing calf raises, farmer walks
Biceps (Long head) - bicep curls, preacher curls
Biceps (Short Head) - spider curls
Biceps (Brachialis) - Hammer curls
Triceps (Long head) - Tricep Pushdowns
Triceps (Lateral head) -Dips, Skull crushers
Triceps (medial head) - Reverse Grip Pressdowns
What Are The Fundamental Principles Of Building Strength?
When training strength I have found that there are five fundamental principles that you need to focus on; the number of reps, progressive overload, rest, volume and diet.
Secondly, Progressive Overload
Progressive overload, which has already been defined in the bodybuilding section has a great correlation with strength as it not only helps combat plateaus you face and break through them but also helps build strength, (Zia Sherrel, MPH, 2022). For example, adding an extra 2.5 pounds of weight to your bench press every week will eventually allow you to become very strong in the bench press.
Firstly, Why Does The Number Of Reps You Do Matter?
A review of 21 studies conducted by researchers of the NIH regarding strength training found that when training to prioritise strength it would be better for an individual to use heavier weights and go to failure than use lighter weights and go to failure, (Brad J Schoenfeld, et al, 2017).
Adding on another study conducted by researchers of the NIH which tested the effects of low load (25 - 35 repetitions) vs high load (8-12 repetitions) Resistance training on well-trained young men found that men who trained to failure on lower repetitions increased their 1 rep max when compared to men who trained with low loads, (Brad J Schoenfeld, Et al, 2015).
For example, in a period of 8 weeks, individuals who trained with high load and low repetitions increased their back squat strength by ‘19.6%’ compared to the individuals who trained with high repetitions and low loads who only increased their back squat strength by ‘8.8%’, (Brad J Schoenfeld, Et al., 2015).
Taking this into consideration to train strength it is important to go for low repetitions with high intensity. One article by Men’s Fitness suggests that ‘3 to 5 sets of 2 to 6 reps per exercise' is optimal for strength training, (Trevor Thieme C.S.C.S, 2022).
