Strength Training at Its Most Basic

Strength training isn't just about building muscle, it's about building a foundation for a healthy, vibrant and long life.

Its benefits go far beyond the physical, keeping you confident and independent as you age.

And contrary to widespread views, strength training doesn’t require hours in the gym, lots of yelling or throwing heavy weights around all day. Although if you enjoy those things, that’s great. 

Building strength is a process that is unique to each individual and their goals in fitness and life.

Some may focus on traditional 'bodybuilding' movements for targeted muscle growth, while others may prioritise bodyweight strength and mobility.

There's no right or wrong answer and the method of strength training to focus on is entirely up to you and your goals.

The good news is that no matter what the focus of your training is, the fundamentals of training remain the same.

A focused, consistent routine built around your goals and progressive overload.

BASICS OF PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD

Your body adapts to the stress you place on it.

Given time and appropriate stimulus (i.e. resistance training) it will get stronger.

Put simply, progressive overload means gradually increasing the challenge placed on your muscles, so they adapt to become stronger and more durable.

For strength training, this could be applied through:

• Increasing weight

• Increasing repetitions or sets

• Increasing range of motion

The key to progressive overload is patience and consistency.

Your body adjusts to stimulus gradually, requiring time to rest, recover and adapt. Trying to level up too fast often leads to injury or burnout.

Small, consistent improvements, stacked up over weeks, months and years will produce outcomes that dwarf any other methods.

BUILDING A PROGRAM CENTRED ON YOUR GOALS

Programs allow you to outline your goals, target strength movements that align with your goals and to track progress over time.

Many people don’t like the idea of sticking to a fitness program. They want the flexibility of being able to pick and choose what to focus on depending on how they are feeling. And this can be relevant in some experienced cases, but for those who don’t have the years of experience and knowledge of programming and progress, sticking to a program is the best way to reach your goals.

The first step in a program is outlining your objectives. This way we can decide what strength training methods and movements will be best applied to achieve these.

This is known as the principle of specificity.

For example, a powerlifter trains heavy squats and deadlifts for maximum strength.

A rock climber focuses on grip and upper-body endurance.

A parent who just wants to keep up with their kids will benefit from full-body strength and mobility work.

The second benefit of a training program is being able to systematically track your progress over time. This is crucial for providing feedback and motivation, encouraging you if you are progressing and prompting re-evaluation if progress is stalling.

Strength is one of the most important factors contributing to health.

And luckily for us, we don’t need to live in the gym to build the strength we desire.

At its most basic level, all that's required is to train according to your goals, stay consistent and gradually improve over time.