Simple Strength Training

Almost everyone I've ever met wants to be stronger.  It doesn't matter if they have never touched a weight or if they deadlift 700, it's almost like there's no such thing as strong enough.  The problem many run into is that there is way too much signal noise about how to get stronger.  You can find 7 articles in the same magazine on how to get stronger and they are all different and sometimes contradictory.  How do you sort out the fluff from the facts?  At the beginning level, it's fairly simple.

Simple Strength Training

There are a handful of requirements for building gorilla strength.  These basic principles apply across the board.   This is not an exhaustive list, but it is enough to get anyone started towards being stronger and healthier than ever.

First, your program must contain multi-joint movements like the squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, and power clean.  You'll notice that almost all of these are standing exercises.  In real life, you will most often need to express strength while standing, so why not train that way?  Want some more good news?  The moves that are best at building serious strength are also best at building serious muscle.  

Second, you have to show up on a regular basis.  You can make real progress only lifting weights two times per week for a long time with an intelligent program.  You won't make much progress lifting weights every other week.  It's like putting together a meal over the course of a month.  You're going to be pretty hungry if you make your salad on the 1st and finally get around to the steak on the 28th.  Consistent work over time is the simple ticket to getting bigger and stronger.

Third, you need a simple plan that you understand and believe in.  Since most of the training population is either brand new or returning from an extended lay off, I'm going to give some pointers to the newbies on how to choose a program.

So what do I look for?

As a beginner, I recommend training 2-4 times per week.  This ultimately depends on schedule.  If you're very busy and can't spare much time for the gym, an hour two times per week might be your best bet.  If you're a gym rat and you don't want to leave even to eat, go with a four day program and consider some counseling.  Don't just get hyooge for the gym bros, build some functional strength to go out and enjoy life!

After you settle schedules, look for suggested exercises.  Can't find a front or back squat anywhere?  Throw it out like last week's moldy pizza boxes.  No pressing overhead?  Drop it like a bad habit.  No pull-ups or chin-ups?  Do they want you to be weak forever?!  If you find a program entirely built around curls in the squat rack, run for the hills.

Finally, look at how they program the lifts.  Is there a consistent understandable pattern?  It can be as simple as add 5 pounds to the bar per workout.  If you do this over the course of 3 months, you will be objectively stronger.  It can be a little more complicated and take advantage of some percentage based systems, choosing your working weights based on a percentage of your maximum lifts.  I prefer a simple add 5 pounds to the bar style program for most newbies.  It works, and it works incredibly well as you are first starting out.  I can suggest Starting Strength, 3rd edition* as a great launching point for newer lifters.  I used Mark Rippetoe's program to take my squat from 345 to 495 over the course of 3 months.  It is a simple 3 day a week program the meets all of the above criteria and it works.

Get to work!

Now that you have some basics for simple strength training, get out there and move some barbells.  One of the most fulfilling parts of my work as a coach is seeing people improve and reach their goals, sometimes I think it's why I exist.  So, close your computer, lace up the gym shoes, and head out to start setting new personal records!  Stick with the program you choose for 3 months and see what kind of awesome results you get.  As always, if you want some help, email me at disruptivefitness@gmail.com or drop a line in the comments.

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