Strength is never a weakness. Both for athletic endeavours and everyday activities, being strong will never hold you back. A favorable strength-to-bodyweight ratio will always have value, whether you are trying to score touchdowns or move furniture. Here are three things to consider when looking to build serious strength with your training.
INCREASE MUSCLE
Increasing muscle size is perhaps the most well-recognized way of getting stronger. Bigger muscles = stronger muscles. It’s pretty simple: the more muscle tissue you have, the more muscle fibers your body has available to recruit in order to apply force to a load. Take powerlifters, for example, who are some of the strongest men in the world and are not interested in the size of their muscles, but instead how much total weight they can move in the bench, squat and deadlift. They often spend time with lighter loads working with hypertrophy (muscle building) inducing rep ranges of 8-12 reps, despite the fact that their main goal is to improve their 1-rep max in the big three lifts. If you are looking to get stronger and are not bound by weight class restrictions for your sport like in wrestling or boxing, make sure to include some exercises in your training in the 8-12 rep range for muscle growth in order to help increase strength.
CNS ADAPTATION
Bigger muscles aren’t the only factor when it comes to strength – or professional bodybuilders would be the strongest men and women around. Powerlifters and strongmen competitors are much stronger than most bodybuilders because of the adaptation of their central nervous system (CNS) to heavy loads. As you train with progressively heavier loads, over time your CNS adapts and allows you to activate more muscle fibers. That is why you can have two people with the exact same amount of muscle mass, but one can be significantly stronger than the other, because their CNS has adapted to activate more muscle fibers and therefore apply more force to an external load. CNS adaptation takes time. To ensure you are progressing, try to increase the weight on your large compound movements (squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press) by small increments over time.
BETTER TECHNIQUE
Improving the technique of your lifts can help to dramatically increase your strength both in the moment as well as over the long run. Take the deadlift as an example. By focusing on certain coaching cues, such as remembering to brace your core and avoid rounding your back, you will increase CNS activation. This is because your CNS will allow you to contract more muscle fibers if your spine is in a stable and safe position throughout the lift. Improving technique will also help you to work with your own body’s biomechanics to utilize optimal leverage to move the maximum amount of weight. For example, if during the deadlift your hands are wider than shoulder-width apart, you will have to bend down lower to grip the bar and therefore increase the range of motion for the movement, which makes the movement much more difficult because you need to apply force for a longer period of time. Training with proper form will also help to greatly decrease the risk of injury, which will surely set you back in your quest for strength!
