Content and methods of strength training

The essence of strength training is to stimulate the muscles, bones and nervous system through controllable resistance load, and achieve improved sports performance or form improvement after recovery. The core content can be summarized as three core modules of "movement selection, load matching, and recovery management." However, there is no universal standard answer for training methods. It needs to be flexibly selected based on the training goals, exercise foundation, and physical tolerance. There is no "optimal solution" but only the "most suitable solution."

When many people first come into contact with strength training, they always think that it is exclusive to "rolling iron to build muscles", but in fact it is not at all. The standing long jump taught by the physical education teacher in school, the seated abdominal tightening practiced by office workers at their workstations, and even the silent squatting against the wall practiced by the elderly all belong to the category of strength training in essence. When I was preparing for the half-marathon two years ago, I didn’t follow the conventional idea of ​​building up my running volume. Instead, I practiced single-leg squats and core anti-rotation exercises twice a week. The post-running knee pain that had bothered me for half a year disappeared immediately, and my pace improved by 30 seconds. You see, even endurance events are inseparable from strength support.

When it comes to action selection, the differences between different training schools are actually very large. There is no need to stick to a certain set of standards. Bodybuilding-style training favors a differentiated logic, splitting the body into parts such as chest, shoulders, back, legs, and arms, and training them separately every day. It pays more attention to the isolated stimulation of individual muscles, and is suitable for enthusiasts who want to sculpt muscle lines. The powerlifting group basically arranges training around the three major items of squats, bench presses, and deadlifts. All auxiliary movements are to make up for the shortcomings of the three major items, and the goal is to sprint Absolute weight; friends who play street fitness almost all rely on their own weight, including pull-ups, parallel bar dips and extensions, and handstand push-ups, and pay more attention to the body control ability under their own weight; there are also functional training that has become popular in recent years, which will add a lot of unstable movements with medicine balls and kettlebells to train comprehensive strength that can be used in daily life such as moving things and climbing stairs. When I injured my knee last year, I changed the traditional deadlift to the Romanian deadlift. The weight dropped by 20kg, and the stimulation of the lower back and hamstring muscles was more precise. There is really no need to compare movements and weights with others. The one that suits you is the right one.

Single selection is useless for movements. How to match the load is also a science. Many people struggle with the optimal number of reps. The RM mentioned here is the maximum number of times you can complete standard movements in a set. For example, 10RM is the weight that you can do 10 times at most with all your strength. Traditional bodybuilding theory says that 8-12RM is the most efficient for building muscle, but recent sports physiology research has long confirmed that as long as the total training capacity (weight × number of sets × reps) is sufficient, good muscle-building effects can be achieved in the range of 3RM to 20RM. If you want to increase absolute strength, arrange more low-rep and heavy-weight groups of 1-5RM, and if you want to build muscle endurance, just do more groups of 15RM or more. There used to be a female student who was afraid of growing "dead muscles", so she used 2kg dumbbells to do 20 times every time she practiced buttocks. After practicing for three months, her hip circumference did not increase at all. Later, she was adjusted to 10kg and she did 8-12 times. She increased by 3cm in two months, and she did not grow exaggerated muscles. Don't be fooled by the anxiety on the Internet. Women's testosterone level is only one-twentieth of men, so it is difficult to build big muscles.

Oh, by the way, don't believe in the saying that "muscle soreness is the result of good practice." Sometimes if you control your movements well, you may only have slight soreness the next day, and the effect is not bad. When I practiced isometric contractions before, I was not sore at all the next day, but my strength increased a lot. This thing is really not absolute.

What many people tend to overlook is that at least half of the effect of strength training lies in recovery management. Many novices go to the gym every day when they first get started. Not only do their scores not improve after two months of practice, but they become more and more tired as they practice. This is because they don't understand that "muscles grow during rest." There has always been a lot of controversy about supplements. Some people say that protein powder is an IQ tax, and some people say that you can’t train well if you don’t drink protein powder. In fact, as long as your daily protein intake is enough (1.6-2.2g per kilogram of body weight per day), there is no problem eating normally. Around me There is a pure vegetarian powerlifter who relies on soy products and nuts to supplement protein, and can deadlift up to 220kg. Of course, if you are busy at work and don’t have time to cook chicken breasts, a spoonful of protein powder is a convenient source of protein. There is no need to worry about right or wrong. As for sleep, it is best to ensure 7-9 hours. Last year, I worked on a project and stayed up until 1 o'clock every day. I practiced bench pressing for two months and lost 5kg. It was really a lesson of blood and tears.

To be honest, I have been practicing for almost 8 years, and I have seen too many people struggling with the method and details for half a year without starting to move. It is really unnecessary. Beginners don't need to be so complicated at the beginning. They can practice 4-5 compound movements 3 days a week. Leave 1-2 reps before failure in each group and slowly increase the weight. It's better than anything else. If you encounter a bottleneck after practicing for a while, it is better to change the method and adjust it than to stand still and struggle. Oh, by the way, don’t get injured by blindly rushing the weight. Last year, I had a waist flash when trying to deadlift the limit. It took me three months to get better. The gain outweighs the loss. The standard of movement is always more important than the weight.