How to Increase Strength Effectively
We use strength as a key performance indicator in the gym. It's the easiest and most logical way to measure progress/performance. If your strength is increasing, you have the capacity to also increase volume and in turn your lean mass (LBM) is increasing.
Lift BIG, Get STRONG (High Intensity)
To lift heavy weight you need to get comfortable under heavy loads. You can't expect to be able to increase your load capacity by continually lifting at sub-optimal intensity levels for sub-optimal repetitions (I.e. 50-60% x 8-10). If you’re doing this regularly then suddenly try to jump to 80-95% of your 1RM you'll get a shock mentally and your nervous system won't be able to take the load.
Assuming you’re comfortable with your form/technique and don't have any special considerations ... Get under those HEAVY loads and perfect your form while continuing to increase the weight. Lifting light weight with good form just makes you good at lifting light weight; you'll get to the point where that good form won't carry over to your heavier lifts as you’re not use to the intensity.
PRACTICE makes PERFECT (Frequency)
There's a lot to be said about frequency. If you’re struggling with a lift and only performing it once a week, you only get 52 chances a year to get better at it. Start performing this lift 2-3 times per week using different forms of progressive overload and you'll get 104-156 chances a year to perfect your form and get stronger at it.
Break FORM to create FORM
Don't be afraid of things get ugly when trying to reach for a new PB. Sometimes to break through a plateau we have to push through and our lift may breakdown technically, but if your testing and looking for a true-max, it's not always going to be pretty. You can always dial it back after setting the new performance indicator and tidy it up from there.
Seeing Progress
Remember progress is in the gym is simple to see. You should be able to track your workouts and see where you’re getting stronger and if not, figure out why. Although progress is never linear, you should be aiming for each workout to be better than the next.
We do 60 minute coaching sessions to assess your strength and correct any issues with your technique in-house at our private strength facility.