How do you get stronger...Really

[Niall Robb]

I have heard a lot of theories on how to get stronger. I know that six reps will get you stronger than ten or eight and training to failure is better than not and doing two rep sets are used by some strength trainers but No one has ever just laid it all out. What is the best way to get stronger. How many reps- sets- exercises- days are the standard?
Yes, I know there are a lot of things that get your stronger but what is the "best way"?
And how come there are no power lifting magazines out there?

[Mike Westerling]

Training 3 times per week. Each movement pattern once. Keeping the exercises basic. Doing 3-5 reps and always trying to do just a bit more than last time. Even on events I rarely try and make a big jump. I just try to beat last week by a little every week.
-Mike

[James Whisman]

There is not "best way" and anyone who tells you there is will probably try and sell you their product shortly after. What works for some won't work for others but there are some ground rules (these are mine, other people will have other rules).

1. Do mostly multi-joint movements (DL, Squat, Presses, Pulls)
2. Keep reps low <6, although occationally adding in 20 reppers doesn't hurt. I personally shoot for 15-25 (work) sets per workout but some people do more
3. Maintain a progressive overload - you have to continually do more then before to maintain strength gains
4. Rest - Eat - Sleep
5. Be patient, Rome was not built in a day

Keep a log, keep asking questions and train hard

[Russell Selcho]

There is a powerlifting magazine out there, it is called powerlifting USA and I have only found it in a few bookstores. There is also Strength magazine but I have never seen it at a bookstore, it focuses more on strongman and grip.

[Jamie McEwan]

"1. Do mostly multi-joint movements (DL, Squat, Presses, Pulls)
2. Keep reps low <6, although occationally adding in 20 reppers doesn't hurt. I personally shoot for 15-25 (work) sets per workout but some people do more
3. Maintain a progressive overload - you have to continually do more then before to maintain strength gains
4. Rest - Eat - Sleep
5. Be patient, Rome was not built in a day

Keep a log, keep asking questions and train hard"

Just thought I'd post that again. :)

[Niall Robb]

I did not mean "best" way as much as the most accepted, mainstream way. Sorry about that one.

so 15-25 sets (not including warm up sets 15-25 reps) of 2-5 reps emphasizing on major muscle group lifts.

Is this right?
Rest time still a minute between sets?
And this is FBWs right? Not one or two body parts per day?
I would have a really hard time giving up cardio or even giving up six workouts a week. Can I still isolate parts day by day, or is 3 FBWs a week just the way that it is most commonly done?

[Ryan Rhodes]

With regards to making strength gains, the importance of a good experienced training partner has always been, imo, underestimated. Lucky for you there are many great places to train and great people to train with and learn from in WA.

[James Whisman]

For strength rest is 3-10 min

Isolating a body part is a BB concept, this will not get you strong, not to mention if you were isolating a body part where would cleans & snatches go. Read some of the WO logs on this site. There are some guys who squat everyday for a week. Building strength and building a physique are very different in theory an in practice.

[davebeers]

take a little bit of information from everbody....don't listen completely to one person..even if their big and strong.

Everything works..nothing works for long.

[Joshua Davis]

You do the opposite of whatever I am doing. At any given time. :BB:

[Rus Mandery]

Lift heavy weights, pause repeat. Do this enough and you will get strong, it's not too complicated.
Good Luck! :BP:

[Patrick McGuffin]

I would have a really hard time giving up cardio or even giving up six workouts a week. Can I still isolate parts day by day, or is 3 FBWs a week just the way that it is most commonly done?

You can do it many ways , alot of people split it up into a few main workouts, maybe an upper body, lower body and then event day. Then add in cardio on the off days. This seems to be one of the most popular for alot of strongman competitors. Others prefer a more oly based template where they do lots of olympic lifts, squats, and are constantly using alot of volume working on technique and explosive strength. Usually with 6-10 workouts a week. Speed is important for them so they also work in lots of plyos and speed developement. Others simply go for brute strength and go with a pl type workout where they have a day for each of the big lifts. There is also the westside principle where they add in a day of explosive training to help gain more power (ie: strenght x speed= power) in all their lifts to help power through sticking points ect ect. It really depends on what you want to accomplish. What type of strength are you looking for is the question I guess, once you know that you will be able to find what best suits you.

[Brandon Campbell]

haha theres so technique to getting strong, Like said above lift something heavy and repeat. This doesnt mean try and max out every set. But dont be sitting there squating 135 lbs for 6 when you cna do like 275 for 6.

There is no good way because everyone is very different. The best way to go about it is experiment with your workouts and see what works best for you. main idea is to focus on lifts that incorporate a wide range at muscles at once. Curls is not one of these lifts. LOL :FF:

[Paul Savage]

haha theres so technique to getting strong, Like said above lift something heavy and repeat. This doesnt mean try and max out every set. But dont be sitting there squating 135 lbs for 6 when you cna do like 275 for 6.

There is no good way because everyone is very different. The best way to go about it is experiment with your workouts and see what works best for you. main idea is to focus on lifts that incorporate a wide range at muscles at once. Curls is not one of these lifts. LOL :FF:
dont agree that you should not do curls - better off doing log curls if you have one but a cheat barbell curl with a slow neg is a great exercise for the biceps too, and strong biceps are needed for strongman, correct?

[JohnCarlsson]

All workout programs dont amount to sh%$ if you dont have the right training enviroment. If your goal is to get stronger you have to find a hardcore gym where people are doing just that.

[Brandon Campbell]

dont agree that you should not do curls - better off doing log curls if you have one but a cheat barbell curl with a slow neg is a great exercise for the biceps too, and strong biceps are needed for strongman, correct?


Yea biceps are needed for strongman, but with event training and back exercises they get more then enough work. I think i do curls once a month if that. And they are more then strong enough from just doing events. i wouldnt recomend barbell curls as they put your arm in a bad position, i would agree with the log curls though which is just a hammer curl.

Basically what i was saying is dont focus on curls, and leave out the more important lifts. As the biceps will get enough work from other lifts

[davebeers]

I have heard a lot of theories on how to get stronger. I know that six reps will get you stronger than ten or eight and training to failure is better than not and doing two rep sets are used by some strength trainers but No one has ever just laid it all out. What is the best way to get stronger. How many reps- sets- exercises- days are the standard?
Yes, I know there are a lot of things that get your stronger but what is the "best way"?
And how come there are no power lifting magazines out there?
Well...you're never gonna get something that's laid out for you. First off, you've got a whole bunch of guys with different genetic abilities giving you advice. Genetics matters in strength training. Second, everyone needs different things to get stronger. Somebody mentioned a good training environment and someone mentioned a training partner as being imperative for getting stronger. Those two things i have never needed as i train by myself in the back of a building or in my garage.
Also, what took my squat from 400 to 500 is not the same thing that took it from 500 to 600 and so on. You've got to find what works for you, its hard and its a trial and error game but that's just the way it is.
Also, i heard no one touch on nutrition yet...which imo is 70% of strength gains. If you don't fuel your body you can't expect it to pop out pr's.....then again some guys do still pop out pr's and that goes back to genetics. Some people can do all the wrong things and still get stronger....that's why i said to listen to everybody but only take a little from everybody cause its often the biggest and/or strongest guys that will lead you down the wrong path.

[Dan Harrison]

Eat Red Baron pizzas and pray to Odin every day.

[Joshua Davis]

Eat Red Baron pizzas and pray to Odin every day.

I did that years ago when I was a 430lb D&D nerd, and the only things that were strong about me was my odor and alcohol tolerance.

[Brett Hagmann]

read as much as you can on this forum, magazines, and research articles. pick up things from as many people as you can because if you take something from everyone then you are a well rounded athlete.

in the gym focus on the cleans, snatches, squats, and presses and ABs!

if your training for strongman, well....ask Jesse...haha

ps...work on your weaknesses! Get the form right and just fight it.

[davebeers]

Eat Red Baron pizzas and pray to Odin every day.
uhhh...Dan, next time you're down we're gonna talk nutrition.

[Mike Pelosi]

Here are just somethings that fit into it all (In my humble oppinnon).

Learn how to strain against weight. My mentors made this an essential part. A max effort lift can last anywhere from 3-5 seconds. My 630 squat at the New England Record Breakers was a 5 second lift.


Prehab/Rehab: Deal with injuries as they come, but do what you can to prevent them. Thank the Lord I have not been injured to badly yet, except my biceps are screaming and pulsating since this strongman training.


Train smart: A huge problem I am begginng to realize I am having is training to hard to frequently. Its working good, but hindering my training in other ways. I can't lift light, everything has to be heavy. My training partner, who is pretty good at his stuff, wrote out a plan and i saw 65 percent in their on one of our Log pressing days...I was appauled lol


OK, enough of this jibber-jabber, go lift something heavy and put your local buffet out of business

,
mike pelosi

[Stephen Calhoun]

Hello, fellow new guy here. i have only been lifting since feb of this year. I have spent countless hours researching the question you have asked. and I am still looking for the answer for me.

The guys here have been great, but everyone here says something different, which is ok. You have to find what works best for you. I started out with a more traditional BB type work out routines only because i could make very little since out of all the strong man training variations. with a basic routine being used i slowly modified it as i continued to learn from the this site and from my body. as time went on I had to dig deeper into me and start modifieing it to suit my wants and needs as far as my strong man goals. Being new I focus on basic moves/lifts and muscle groups.

My routine is always open for modification as i gain strength. And I know the stronger I get the more i will modify it to suite my ever changeing needs. many of the lifts i started with I do not do any more and I know as my core lifts become stronger there will be lifts that i will add.
As soon as i can find some extra time i am going to post my work out routine on the form so that other newbys can see where I started from and learn from it also.

As time goes by it will all start to make more since....honest.

[Joshua Davis]

I am gonna let you guys in on a little secret...

Many of us have forgotten what it was like to still be a newb. Since I have only been into this stuff for a comparitively brief amount of time (4 years or so), but was lucky enough to be in touch with guys that knew their stuff, let me tell you how I built up my base.

1. Perform compound lifts. Think quality over quantity - i.e. you aren't at the level where doing 5 leg excercises at the gym will do you anything better than a good squat session. Same goes for pressing and pulling. You don't need to hit overhead presses, then biceps, then incline bench, etc... just do some presses until you can't.

2. Don't neglect excercises you hate. "Painfully Difficult" lifts are painfully difficult because you lack the strength to do them. I had this problem with deadlifts when I started out, and I am still falling behind in this lift, although getting much better at them now that I love them.

3. Get enough rest! This flies in the face of most of the training principles touted here, including my own personal methods of training which normally encompass 5-6 days per week of relatively heavy training. However, I have had years to listen to my body and become familiar with what I can do (yet still frequently over-do it). You, however, do not, as far as weightlifting is concerned. However, something that works for EVERYBODY, not just you, me, or even Jesse, is training around 3 times per week, and sleeping/eating as much as possible in-between.

4. Nutrition is overrated when you are starting out. I love Dave to death, but I have to disagree with his assessment that 70% of strength training is nutrition. My suggestion is for you to pickup a cheap protein powder, drink it after you train, and don't touch anything else for a whole year, at least. Otherwise, if you are a skinny bastard, eat as much dense food as you can, steak, chops, cheese, whole milk, veggies, whole wheat bread, whatever wholesome foods float your boat.

5. Conditioning is a bad word to many powerlifters, so they changed it to the term "GPP". Either way, if you can squat 500lbs, but can't climb a flight of stairs, are you really that strong? Mobility will improve your health, which should improve your lifting. Don't neglect your conditioning. If you are interested in any athletic strength endeavor, you'll become familiar with conditioning or die trying.


Finally, I suggest you get a handful of books on training. I would not advice them to be bodybuilding books or magazines. I strongly suggest "Dinosaur Training" by Brooks Kubik, as well as "The Complete Keys To Progress" by John McCallum for anyone starting out.

[chrisklavette]

I have been lifting for about 6 years now. I am just now realizing that I have a lot to learn. At least I know that much. One thing I do know is, eat and sleep. :EP:

[chrisklavette]

I realized I do have advice. Deadlift, deadlift until your arms fall off. I just started this lift (2 years ago) and I feel like there should be an anniversary party for the first time I deadlifted.

[dave barron]

"The Complete Keys To Progress" by John McCallum

Dig it man, like, that's some way cool reading, daddy-o. Like, the body beautiful, man!

[Mike Westerling]

4. Nutrition is overrated when you are starting out. I love Dave to death, but I have to disagree with his assessment that 70% of strength training is nutrition. My suggestion is for you to pickup a cheap protein powder, drink it after you train, and don't touch anything else for a whole year, at least. Otherwise, if you are a skinny bastard, eat as much dense food as you can, steak, chops, cheese, whole milk, veggies, whole wheat bread, whatever wholesome foods float your boat.

Without the proper building blocks for your body to operate at 100% efficiency how can you hope to make great progress? If you are deficient in anything your progress will be slowed and who the heck wants that. Also, good eating habits are probably the hardest thing to learn and even harder to have the discipline to stick with (probably why so many of us are fat-myself included). For years I got by on eating everything in site and made good gains. However, my recovery is so much better when eating clean healthy whole foods and therefore I can train harder, longer and more often. I have fallen again and again into the "If I eat everything in site I will get all I need" mentality and once again I need to start cleaning up my diet and get rid of the spare tire. Learn how to eat and the sooner the better. Develop the discipline to eat right and you will be well ahead of the game.
-Mike

[Ben Booker]

I just try to beat last week by a little every week.
-Mike

Yep on the beat the last week.

Train hard, eat constantly, and get a little better every time (this is what work for my goal). As far as reps, sets, and days I found what personally works for my goal the best and went with that.

[Ben Booker]

I realized I do have advice. Deadlift, deadlift until your arms fall off. I just started this lift (2 years ago) and I feel like there should be an anniversary party for the first time I deadlifted.

HAHA....I like the meatwaud avatar.

[Joshua Davis]

Without the proper building blocks for your body to operate at 100% efficiency how can you hope to make great progress? If you are deficient in anything your progress will be slowed and who the heck wants that. Also, good eating habits are probably the hardest thing to learn and even harder to have the discipline to stick with (probably why so many of us are fat-myself included). For years I got by on eating everything in site and made good gains. However, my recovery is so much better when eating clean healthy whole foods and therefore I can train harder, longer and more often. I have fallen again and again into the "If I eat everything in site I will get all I need" mentality and once again I need to start cleaning up my diet and get rid of the spare tire. Learn how to eat and the sooner the better. Develop the discipline to eat right and you will be well ahead of the game.
-Mike

Reread my post Mike. I think you missunderstood what I said.

[Declan Mac Daid]

[


Finally, I suggest you get a handful of books on training. I would not advice them to be bodybuilding books or magazines. I strongly suggest "Dinosaur Training" by Brooks Kubik, as well as "The Complete Keys To Progress" by John McCallum for anyone starting out.[/QUOTE]

This is THE best book, read it cover to cover and then read it again.

Dec

[Niall Robb]

I probably should have said in my first post that I have been a bodybuilder for almost six years and have been an athlete for about nine. I have read hundreds of books on nutrition and athleticism. I am also very strong.

What I know about strength training is limited mostly to what bodybuilders have told me about it. My routine right now is

24 sets (give or take a few)
reps are
15-12
10
8
6
6
6
next exercise-- I go a bit lighter on shoulders and arms and legs are usually 15-20 for everything


Split is
chest
legs
back
off
shoulders
legs (kick workout- 1 hour of cardio)
arms
off
I do an intense cardio workout at least 4 times a week for 20-30 minutes plus a few minutes of exercise before starting or ending my day. I also do extra workouts a couple times a week because I am getting a bunch of my friends into shape. And I run to the gym and home from work several times a week. Routine, research, nutrition, habits of learning progress tracking and all that beginner stuff is not an issue.

I have been working out hard and dieting hard for a real long time. I am trying to get perspective on the differences of a strongman's training routine and a bodybuilders training routine. Not to start getting in shape!

You guys are all great though. I can tell that most of you have been doing this for a long time and can identify where your success has come from. I do not want for a second to belittle the advice. I just have never had so much trouble asking the right question before in my entire life.

lets try again-

I am a very strong bodybuilder and martial artist- I have been working out hard core for a bunch of years and I want to experiment with strongman techniques to supplement my current routine.

I would like to know what a standard strongman training routine looks like so I can see if I like it.

[Niall Robb]

[


Finally, I suggest you get a handful of books on training. I would not advice them to be bodybuilding books or magazines. I strongly suggest "Dinosaur Training" by Brooks Kubik, as well as "The Complete Keys To Progress" by John McCallum for anyone starting out.

This is THE best book, read it cover to cover and then read it again.

Dec[/QUOTE]


My house is a health and fitness library- but if this is a good strongman book I can look for it.

[Mac Smith]

don't know if it's been said or not, but the answer is simple... SQUAT!!!!

[Muscle Mom]

Niall Robb, how about reading the training journals on this forum? You can read what other strongmen/women are doing. Then post your own journal and let's see what happens when you incorporate strongman training into your strength training routine.

[Jim Glover]

don't know if it's been said or not, but the answer is simple... SQUAT!!!!

You want to hear something funny?

I've been training off and on for around 17 years and to this day I'd rather squat and deadlift until I puke than do a single bench press or curl.

I just can't make myself work through the pain and strain to improve my bench and yet I can squat until my head turns purple or I collapse.

This week I did 9 sets of 8 on squats (3 sets of overhead squats, 3 sets of front squats, 3 sets of back squats) and I can't make myself go to the gym to work upper body but I'd be willing to go out into the front yard and do carry and drags with my 230 lb sandbag and my 210 lbs of scrap metal on the end of a tow rope.

Is there something wrong with me?

Am I :F: