What are the elements of strength training?

If you really want to understand the core elements of strength training, there are not so many fancy rules and regulations uploaded on the Internet. In essence, you can capture the three core elements of "payload in the adaptation phase", "movement patterns that do not cause compensation" and "recovery management to match the training volume". Basically, you will not go astray. The rest of the set intervals, differentiation frequency, dietary supplements, etc. are all details adjusted around these three.

A while ago, I met a young man who had just been training for more than three months. As soon as he entered the gym, he stared at other people's heavy weights with jealousy. He dared to press 90kg without any protection. When pressing, his waist was arched to the bench and his shoulders were buckled forward. As a result, his shoulders hurt so much that he couldn't lift them up the next day after training. It took him almost three weeks before he dared to slowly resume training. This is a typical example of prioritizing load higher than action patterns, which is completely the opposite.

In fact, when it comes to action patterns, we don’t have to adhere to textbook standards. After all, everyone’s bone proportions and joint mobility are different. For example, when a person with short legs and long waist does a deadlift, his stance will be wider than that of a person with long legs. As long as the waist and back are neutral, the line of force follows the hips, knees and ankles, and the weight is not put on the waist, it is not wrong. The fitness circle has been arguing for many years about "prioritize standard movements or gradual load progression". In fact, there is nothing to argue about. In the novice stage, joint stability and muscle recruitment have not been developed. You must first understand the movements thoroughly and then slowly increase the weight. Otherwise, if you are injured during the training and lie down for two or three months, you will have to start all over again. ； There is a veteran player with three to five years of training experience. It is normal for his movements to be slightly deformed when he occasionally pushes the extreme weight. There is no need to insist on the saying "if you are not standard, you will train in vain".

Speaking of effective load, heavier is not always better. It depends on your current training goals. If you want to increase your absolute strength, then the weight that can complete 1-6 times in each group is the effective load. If you focus on building muscle, then the weight that can do 8-12 times in each group and leave 1-2 times before failure is just right. Don’t push heavy weights just to look good. All you do is half-range movements. The muscles are not stimulated and the joints are damaged first.

Many people tend to neglect recovery and always feel that "the harder you train, the faster you will gain weight." I have also stepped into this trap before. In the second year of training, I went to the gym every day and practiced for ten days without taking a break. As a result, I was stuck at 140kg in deadlifts for two months and could not move. Later, I listened to the coach and changed it to three days of training and one rest day, and got enough sleep every day. For 8 hours, I supplemented the protein at 1.6g per kilogram of body weight, and within a month I had reached 150kg. To put it bluntly, strength and muscles are grown during rest, not when you lift iron. During training, the muscles are only torn down, and rest is the process of making them stronger.

As for how long to rest between sets, how many times to train a week, and whether to take supplements, etc., which everyone often discusses, actually all follow the three cores. When training heavy weights, the interval between sets should be extended to 3-5 minutes. For muscle endurance training, one minute is enough. There is no need to blindly copy the plans of Internet celebrities. Just adjust according to your own physical condition. If you really understand these three cores, it will be much more useful than hoarding a dozen training plans and buying a bunch of useless supplements.