Building muscle is phenomenal, but muscle without strength is like owning a sports car you never take out of first gear. Strength training takes those muscles and teaches them to do something—push more weight, pull with more force, and handle whatever challenges you throw at your body.
To help us cut through the noise and get to the facts, we’re bringing back our favorite guest lecturer: Mike Young, Ph.D., Kinesiology, Director of Performance & Sports Science at Athletic Lab in Morrisville, NC. He’ll help explain what strength training is, how it works, and how to do it the right way.
By the end of this session, you’ll understand the principles of getting stronger, know which lifts should anchor your program, and walk away with a clear plan for building strength that lasts.
Class is back in session.
What Strength Training Really Is
Strength training, in simple scientific terms, is training your body to produce more force. According to Dr. Young, “Strength training is focused on training the body to produce higher levels of force. This is most optimally achieved through training that emphasizes high load (typically above 85% of your one-rep max), low repetitions, and sufficient rest between sets.”
For the average person, building strength means improving the ability to lift, carry, push, and pull with stability and control. It’s about making daily life easier and maintaining independence as you age. For athletes, strength is more specific. Dr. Young explains, “For athletes, true strength is more nuanced and much more task-specific. Typically, we’re concerned with maximal force output, explosiveness, and the ability to generate high force quickly.”
Much of the strength you gain early on is not from adding muscle but from improving how your nervous system works. These are called neuromuscular adaptations. Your body learns to recruit more muscle fibers, fire them more efficiently, and reduce the natural “brakes” that limit force output. In other words, your nervous system gets better at using the muscles you already have.
There are two ways to measure strength:
- Absolute strength: The total amount of force you can produce, regardless of body weight.
- Relative strength: How strong you are for your size; pound-for-pound performance.
Dr. Young notes that larger individuals tend to excel in absolute strength. In contrast, relative strength is critical for athletes in weight-class sports or anyone who wants strength without unnecessary mass.
The Core Principles of Strength Training
Strength training requires a different approach than hypertrophy. Rather than chasing a pump or training with higher volume, you’re teaching your body to produce maximum force with heavy loads. Dr. Young lays out the key principles:
- Load: Strength training works best with heavy weights. Dr. Young explains, “This is most optimally achieved through training that emphasizes high load, typically above 85% of your one-rep max.”
- Reps: Keep your repetitions low. Most working sets should stay in the 3–6 rep range.
- Sets: Aim for 3–10 sets per exercise, depending on your experience and recovery ability.
- Rest: Recovery between sets is critical. Rest for 2–5 minutes between heavy lifts to allow near-complete recovery.
- Frequency: Train 3–5 days per week, focusing on 3–5 compound lifts each session.
- Progressive Overload: Increase weight by 3–5% each week or add 1–2 reps per set, but only when every rep is completed with good technique.
- Technical Proficiency: Heavy loads demand excellent form. “Proficiency ensures that the right muscles are loaded, joint stress is minimized, and progress is sustainable,” says Dr. Young.
These principles work together to build strength safely and effectively. When in doubt, prioritize quality over quantity and treat technique as a non-negotiable part of training.
Per Bernal
Foundational Strength Movements
Compound lifts are the backbone of any solid strength program. These multi-joint movements engage large amounts of muscle mass, allow you to lift heavier loads, and create the most significant return on your training.
- Squat: This is the gold standard for developing lower-body strength. Squats train the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and core while improving stability and mobility through the hips and knees.
- Deadlift: Deadlifts teach you how to generate force from the ground up. They build powerful posterior-chain strength across the glutes, hamstrings, and back while reinforcing proper lifting mechanics.
- Lunge: Single-leg work like lunges develops strength imbalances, enhances stability, and adds a functional element to your lower-body training that carries over to sports and daily life.
- Bench Press or Overhead Press: These pressing variations build upper-body strength across the chest, shoulders, and triceps. They also improve pushing mechanics and shoulder stability.
- Pull-Up: Pull-ups develop upper-back, arm, and grip strength while teaching you how to control your body weight, an essential component of relative stability.
- Clean Pull: This Olympic lifting derivative builds explosive hip and leg drive while improving your ability to generate force quickly. It is also an excellent accessory for athletes who need power in addition to strength.
A strength program built around these movements will develop total-body capacity that translates well beyond the weight room.
Per Bernal / M+F Magazine
The 3-Day Full-Body Strength Training Workout Program
These templates follow Dr. Young’s recommendations for sets, reps, rest, and frequency. They center on heavy compound lifts while adding a small amount of accessory work to support weak points and overall balance.
Day 1
- Back Squat: 5 sets, 5 reps
- Bench Press: 5 sets, 5 reps
- Barbell Row: 4sets, 6 reps
- Plank: 3 sets, 45–60 sec.
- Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets, 10-12 reps
Day 2
- Deadlift: 4 sets, 4 reps
- Overhead Press: 4 sets, 6 reps
- Pull-Up (weighted if possible): 4 sets, 6 reps
- Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets, 8 reps
- Side Plank: 3 sets, 30–45 sec. (each side)
Day 3
- Front Squat: 4 sets, 5 reps
- Incline Bench Press: 4 sets, 6 reps
- Pull-Up or Lat Pulldown: 4 sets, 6 reps
- Walking Lunge: 3 sets, 8 reps (each leg)
- Tricep Rope Pushdown: 3 sets, 10-12 reps
The 4-Day Upper/Lower Strength Split For Intermediate Trainers
Day 1 – Upper
- Bench Press: 5 sets, 4 reps
- Pull-Up (weighted if possible): 5 sets, 4 reps
- Barbell Row: 4 sets, 6 reps
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 3 sets, 10-12 reps
- Hammer Curl: 3 sets, 10-12 reps
Day 2 – Lower
- Back Squat: 5 sets, 5 reps
- Romanian Deadlift: 4 sets, 6 reps
- Walking Lunge: 3 sets, 8 reps (each leg)
- Glute Bridge: 3 sets, 10 reps
- Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets, 12-15 reps
Day 3 – Upper
- Overhead Press: 5 sets, 4 reps
- Incline Bench Press: 4 sets, 6 reps
- Chest-Supported Row: 4 sets, 6 reps
- Triceps Overhead Extension: 3 sets, 10-12 reps
- Face Pull: 3 sets, 12-15 reps
Day 4 – Lower
- Deadlift: 4 sets, 4 reps
- Front Squat: 4 sets, 5 reps
- Bulgarian Split Squat: 3 sets, 8 reps (each leg)
- Nordic Hamstring Curl (or leg curl): 3 sets, 8 reps
- Hanging Knee Raise: 3 sets, 10-12 reps
Programming Notes
- Intensity: Keep loads heavy, roughly 85%+ of your 1-rep max, while maintaining perfect form.
- Rest: Take 2–5 minutes between heavy sets and 60–90 seconds for accessories.
- Progression: Increase load by 3–5% weekly or add 1–2 reps per set when form is solid.
- Cycle Length: Stick to these movements for 4–6 weeks, then adjust as needed.
LightField Studios / Shutterstock
Mistakes That Kill Strength Progress
Strength training is simple, but simple does not mean easy. Plenty of lifters spend months in the gym without getting stronger because they overlook the fundamentals or get stuck in bad habits. These mistakes do more than slow progress; they can lead to injuries, burnout, or both.
If your goal is lasting strength, avoid these common pitfalls:
Skipping the basics for fancy lifts: The core compound movements will give you the most significant strength return. Do not waste most of your session on advanced variations until you master the fundamentals.
- Neglecting technique: Strength training is unforgiving at heavy loads. Poor form turns every rep into a risk and limits your ability to progress. If your technique breaks down, drop the weight and fix it.
- Training too often or too heavily: More is not always better. Lifting near your max every week or piling on extra sessions will burn you out fast. Strength gains require recovery, not constant maxing out.
- Overemphasizing accessory work: Accessories support your main lifts, but they are not the star of the show. Do them after your heavy compound work, not instead of it.
- Ignoring recovery: Strength is built outside the gym. Sleep 7–9 hours per night, schedule rest days, and use deload weeks to keep your body fresh and ready for heavy lifting.
Final Exam: Key Takeaways
Every good class ends with a review. Strength 101 is no different. You now know what real strength training looks like, how to structure it, and what mistakes to avoid. Before you leave the classroom, here are the essentials to remember:
Strength training is about teaching your body to produce more force using heavy loads and low reps.
Focus on compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, presses, pull-ups, and lunges to build a foundation of total-body strength.
Train in the 3–6 rep range for 3–10 sets per lift, resting 2–5 minutes between sets for full recovery.
Progress by adding 3–5% load weekly or increasing reps, but only when technique stays sharp.
Strength grows with recovery. Get 7–9 hours of sleep, schedule rest days, and use deload weeks to keep progress sustainable.
Class dismissed. In the next installment, we’ll tackle the next pillar of training and keep building your back-to-school curriculum for long-term results.
