What is strength training? The way I view strength training is it is training your nervous system to become more efficient and utilize more of your muscle fibers. Muscle building is where you are tearing down muscle and then recovering (rebuilding) the muscle to be bigger.
With strength training, a 1-5 rep range generally will give proper stimulus to your nervous system and make you stronger.
For this routine, take your 1 rep max of your:
- Squat
- Bench
- Deadlift
- Barbell Row
- Barbell Overhead Press
Once you have your 1 rep max, I want you to take 80% of these numbers and use those weights as your starting weight. Our goal is to add 5 pounds to each exercise every week.
With strength training, you want to give yourself enough rest in between sets so you are ready to go again, but not so much rest that your muscles cool off and you start to lose focus. That is going to depend on you and your body so listen to your body and don’t be lazy.
Sample Workout Schedule
- OFF
- Workout A
- OFF
- Workout B
- OFF
- Workout C
- OFF
Strength training won’t have such high amounts of DOMS if any, so just because you are sore the next day won’t mean you are fully recovered. Your nervous system is a difficult monster and things like poor sleep, poor diet, and excess stress can cause your strength to go down. So eat good foods, get plenty of sleep, and keep your stress to the minimum you possibly can and lift heavy!
| Workout A | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Deadlift | 5 | 5 |
| Barbell Overhead Press | 5 | 5 |
| Barbell Shrugs | 3 | 8 |
| Face Pulls | 3 | 15 |
| Workout B | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Bench | 5 | 5 |
| Barbell Bent Over Row | 5 | 5 |
| Dumbbell Incline Bench | 3 | 8 |
| Tricep Extensions | 3 | 15 |
| Workout C | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Squats | 5 | 5 |
| Goblet Squats | 3 | 8 |
| Straight Leg Deadlifts | 3 | 8 |
| Curls | 3 | 15 |
As with any workout I write, plenty of food and plenty of recovery is going to give you the best results. Strive to add 5 pounds to your main exercises and work on getting stronger with your other exercises, they are all going to help create a good base of strength. Once you start lifting bigger numbers you will have to change your training to attack your weaknesses, but for now this workout is great for anyone trying to get stronger.
If you have any comments or questions, leave them below and I’ll get to them as soon as I can!
!!!MEENN, CUTTY¡¡¡¡¡ You don,t stop giving the best training tips. Do you?
I do my best to :)
Cutty
Curls in Workout C mean barbell curls? or hamstring curls?
Bicep curl exercise of your choice. Dumbbell, barbell, ez curl, whatever you’d like :)
Can you link for me a beginner program (one bodybuilding and another powerlifting program?)
What are the criteria that make someone a beginner or an intermediate or an advanced level ? How do I know a beginner program is no longer appropriate for me?
Here are the beginner workouts. Generally there’s no “set in stone” definition but if you’ve not been training for at least a year or two consistently and making some good progress, you’re still in beginner stage. Intermediates are when you can’t just add 5 more pounds to the bar every session, and advanced is elite level athletes.
If you’re making progress on a routine, keep with it.
Could goblet squats be replaced with sumo squats to hit quads, glutes and some minor hamstring work then finish them off with the SLDLs?
That sounds reasonable yes. Sorry it took so long to get back with ya!
Your workout routines are completely AWESOME Cutty! Thank you for sharing your wisdom and routines. I hope to see some more soon and God bless!!!
Thank you for the kind words Greg. I hope to see you around!
AWESOME workout plan Cutty, thank you so much. Can you plz tell me how I can upgrade it to an intermediate program. Cheers
The only difference between beginner and intermediate is your base strength and knowledge lifting. Try the workout as it is, lower rest times, and push hard. If you feel your weak points, add in some work to address that and progress.
Once you are unable to add weight to the bar, you can start doing periodization to help stimulate growth and strength gains.