A Simple Path to Stronger Muscles

Below is a very easy to manage progression that will allow you to break through strength plateaus with resistance training:

(This two-week template assumes you’re strength-training twice weekly.)

Workout 1

1. Choose one exercise for each major body part. Muscle groups I address with clients are: Lower Body, Upper Back, Chest, Shoulders, Biceps and Triceps. See a good selection of exercise choices for each body part here.
2. Select a resistance level that exhausts the targeted muscles at around 20 repetitions. Note actual number of repetitions completed.
3. Perform one set of each exercise with perfect form to absolute failure, or complete exhaustion. Maintain proper posture, correct line of movement and a smooth, rhythmic cadence throughout the set.

Workout 2

1. Follow steps 1 and 3 above.
2. Select a resistance level that exhausts the targeted muscles around 10 repetitions (try roughly 30% more resistance than you used in Workout 1).

Workout 3

1. Same as above but choose a resistance level that is roughly 60% more than what you used in Workout  1.  That should have you challenged to complete a handful (4-6) of repetitions.

Workout  4

1. Repeat Workout 1 counting repetitions to failure. Note improvement. Divide additional reps by base number completed (i.e., 18 reps completed workout 1, 21 reps completed workout 4 = 3/18 = .167 = approximately 17% strength increase.

Why does this progression work?

Muscles can easily adapt to training at the endurance end (moderate loads for a two minutes or more) or the power end (heavy loads for a few to several seconds) of the strength continuum when you train using the same approach for many workouts. That means a stall after a few workouts. But moving the training approach through a progression that emphasizes different types of muscle capacity keeps the muscles in a more continuous state of adaptation.

That means stronger, firmer, healthier muscles.

You want?

Dan is a nationally certified personal fitness trainer and former continuing education faculty member of the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise. He is the owner and head trainer at Tri Valley Trainer, which provides personal and small group fitness training and nutrition guidance. He can be reached at Dan@TriValleyTrainer.com.