If I want to build muscle, it doesn’t matter what kind of training I do. The main thing to do is strength training … isn’t it?
Power as a vague term?
At first glance, it seems clear what is meant when one speaks of strength: someone is physically powerful, strong even. But the closer you look, the more blurred the thing becomes: because strength can unfold in different ways.
And if you also consider that people often talk about strength when they actually mean muscle mass (“someone is built strongly”), things get even more confusing. Why aren’t larger muscles automatically stronger?
What role does strength play in muscle building?
In the context of bodyforming or bodybuilding it is usually a matter of achieving an increase in muscle mass (hypertrophy of the skeletal muscles). Strength plays an important but subordinate role: it is necessary to train hard enough to stimulate muscle growth. However, this training is somewhat different from a targeted training on strength: You train with sub-maximum load in the range of about 60% to 90% of the maximum weight for a single repetition and complete about 6 to 15 repetitions.
When looking at bodybuilding as a competitive sport at the latest, it becomes clear that not the strongest bodybuilder wins, but the one with the best musculature – and with good charisma on stage. Putting this on the hobby athlete could mean that: It is not the power output during the exercises in the studio that is decisive, but the image in the mirror.
Nevertheless, strength plays an essential role in training, which is why we will look at the different types of strength training below.
What types of strength training are there?
Strength training has different forms and characteristics. In general, a distinction can be made between maximum strength, rapid strength and strength endurance. With the maximum strength there is again a distinction, namely in dynamic and static maximum strength.
To get a better idea, here is a small list of the different types of strength training including examples:
- Dynamic maximum strength: e.g. push, shift, pull
- Static maximum strength: e.g. hold, press
- Rapid strength: e.g. jumping force, impact force
- Strength endurance: e.g. sprint strength endurance
What kind of strength training is suitable for what?
The choice of the right type of strength training for the respective objective depends on the characteristics of the individual types of strength training.
As the name suggests, maximum strength is suitable for increasing one’s own strength. This often results in muscle growth, which is why it is usually used in the context of the objective of muscle building. Specifically, in training the maximum strength per exercise, about four sets of 3 to 5 repetitions each should be performed. Accordingly, the weight should be chosen in such a way that the number of sets and repetitions can be achieved using the maximum force. Due to the high weights, it is particularly important to ensure that the exercises are performed correctly.
If you want to be able to activate as much strength as possible in as short a time as possible, you should focus on fast strength training. Fast, explosive movements are the order of the day. Each exercise consists of about 5 sets of 8 repetitions, whereby the weight should be about 30% of the maximum weight.
In comparison, strength endurance is mostly used to increase general fitness. A large number of repetitions are performed with a relatively low weight. Each exercise consists of 3 sets of about 30 repetitions each. The breaks between the sets should be kept as small as possible with about 30 seconds.
Historical recommendations of “Dr. Squat” Fred Hatfield
Dr. Frederick C. Hatfield (1942 to 2017), known as “Dr. Squat”, was a sports scientist who knew how to combine theory with practice: as a powerlifter, he mastered a knee bend of 1,008 pounds on his shoulders in 1986 – despite various injuries before. So his nickname didn’t come by chance: this man definitely knew what he was talking about.
And what was his recommendation for training on strength? It should be 5 sets of 5 repetitions each. So never under 4, but also not over 6 or 7 repetitions. And this with a weight, which can be mastered just before the onset of exhaustion.
Back-breaking work, indeed. But in the end we are also talking about strength training in this article, aren’t we?
Note: Dr. Fred Hatfield was one of the mentors of John Comereski, who in 1992 wrote his article on the different regeneration times of the individual muscle groups.
