Make some serious strength gains on your bench, squat and deadlift... and every other exercise too!
While building muscle mass can be a complicated endeavor involving numerous intensity techniques and a variety of training cycles, building muscle strength is much more straight forward.
The goal is simple - lift more weight!
Of course, achieving that endeavor may not be so simple. Unless you know what you're doing... as I do. If you follow my Three Prong Strong program, than getting stronger can be easy and simple. In a nutshell, this program is a step-wise progression from lighter weight and higher reps to very heavy weight and very low reps over a six-week period. The emphasis is on maximizing your one-rep max in the three big lifts: bench press (the true measure of upper body strength), the squat (the true measure of lower body strength) and the deadlift (the ultimate test of overall body strength). Of course, you'll also get stronger on just about every other exercise you do too, such as shoulder presses, leg presses, barbell curls, close-grip bench presses, even calf raises.
The program starts with sets of 8 reps being done with a weight that is about 80% of your one-rep max (80% RM) on each of the three major exercises, or a weight that you find you can do for eight reps on the exercises that you don't test your one-rep max on.
Then after those first two weeks, the reps drop down in weeks three and four to 5 reps per set with a weight increase to about 85% RM. Then in the final two weeks the weight increases to 95% RM as reps drop down to only 2 per set. Then you retest your one rep max on all three exercises the week following this final week of training. Although the training program is a six-week plan, this will actually take you eight weeks. That's because the week before you start the program you will want to test your one-rep max on the bench press, squat and deadlift. Then the week after the program ends, you will retest your one-rep max on these lifts.
Getting stronger is not just about lifting heavier weight. Sure, that's a big part of it, but you also need to develop power.
The more power you have the better you can explode out of the bottom of a squat or bench press. And that starting power can make all the difference in lifting an extra 20 pounds on the bar or not. So in addition to the stepwise progression of lifting heavier weight for fewer reps, you will also spend one workout each week lifting fairly light weight for fewer reps. But the key is that you will be performing these reps as fast and as explosively as possible. This is the key to building the kind of power that will crossover to more strength. And when you combine heavy lifting with explosive power lifting, you have a deadly combination for building pure, raw strength.
Even if you're more interested in adding an extra inch or two to your biceps than adding 20-40 pounds on your bench press, that does not mean that this program has nothing to offer you.
Quite the contrary. It is true that lifting with a weight that allows you to complete about 8-12 reps is the best range for building muscle. However, you can't stick with 8-12 reps forever. After about 8 weeks or so of using this rep range your muscles will start to stagnate as they grow accustom to the workouts using the same weight and rep ranges. The workouts are no longer a challenge for them and they stop responding. This is why changing up your rep ranges and weights, as well as your entire program is a good idea. It's not just a good idea, it's the only idea that will keep you growing.
Are you ready for the growth of your muscles? Be a part of the MED training program by Jim Stoppani and get better nutrition and supplementation for your muscles.
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