How to improve muscle strength

How to increase muscle strength without making the muscles bigger? Here I will teach you several exercise methods. If these methods can be fully used, they can effectively increase our muscle strength without increasing the range of the muscles. In fact, the size of the strength is not completely determined by the muscles, but if we do strength training regularly, we can indeed exercise our muscles.

1. Weightlifting

Lifting weights (>90% 1RM) can increase strength by achieving so-called high-threshold power units. These muscle fibers associated with the power units have the greatest potential for increasing your strength. However, they tire quickly. Maximal lifts are best used with multi-joint movements (e.g., squats, deadlifts, bench presses, pulls). Even though the weight is heavy, your goal is to move the weight as quickly as possible. This will ensure that you get a lot of fast-twitch muscle fibers.

2. Explosive lifting

High-speed lifts (e.g., squats, fast deadlifts, and fast bench presses) are the best lifts for increasing acceleration and developing strength. Use a load of 60% of your 1RM and move as fast as possible. Additional resistance (e.g., tension bands or chains) can also be added to further challenge your ability to accelerate loads. The most common explosive exercises are the Olympic lifts (e.g., the clean and jerk and the snatch), however, medicine ball throws and kettlebell swings also fall into this category.

3. Plyometric training

Also known as jump training, plyometric training involves jumping and leaping exercises that develop and exploit the stretch-shortening cycle. The stretch-shortening cycle teaches the body to better utilize stored elastic energy to produce stronger and more powerful contractions. This improved responsiveness could also be explained by improved tendon stiffness. You can use continuous bodyweight hurdle jumps or continuous dumbbell jump squats as bodyweight or weighted plyometric exercises.

4. Reduce quantity

A common number for building strength and size is 5X5; this rep and set scheme can be dropped to 2-3 sets to reduce the potential for muscle growth. Lowering the volume and focusing on lifting speed will have a better training effect, improving strength and power rather than muscle growth. At the same time, your strength training frequency will be reduced from the traditional 4-5 times a week to 1-3 times a week depending on actual conditions.

5. Sprint training

Sprint training is the best way to develop running speed and responsiveness. Timed short or hill sprints (linear) or agility drills (multi-directional) will help increase running and stopping power.

6. Contrast training

Combine contrast training, plyometric training, and high-intensity training in the same training session. The physiological mechanism of this training method is post-activation potentiation (PAP). Basically, high-intensity training (~ < 5RM) is performed first, followed by a long rest period, usually 3-10 minutes. A similar plyometric movement pattern was then performed (5-10 reps). Research shows that plyometric exercises can improve or increase strength. A typical training example is to do a squat with weights behind your back, then lunge and jump up with your legs drawn.

7. Longer rest periods

When doing body shaping or muscle growth training, it is often recommended to rest for a short time between each set of training, such as 30-60 seconds. When training for strength, rest time can be increased to 2-5 minutes, depending on the training. The heavier you lift, the longer the rest period will be to ensure you can complete the same amount in the next set. And the mental strength and mental capacity you gain from weight training also requires longer rest periods.

8. Hitting the weak link

Only when your weakest link is strengthened, can you be truly strengthened. The major muscle groups that are traditionally trained are called your prime movers (e.g. pectoralis major, lats dorsi, quadriceps, deltoids, hamstrings, etc.). Typically, your weakest links are in the muscles behind your back (e.g. rotator cuff, middle and lower serratus anterior, gluteus medius, abdominals, etc.). Working these muscles will reduce the likelihood of developing muscle imbalances and lower your risk of injury. The more of these muscles you gain, the more you can increase the power of your prime mover.

When doing strength training, we must pay attention to our center of gravity. If our center of gravity is unstable, it is very unsafe for muscle strength training. Secondly, the coordination of the whole body is also very important. When doing muscle strength training, we must do some warm-up preparations in advance, which will reduce the damage to the muscles when sudden force is exerted.