Preview: Maximizing Strength Gains
Simple rules for becoming your strongest self
When I was a researcher for the U.S. Army, I was asked to contribute to a new area of scientific exploration called “Maximizing Human Potential”. Essentially, the Army wanted to find innovative ways to enhance soldier performance (like Iron Man-style suits) without crossing the threshold into unethical interventions (like gene-editing).
The first idea that popped into my mind was: “I wonder if there’s any way that soldiers’ daily physical training can be optimized to give their performance an extra boost?”. So, I partnered with some world-class scientists and read over 100 scientific papers on the topic of strength training in the hopes of finding a golden nugget that would give soldiers the ability to lift super-heavy objects when their lives depended on it. While digging through all those papers gave me a few ideas on how to truly push the boundaries of strength gains (like some ideas on how to use wearable technology), the most important insights it gave me were how everyone could make the most of their time in the weight room. What I found was, after reading over 100 scientific papers and working with some world-class scientists, all this information could be distilled into 9 key rules for maximizing your strength (link to full paper).
Over the coming weeks, I’m going to dive into the details of each of these 9 rules so you can design your own individualized strength training routine to improve your health & performance. In the meantime, though, here’s a preview of the 9 rules that all of us can follow to get stronger:
Rule #1: Safety before strength. My experiences in Army Basic Training (not as a soldier, but as a scientist) taught me something about reducing injuries. We’ll also discuss medical safety, safe exercising tips, and seeking guidance from an exercise professional.
Rule #2: Choose your exercises wisely. In this future article, I’ll share how my experience watching soldiers lift impressively heavy boxes solidified the importance of proper exercise selection.
Rule #3: Give maximal mental effort. A deeper understanding of the brain has revolutionized how scientists understand strength training. This heightened understanding makes strength training more approachable for all of us, even those of us who are apprehensive to lift heavy weights.
Rule #4: Produce forceful muscle contractions. It’s no secret that the best strength-athletes in the world spend a lot of time lifting heavy loads. These lessons can help all of us, regardless of how much weight you lift.
Rule #5: Lift and lower the weight. While working at NASA, I learned that lowering the weight has a surprisingly powerful effect on strength gains.
Rule #6: Train through a full range-of-motion. Some bodybuilders occasionally train with a partial range-of-motion. While this practice might be useful for increasing muscle size, is it helpful or detrimental for improving muscle strength?
Rule #7: Lift when “fresh”. Scientific findings demonstrate that lifting when fatigued can diminish your strength gains, so how does this insight guide our daily strength training?
Rule #8: Optimize your daily dose of training. What’s the fewest amount of sets per exercise needed to gain strength? Is performing even more sets better? How much is too much? We’ll dive into the science to uncover the answers to these questions.
Rule #9: Recover. You don’t get stronger during exercise; you get stronger while recovering from exercise. In this future article, I’ll share a powerful analogy that I learned from a physiologist at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center that emphasizes the importance of recovery, sleep, and nutrition for maximizing performance gains.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll elaborate on each of these 9 rules and share some stories, some science, and some simple tips for becoming your strongest self. My goal is to empower you with the facts of strength training, which will allow you to develop your own effective, safe, and enjoyable strength training program.
While I believe (and the science shows) that strength training is helpful for nearly everyone, I also understand strength training isn’t everyone’s passion. So, if this is you, then don’t worry; I’ll also eventually provide insights on endurance training (like running), weight loss, technology, longevity, etc., so stay tuned.
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to sharing the “science of strength training” with you!
Footnote: I’m specifically going to focus on building strength (the ability to lift heavy objects), not necessarily building the biggest muscles (or what scientists call “muscular hypertrophy”). While strength training can build bigger muscles, that’s not the primary goal. If your goal is to build the biggest muscles possible, then the training program you choose could be slightly different than what I’m recommending.