If I told you Strength Training was a waste of time, you might think I was crazy! However, Strength Training without respecting your body’s ability to recover can decrease benefits, including strength gains and health improvements. In other words, training when you have not recovered won’t make you stronger or healthier. Scientists have only recently begun to understand the delicate balance between a training stimulus (i.e., your workout) and the training response (i.e., the benefits you get). Ignoring this balance can prevent you from maintaining a productive Strength Training schedule. Lacking a thorough understanding of this process, most people opt for a 'more is better' approach to Strength Training. If some is good, more must be better! If true, you’d achieve superhuman results by training seven days a week. Of course, this never happens. However, the idea of SMART TRAINING (achieving more by doing less) is counterintuitive to most people. Some view overtraining—doing more than necessary—as a badge of honor that demonstrates their commitment. Despite this nonsense, there’s a better way to live the Strength Training Lifestyle. If you are committed to living better, an evidence-based approach (high effort, low volume) to Strength Training is a smart way to go. Here’s what you should know about SMART TRAINING.
Think Full-Body. Full-body workouts strengthen all the major muscle groups, including the shoulders, arms, chest, back, hips, abdomen, and legs. They are more efficient than split routines that require four or more days of training per week. Few people I’ve ever met have the inclination or time to consistently Strength Train four to six days a week. Fortunately, a properly designed full-body routine can be as effective as a split routine while delivering significant health benefits. One of those benefits is a decrease in joint stress and a lowered risk of injury to muscles, tendons, and ligaments. A typical full-body workout routine requires significantly fewer sets and repetitions than a split routine. Such reductions in training volume effectively reduce the risk of overuse injuries common among older adults. Health agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and professional organizations, including the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), have long advocated the benefits of full-body workouts [1,2]. The ACSM has also stated that having the option of an efficient full-body workout can provide flexibility within a training schedule and is likely to increase adherence to a Strength Training Program – a significant predictor of long-term health benefits.
Think Stronger. Your strength workout is only effective if it makes you stronger! As obvious as this sounds, many people overlook it. Some are satisfied with a strength workout that helps them burn calories. While it’s true that unproductive workouts burn calories, evaluating the effectiveness of a strength workout based on the calories it burns is a mistake. If all your workout does is burn calories, you’re missing the boat. According to exercise scientist Dr. William Evans, Professor of Medicine at Duke University, burning calories is not a biomarker for health and longevity! In his book, Biomarkers: The 10 Determinants of Aging You Can Control, Dr. Evans notes that strength is a key biomarker for living a long, disease-free life [3]. He argues that all adults should engage in Strength Training to become and stay stronger. A 2016 study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings reinforces the importance of becoming stronger when Strength Training. According to the study authors, completing a prescribed number of repetitions may not improve your health if you're not getting stronger. However, training hard enough to stimulate improvements in strength appears to generate significant health benefits. In the study, participants in the strongest quartile (the top quartile) experienced a 72% reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality. The only way to get stronger is to overload your muscular system. This can be achieved by applying the Progressive Overload Principle to your training. This principle states that you must challenge your muscles to do something they cannot do, such as lifting heavier weights or performing more repetitions. This stimulates your muscles to adapt, setting the stage for strength gains. The weight you are lifting should be heavy enough to reach volitional fatigue (i.e., the point at which you cannot complete your last repetition). If you’re not reaching high levels of muscle fatigue, continue progressing to heavier weights until you get there.
Think Recovery. Once you’ve completed your workout, the next step is recovery. The days between workouts allow your muscles to become stronger and healthier. Overcompensation is the process of stimulating your muscles and giving them time to adapt. It’s a natural response to the stimulus of your workout. The current ACSM Exercise Guidelines recommend two or more days of rest between full-body strength workouts for muscle recovery. For example, I train on Wednesdays and Sundays. This schedule gives my muscles sufficient time to recover. Without adequate recovery, you’ll always underperform in your workouts and life.
Schedule a Free Trial Workout HERE.
Get your Strength Training Guide HERE.
Subscribe to the MEDFITNESS Minute HERE.
Stay Strong,
Richard J. Wolff, RDN
References
1. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition/
2. Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. American College of Sports Medicine, Eleventh Edition, 2022.
3. Rosenberg, I., Evans, W., & Thompson, J. (1992). Biomarkers: The 10 Determinants of Aging You Can Control. New York, NY. FIRESIDE.