You may be new to the gym or you may haver a little experience under your belt. Either way, you’re likely to enjoy seeing your numbers creep up but want to get stronger. You may want more, you may want to hit a certain number or performance goal. To do this you simply need to do more, right? Sure you need to continually challenge yourself and overload progressively. However, More doesn’t always mean better.
What The Research Says
A study in 2005 saw 51 lifters split into three groups and assigned the same program but with one difference. Everyone trained 4-5 days a week, for 10 weeks, focusing on back squat, snatch and clean & jerk. However, the total volume of lifting differed across groups. The low volume group completed 1,923 repetitions, medium volume 2,481 repetitions, and high volume 3,030 repetitions.
The results showed that higher volume doesn’t necessarily mean bigger improvements. In fact, the medium volume group showed a significant improvement in 1 rep max’s for snatch, squat and clean & jerk. In contrast, both low and high volume only increased squat and clean & jerk 1RM, to a similar / slightly lower degree. When looking at the size of change between each group, the medium volume lifters had the highest gains in strength across the board.
This means you can optimise performance with only 85% or less of the maximal volume you can tolerate. To read the full article, click here.
So How Do I Get Stronger?
It means be patient and play the long game. While you want to increase your load and amount of work done, you don’t want to be hitting your limit. Moderate volume is both effective and efficient, whilst preventing you from burning out. Focus on intensity across manageable workloads to get the best adaptations you can. You may need to experiment with how much volume you can deal with and what effect it has on you. Just keep in mind that less may be more.
Personal training is exactly that, personal. Getting to know clients allows our experienced Strength Coaches in Richmond and Southwest London, will tailor your sessions so you get a volume that is correct for you. The days of slogging away do more and more may be a thing of the past. If you want to get stronger, become efficient and reap the rewards.