TLDR
- Strength in our context refers to creating full body tension
Description
First up, we shouldn’t confuse ‘strength’ with the concept of a powerlifting 1 rep max.
Instead the concept here relates more to tension – breathing and bracing to create tension.
In a general sense this is already covered by hypertrophy training, but there are arguably benefits for less hypertrophy focused work.
There’s two overlapping points here.
For beginners
- Beginners need to focus on compound movements.
- This will target both hypertrophy and strength; at this stage they are synonymous.
- This is achieved through the big movement patterns; see our breakdown of the movement patterns.
- That’s not to say you have to avoid isolation exercises, it’s just not the priority.
For advanced
- Intermediates and advanced should be (at least occasionally) viewing training through a muscle groups lens.
- If so, then ‘strength’ work does become its own category. The exercises listed in the movement patterns become specific options you can cycle in sporadically.
Prescription
Just like hypertrophy, this fundamentally ties into the resistance training section; there isn’t a straightforward prescription in isolation.
See the movement patterns breakdown for the possible options.
Alternatively, the listed programs provides more specific programming.