How do you pick your sets and reps for strength

Weight Training Tips

Weight training for strength.

Wondering what is meant by weight training for strength? This is pretty straight forward, it is the maximum force a muscle or group of muscles can produce at specified velocities. Dynamic strength is hard to monitor outside the lab so in most cases it refers to the maximum weight lifted, the speed of this lift will be slow. Isometric or static strength is the maximum weight that can be held at a given angle. In strong man competitions competitors often need both as the are asked to lift heavy objects and hold them, like in the iron cross.

If you are looking to get stronger and lift the most possible weight, this maybe the best approach.

The weight used to increase strength should be 85 percent of your 1RM or greater. You can vary this percentage over the course of your micro and meso cycles, but never go below 85% of your 1RM.

The second thing to consider when trying to gain strength in the weight room is the amount of sets you do. For strength 3 to 6 sets is recommended. Again this will vary at various stages of your micro and meso cycles.

Reps will never exceed 6. For most people 85% of their 1RM will only allow them to get 6 reps some people will be able to do more reps some people may find that they cannot get that many. No matter how light the weight feels do not do more than 6 reps.

The las consideration in your pursuit to get stronger is the rest period. For strength gains full recovery is best. Within 2 - 5 minutes most people will be close to 100%. The rest period will depend on your available time, load, and reps.

These recommendations are for the big lifts. If you were wondering how to get a stronger chest you could follow these guidelines for the bench but not for fly or cable cross overs.

The 5 x 5 system is based on these principles.

Good luck in you weight training.