Most “strength programs” simply do not work. Getting stronger is not rocket science; however, I have found that the process by which one becomes strong is poorly understood. What’s more, it seems equally misunderstood by most personal trainers. These are the very people who are supposed to understand these things. Unfortunately, “personal trainer” and “coach” are two words that have become thrown about rather loosely. Instead of referring to an expert in the field of training other people, so that they might significantly improve their strength and fitness, “personal trainer” has come to refer to someone whose primary skill set is in maintaining their own physique and serving as a cheerleader. The workouts many personal trainers have their clients do are not based upon truths known about the human biological adaptation to stress; they are simply “hard” if they are even that. After all, if a workout is hard, it must necessarily make you stronger and/or fitter, right? Therefore, I guess the harder, the better makes perfect sense. In spite of that making intuitive sense, it’s just not true – not for long anyway. So let’s talk about why so many so-called strength programs fail to deliver adequate results continually over time.
Strength Improvement in Greensboro
The first area that needs clarification is to give some definition to “what is an adequate level of strength improvement?” I’d like to offer some parameters by which to help us get on the same page about what a legitimate increase in strength really looks like. Otherwise were all nodding our heads yes in agreement that we would all benefit from a good strength program, but we may actually be thinking totally different things. A legitimate strength program is one that systematically and continuously increases a person’s strength over time. The way this may start out for a novice just getting started might look as follows: A 60-year-old woman increases her strength on the back squat from 15 lbs. to 115 lbs. in 8 weeks or an 18-year-old man increases his strength on the back squat from 135 lbs. to 270 lbs. in the same span of 8 weeks. I cite these as examples simply to illustrate real-life examples I’ve seen accomplished many times over, by both men and women across many different age groups. These results may look miraculous, but I assure you they are merely average and not statistical outliers. Therefore, anything that offers anything less dramatic than this at the starting point of someone’s training I will deem inadequate. Most fitness programs offered will never replicate these results.
How did the people in the example above increase their strength so dramatically? Simply put, they adhered closely to an intelligently designed plan. One that has worked for lots and lots of average, everyday people like you and like me. That being said, let’s delve a little bit more into the importance of a plan that works for most people, most of the time. For instance, there are some who have had great success in improving their own strength, but the problem from a training standpoint is they cannot determine exactly why they were able to succeed let alone how they could help someone else do the same thing. In short, there was not an intelligently designed plan. That’s not to say there was no plan– just not a good one. In the fitness industry today, there are a plethora of “plans” that promise amazing results. So the question then becomes, which one is right for you? Are they all equally right? How can you, the consumer determine this? In part two of this blog, we will begin scratching the surface about how to evaluate whether a strength program is likely to be effective at all, but most importantly, will it be effective for you?