Maximize Muscle Strength: Proven Training Methods

Strength training can be one of the most effective ways to improve bone mass, increase muscle strength, build muscle mass, and manage chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Shiroma et al., 2017). How do we go about organizing a plan? How can we make the most of our time spent in the gym to improve our lifestyle and sport? Let’s take a look at recommendations based on the National Strength & Conditioning Association.

Recommendations by goal

1. Muscle Endurance
   • Reps: >15 reps
   • Sets: 2-3 sets
   • Load: <67% of 1RM
2. Hypertrophy (Muscle size)
   • Reps: 6-12 reps
   • Sets: 3-6 sets
   • Load: 67-85% of 1RM
3. Strength
   • Reps: <6 reps
   • Sets: 2-6 sets
   • Load: >85% of 1RM
4. Power
   • Reps: 1-5 reps
   • Sets: 2-3 sets
   • Load: 70-90% (core explosive lifts, otherwise plyos)

When someone asks, “What workout should I do to lose weight?”, the answer isn’t really a workout answer—it’s largely a nutrition answer.

You can achieve excellent health and fitness while training for muscle strength, endurance, cardiovascular fitness, or a combination of all three and still maintain a healthy body weight. Exercise is incredibly important, but it’s only one piece of the weight-loss equation.

Where strength training really shines is in helping us build and maintain lean muscle mass while also improving how our bodies manage blood sugar. Compared with cardiovascular exercise alone, strength training is particularly effective at preserving or increasing muscle while you lose body fat.

So rather than looking for the “best workout for weight loss,” think bigger: use exercise to build a stronger, healthier body—and use nutrition to manage the energy balance needed to reduce body fat. 

(NSCA, 2021)

Training Load Chart- HERE

Recommendations by season

Most cycles can be split up into 6-12 weeks depending on the sport and need of the athlete. It is important to note that every mesocycle, one should take 1 deload week (50-70% of his/her max) so that they can progress and minimize overuse injuries (Israetel et al., 2015).

Let’s take a look at how these phases are organized below:

(NSCA, 2021)

1. Macrocycle
   • Duration: 6 mo.-1 year
   • Purpose: Covers the whole training program for the season/year working in all of the training phases from preparatory to competitive/power phase.
2. Mesocycle
   • Duration: 4-6 weeks
   • Purpose: A very specific block of training centered on one specific goal (i.e. strength phase)
3. Microcycle
   • Duration: 1-2 weeks
   • Purpose: Daily and weekly load variations and specific needs of the athlete

The goal of splitting up your training cycle is to progressively prepare yourself for the demands of your chosen sport or goal: (Note- these numbers are for the main lifts, not the accessories. i.e. Deadlift, Squat, Bench and Overhead Press)

1. Off-Season
   • Reps: 10-15 reps
   • Sets: 2-3 sets
   • Load: <67% of 1RM
   • No demands from sport
2. Pre-Season
   • Reps: 6-12 reps
   • Sets: 3-6 sets
   • Load: 67-85% of 1RM
   • Progressive intensity as you begin to transition into your strength phase
3. Season
   • Reps: 3-6 reps (main lifts like the squat, bench, and deadlift). 6-8 for Accessories.
   • Sets: 2-6 sets
   • Load: >85% of 1RM
   • Progressing in weight and in explosiveness, but a drop in volume as the demands of the sport are higher
   • Progress into power exercises as well depending on sport

Regardless of whether your goal is improved athletic performance, better health, or simply maintaining strength as you age, a well-rounded fitness program should include strength training at least two days per week, along with approximately 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week.

Progressive strength training can be structured in phases to continually challenge the body while allowing time to adapt. A program might begin with 3 sets of 10–15 repetitions for 6–8 weeks, progress to 3–4 sets of 6–10 repetitions for another 6–8 weeks, and eventually transition to 4–5 sets of 5 repetitions using heavier loads for approximately 6 weeks. After completing a training cycle, a short period of reduced training or recovery can provide an opportunity to reset before beginning the next cycle.

Throughout each phase, tracking performance on foundational multi-joint exercises—such as the squat, deadlift, bench press, and overhead press—provides a simple way to measure progress. The goal isn’t to continually lift heavier weights just for the sake of lifting heavier. The goal is to gradually build the strength, muscle, movement quality, and confidence that allow you to do more today than you could yesterday.

Progressive strength training isn’t about finding your limits—it’s about gradually expanding them. When you train with a plan, track your progress, and give your body time to adapt, strength becomes something you don’t just build; it’s something you can carry with you for life. 

References:

Haff, G. G., & Triplett, N. T. (Eds.). (2021). Essentials of strength training and conditioning (4th ed.). Human Kinetics.

Israetel, M., Hoffmann, J., & Smith, C. W. (2015). Scientific principles of strength training: With applications to powerlifting. Publisher Review.

Shiroma EJ, Cook NR, Manson JE, Moorthy MV, Buring JE, Rimm EB, Lee IM. Strength Training and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2017 Jan;49(1):40-46. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001063. PMID: 27580152; PMCID: PMC5161704.