20 "almost" laws of strength training and 8 laws of strength training that actually deserve the name

You will find a lot of contradictory advice from different experts on the internet. Many would like someone to write an article about what the rules really are. What are the things you need to do and what are the things that are simply in the "nice to have" category but are not really essential?

I thought about this question for several days and came to the conclusion that there are only 8 laws of strength training. At first I thought there must be more, but every time I thought of a potential law of strength training, an argument against it soon popped into my head.

Of course, due to varying goals and varying genetic predispositions, it's hard to make hard and fast rules, but the bottom line is that I don't think I can go too far wrong with my choices.

These rules are based on what I have learned as a trainee and as a scientist and they represent my current understanding of the current state of science, which means they are not set in stone and may change over time.

Before I present to you my 8 Laws of Strength Training, I would like to present to you 20 potential laws of strength training that did not make it into my list of 8 laws. Many trainers and exercisers will think that some of these potential laws are indeed laws of strength training, but I disagree.

The 20 "almost" laws of strength training that didn't make the list:

1 - You must foam roll

Foam rolling feels good. Ask any exerciser who uses foam rolling if it makes them feel better, if it relieves pain or if it helps prevent injury and you'll always get a resounding yes.

However, there are also millions of exercisers who do well without foam rolling. To date, there are only a handful of studies on the subject and to be honest, we don't know much about what it does and doesn't do (Miller & Rockey 2006, MacDonald et al. 2012).

At this point, we can speculate about what foam rolling does, but it's also nothing more than pure speculation.

2 - You need to stretch

Stretching also feels good and intuitively most exercisers think it's a good idea. Nobody wants to lose their flexibility and it's no fun being tight.

However, proper strength training includes stretching. Scientific research shows that strength training is just as effective as stretching when it comes to improving flexibility, which can be attributed to several factors (Aquino et al. 2010, Simao et al. 2010; Morton et al. 2011, Nelson & Bandy 2004).

First of all, there is the eccentric component of the exercise, which puts the muscle under tension, increases sarcomerogenesis and improves mobility by building new sarcomeres and stretching the muscle (Brughelli & Cronin 2007). Resistance training is therefore a viable form of active stretching under load.

Next, passive stretching can indeed reduce stiffness and increase pain tolerance during stretching, although it does not regulate muscle length in the same way as active stretching (Weppler & Magnusson 2010, Riley & Van Dyke 2012). If you regularly perform exercises such as squats, Romanian deadlifts, lunges, pull-ups and calf raises with good form through the full range of motion, then you will achieve good overall mobility.

3 - You need to do cardio and/or HIIT

Cardio training sounds good in theory. After all, the heart is the most important muscle, right? But what exactly is cardio? Doesn't the heart also beat quite hard during strength training?

Although prolonged low-intensity cardio training does indeed have its value, strength training - especially when performed intensely to near muscle failure - also provides many of the benefits of cardio training (Steele et al. 2012).

As long as you follow an active lifestyle and regularly move weights with sufficient intensity, cardio is not a must. If you've done a set of walking lunges with 100 kilos on the barbell, then you know that resistance training is very good for the cardiovascular system.

Over the last decade, scientists have raved about HIIT and emphasized that it leads to higher metabolic demands and higher fat loss in the long term compared to cardio training at a constant intensity due to the effect of EPOC (Tremblay 1994, Hazell et al. 2012). But training with weights is also a form of HIIT, as long as you train intensively.

4 - You need to train heavy (i.e. use more than 90% of your 1RM weight)

It has recently been shown that training with lighter weights, performed to muscle failure, can indeed provide a potent hypertrophy stimulus, perhaps even more so than heavy weights (Mitchell et al. 2012).

It's too early to tell if the studies were only done with beginners, but at least the more recent research shows that you can build muscle without using heavier weights.

Have you ever seen how Kai Green trains his gluteus? He uses light weights and high reps and focuses on feeling the gluteus move the weight. Jay Cutler doesn't use nearly as heavy weights as he did early in his career, but is more muscular than ever due to a shift in his focus on muscle contraction.

Few bodybuilders use less than 6 reps and when it comes to the lower body, most stick to 10 to 30 reps. For most of the time, Andy Bolton - the man who was the first to move over 1000 pounds on squats - relies on deadlifts with dynamic effort to build his world-class deadlift strength.

5 - You need to train explosively (i.e. dynamic effort)

Many exercisers benefit from the dynamic effort method. Explosive training increases muscle activation at the start of the movement and allows for more frequent training due to the lighter weights used.

However, explosive training reduces muscle activation in the second half of the movement due to the deceleration of the weight (Frost et al. 2010).

Most bodybuilders train semi-explosively, but ensure that they control the weight throughout the range of motion. Many strive for more consistent tension on the muscles to maximize the pump effect.

In addition, many powerlifters have built up a lot of strength without ever focusing on maximizing acceleration with a lighter weight. Dynamic effort is an excellent idea for Olympic weightlifters and for athletes, but this method is not a must for general exercisers.

6. you need to go to muscle failure

I grew up reading strength training articles that tried to convince me that the last repetition of a set is the only one that counts and the only one that builds strength. Today I know that was humbug.

You can build amazing amounts of strength without going to muscle failure. Sure, you won't build maximum strength if you don't push yourself to your limits from time to time, but you can still get quite strong and muscular even if you finish the set one to two reps before reaching muscle failure.

In fact, a recent article has shown that maximum muscle activation during a set is reached a few repetitions before muscle failure is reached (Sundstrup et al. 2012). It could be argued that avoiding the increased wear and tear and stress on the joints and nervous system due to too heavy weights and too hard training can lead to increased progress via reduced stress, reduced pain and reduced injury combined with increased recovery.

7 - You must train squats

The squat is the queen of lower body exercises, there's no doubt about it. But do you have to train squats? Some exercisers never seem to get the correct form of the exercise right and this has a lot to do with their anthropometry.

Ben Bruno has shown that it is indeed possible to make continuous progress in squat strength by focusing intensely on single-leg strength. Scientific research has shown that single-leg strength and power training resulted in slightly better performance effects than double-leg strength and power training, although the differences were not significant (McCurdy et al. 2005).

Strength is highly dependent on the movement pattern. So as long as you perform a one-legged squat movement like Bulgarian split squats or reverse lunges, your squat strength will not suffer dramatically.

Let's say you trained deadlifts and Good Mornings variations along with single-leg squat variations week after week, but never performed double-leg squats. Your quadriceps would still be muscular, your spine would still be stable and your hips would still be strong.

8 - You need to train deadlifts

If the squat is the queen of lower body exercises, then the deadlift is the queen of total body exercises. That's why you need to train deadlifts to see good results, right?

Westside showed a long time ago that a trainee can build a lot of strength on deadlifts without training deadlifts directly. They performed tons of box squats, back raises, pull-throughs, reverse hypers and glute ham raises - and they were amazingly strong on deadlifts.

I've found that heavy kettlebell swings can work wonders when it comes to building and maintaining strength in deadlifts. Max Shank can perform single-leg Romanian deadlifts with over 140 kilos on reps, which provides a tremendous training effect for hip extensors and keeps the deadlift pattern strong while protecting the back.

In bodybuilding, many exercisers prefer the mix of bent-over rows, T-bar rows and back extensions rather than deadlifts for their lower back development as they have found deadlifts are not worth the risk to their bodies.

If your training includes heavy kettlebell swings, box squats, good mornings, bent-over rowing, T-bar rowing and back extensions, you will also be quite strong in deadlifts and your back and hip extensors will show impressive muscularity.

9 - You need to train bench presses

Let's move on to the queen of upper body exercises, the bench press. The bench press is without a doubt the most popular exercise in the world, but do you have to train it? Many exercisers' shoulders don't cope well with this exercise and therefore they don't need to include it in their training program.

You can also build strength for the bench press with other pressing exercises. A trainee who has done a lot of push-ups with additional weights and/or dumbbell presses from different angles will have muscular pecs and triceps - not to mention usable bench press strength.

10 - You need to perform unilateral or bilateral exercises

Let's say an exerciser has only performed squats, leg presses, hip thrusts, back extensions, glute-ham raises, bench presses, standing shoulder presses, dips, push-ups, bent-over rows, pull-ups and barbell curls throughout their training career. I think we would agree that this exerciser would be amazingly strong and muscular, assuming he gets strong doing these exercises.

In contrast, let's say an exerciser has only performed Bulgarian split squats, reverse lunges, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, sled pushes, hip thrusts, single-leg back extensions, single-arm bench presses, single-arm shoulder presses, single-arm dumbbell rows, single-arm lat pulldowns and alternating dumbbell curls for their entire training career. He too will be amazingly strong and muscular, provided he gets strong on these exercises.

11 - You need to train your core directly

Multi-joint exercises with free weights do a great job when it comes to activating the muscles of the core. An aesthetically pleasing core has more to do with being lean than having muscular abs anyway.

If you train exercises such as pull-ups, push-ups, squats, deadlifts, farmer's walks, standing shoulder presses and barbell curls, your core will become strong and muscular. Combine this with the right diet and your core will look great.

12 - You must use free weights

Free weights reign supreme in the world of strength training. They allow for natural movement patterns and require real-world stabilization. For this reason, they are absolutely essential, right? Not so fast.

Activating the primary muscles can also be achieved with machine training and a trainee can become amazingly strong and muscular this way.

Furthermore, there is a big difference between a poor machine training program and an optimal machine training program.

For example, if an exerciser is simply doing leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises, butterflies, lat pulldowns with arms extended and side raises, then they probably won't get very far when it comes to overall body strength and muscularity.

On the other hand, if a trainee trains squats on the machine, Hammer Strength deadlifts, leg presses, lying leg curls, Hammer Strength presses, pulling exercises from different angles and cable curls, then they will become amazingly strong and muscular, always assuming they get strong on these exercises.

13 - You must always strive for progressive overload

Earlier in an exerciser's training career, progressive overload is a must. But later on, there are other ways of progression. For example, you can use a better form of exercise execution, emphasize a specific muscle or focus on better control.

For example, many exercisers place heavy squats and/or heavy deadlifts at the end of their training session in an attempt to protect their joints and reduce the risk of injury, so that they can achieve a good training effect without having to rely on very heavy weights.

Let's say you've built your strength up to 150 kilos on the bench press, 200 kilos on squats and 250 kilos on deadlifts and decide to stick with those weights for a year while improving your form and diet. You'll look better even though you're not using progressive overload. Progressive overload is important, but it's not always a must.

14 - You need to incorporate plenty of variety into your training program

Variety is the spice of life. Training can be quite dull and it's always nice to spice up your program with new exercises, changing grip and stance widths, changing ranges of motion or tricks like rest-pause or descending sets. It is said that a lack of variation in training leads to stagnation or habit formation.

But is variety really necessary? Many Olympic weightlifters from Bulgaria have not fallen into this trap - they perform about six different exercises throughout the year. And this is the crux of John Broz's system - classic squats, front squats, power cleans, power snatches, clean & jerk and snatches.

Let's say that a particular exerciser performs the same 5 exercises for his entire training career and trains nothing but squats, deadlifts, bench presses, standing shoulder presses and bent-over rowing for 30 years. He will probably have greater strength and better development than 90% of all exercisers.

Variety is nice - we all like it, it breaks up the monotony and keeps us interested in going to the gym, but if you don't like change then you don't need to change your training to see excellent results.

In the second part of this article, I will discuss the remaining "almost" laws of strength training before finally presenting what I consider to be the 8 "real" laws of strength training.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/20-almost-laws-of-strength-training

https://www.t-nation.com/training/8-laws-of-strength-training

By Bret Contreras