Four Ways to Increase Strength Keep Training Interesting and Make Consistent Progress

One of my clients recently mentioned that she felt that she wasn’t progressing as much as she used to. This gave me the impetus to share the following with you; four ways to increase strength, keep training interesting and make consistent progress.

Here are four important ways you can increase your strength, make your training session more interesting, and help you consistently make progress, no matter what type of training you’re into.

Training Frequency

This is appears to be an easy one on the surface. Training frequency is the number of sessions per week you’re getting in. But underneath lies a bigger question: How consistent have you been with your program?

You may have years of experience, but if your attendance is sketchy, it can affect your results. Some weeks you will get into the gym for your full three- or four-day training schedule, and others you manage just one or two. (Or none at all!)

No judgment here. I know life gets busy with juggling work, friends, and family. But progressing comes down to this simple fact:

Consistency is the key to progress. You cannot get better if you do not show up. 

If consistency is an issue for you, don’t get down on yourself about it.

Instead, ask yourself some questions:

What is truly holding you back from going to the gym?

• Is it location, equipment access, or cost?
• Is it a lack of motivation?
• What can you do to improve your training circumstances to make showing up easier?

This may mean switching to a gym that’s closer to your house or workplace so that your training fits better into your schedule.

It may mean switching to a gym with more of the equipment that you need so that you don’t have to make do with exercise substitutions that are “close enough.”

Asking yourself more questions may lead you to discover you really don’t love working out by yourself and that you’re more consistent when you’re accountable to a training buddy.

The point is to remember that more often than not, you have choices when it comes to your training circumstances.

Volume

Showing up to the gym consistently feeds into this next metric of progress:

The primary driver of muscle adaptation (i.e. you getting stronger) is volume—otherwise known as the total amount of work you do.

More volume will lead to more progress because it means more time spent under the bar, delivering better movement patterns and introducing a training effect that, over time, your body recovers from better.

This will lead to increased strength and fitness, which means more opportunities for growth. (And avoiding dreaded plateaus.)

Question – How to increase your volume?

When your training session is going well and you’re in the zone with a particular exercise, add in another set or two. Remember, we’re talking about intensity (the number of kg’s on the bar), so keep the weight doable and your form crisp, and just add in that little nudge of extra work sets.

Over time, those little nudges will add up to major progress.

Form

No doubt about it: When it comes to strength training, technical proficiency is important. It means you’re not compromising alignment, and therefore less susceptible to injury when you lift.

Improvements in form come from an honest assessment of your areas for improvement, and then taking the necessary measures to address them.

Over time, making your lifts more efficient will make moving more kilograms easier and less stressful on your body.

It’s the difference between making something hard look effortless and just muscling through at any cost.

Recovery

This last tip is the one that might be the least expected, but it’s so important.

Consistently training large, compound movements is demanding, both on your muscles and your central nervous system, and because of that, a major key to your progress depends on how you prioritize recovery.

Think of it this way: When you’re lifting in the gym, you’re not actually building up your muscles, you’re breaking them down.

You’re causing tiny, microscopic tears in your muscles and depleting those muscle fibers of energy.

You can feel this immediately after a gym session when your energy is depleted, and in the days afterward when your muscles are sore.

Given enough food (in the form of nutritious and balanced protein, carbs, and fat), sleep and active recovery via walking and gentle yoga, your muscles will repair better and stronger than before.

But if your recovery is off, your body could show its displeasure in the form of a chronically elevated heart rate, fitful sleep patterns, stalled progress in the gym, and in the worst cases, injury.

Want to get better? Recovery needs to be at the top of your list.

How much recovery you need can depend on the intensity of your exercise, but my general advice is to take at least one day off between your training days.

On your non-lifting days, perform active recovery like meditative yoga, walking, or interval-jogging. (And like I said, eat well for your body and go the required amount of sleep!)

I hope the four ways to increase strength, keep training interesting and make consistent progress helps you.

If you would like my guidance to ensure you are taking the right action to help you reach your goals, simply click on the link where you’ll find out more about having the right plan in place and taking action on that plan.

[x_prompt type=”left” title=”Ready to Make a Change?” message=”Online Fitness Coaching will Help you Reach Your Potential.” button_text=”Get Started Now!” button_icon=”check-square” href=”https://thrivefitness.com.au/thrive-fitness-online-training/”]