A Need for Speed
Take your Strength Training to the Next Level
Written By Kyle Ligon - MovementLink.FIT Head Coach
One of the most undervalued and underutilized details of high quality strength training is putting intent into not just the quality of each rep (technique), but the velocity of each rep (intensity). In this WOMM, I am going to dive into why, within a group of people following the exact same workout program on paper, there can be such a divergence of results and how to increase your strength even more without adding any extra training time or reps. Let’s dive in…
First, let’s quickly start with what strength training actually is because there are many popular (poser) programs in the industry that claim they develop strength, but actually include effectively zero of what I would consider high quality strength training. Although there are some spillover strength benefits from lifting lighter weights, strength training takes place when using weights at or above about 75% of a max, meaning that if the most weight you could back squat one time is 200lbs, strength would be the main focus (although there are still spillover benefits to other areas of fitness) when you are back squatting with 150lbs. To needle other programs one last time because I simply cannot resist, although many claim they develop strength, a program that only uses bodyweight exercises, kettlebells, or light to medium dumbbells and does not incorporate heavy lifting with a barbell is missing out on a crucial aspect of all around fitness that would adequately satisfy our non-negotiable fitness goals. Moving on:)
I am going to refer to the below specific strength training example throughout this article (you may see something similar in the MovementLink workout program):
Back Squat
Warm-up
1 Set of 5 at 40%
1 Set of 4 at 55%
1 Set of 3 at 65%
1 Set of 3 at 75%
Working Sets
3 Sets of 5 at 80%
In this example, we are saying that everyone in a group workout class is going to warm-up to ultimately perform 3 heavy sets of 5 back squats.
The first strength training challenge we run into is that even if you have a very good understanding of your 1 rep max (Estimating Your 1 Rep Max), which most people don’t, any given day your max may still be plus or minus 15% of what you think it is due to your previous workouts, recovery, nutrition, sleep, stress, non-exercise activity, etc., so choosing optimal weights is challenging as a lot of the time you will be putting too little or too much weight on your bar relative to what your max is at that particular moment on that particular day. The only way to actually know our max that day would be to max out, but that is not just an inefficient use of our time (relative to our goals), but it also adds more risk than necessary. Don’t worry, the discussion around speed will take care of this potential issue and show you that as long as you are in the ballpark with weights and performing each rep with the right intent, you’ll get huge benefits.
Let’s assume that everyone in class has somehow, magically, actually selected the exact right weights to use today. While everyone will benefit from the workout, the majority of people in the class will still miss out on serious amounts of potential speed, power, and strength improvements that some in the class will be getting! It’s all in people’s understanding and intent behind each rep.
To lay out the need for speed, reflect on this for a second - when you are strength training, are you simply putting forth whatever effort is required to lift the amount of weight that is on your bar or are you putting 100% effort into trying to maximally overpower the weight on every rep?
Let’s start with what most people do, which is lifting the weight they put on the bar. What do I mean by this? I’ll call this technique effort matching - people match the effort they put into the exercise with how much effort is required to lift the weight. Let’s say they have 30% of their max on the bar. They will put forth about a 30% effort because that is all that is required by the weight. As the weight increases, so too will their effort.
Let’s look at the effort required during one of their working sets at 80% of their max. When effort matching, the required effort of each rep will increase due to fatigue:
Rep 1: 80% effort
Rep 2: 82% effort
Rep 3: 85% effort
Rep 4: 90% effort
Rep 5: 96% effort
Although I think these are likely close, I made these numbers up to illustrate my point, so don’t get caught up on these specific percentages here, but if you have 80% of your max on the bar, you will need about an 80% effort to complete the first rep. Because that first rep causes fatigue, your next rep will require more effort, so rep 2 will take about an 82% effort. Rep 3 will take even more effort, etc. until you complete rep 5, which will take about 96% effort, close to 100%. A true 5 rep max would be around 85% of your 1 rep max, so when you use 80%, the set of 5 will be extremely difficult, but, when effort matching, you will not ever be forced into exerting 100% effort, even on your final, very challenging rep.
Where strength training occurs at weights at or above 75%, I define high quality strength training as meeting that requirement plus an effort level of 90% or more. With this definition, note that when effort matching, it’s only reps 4 and 5 of the set of 5 reps that will force the required 90% or more effort. So, for our 3 sets of 5 back squats, there will be only 6 total reps of high quality strength training (reps 4 & 5 of each of the 3 sets).
Effort matching like this is OK and does still generate strength gains, but if you haven’t already, it’s time to graduate into a more advanced intent that will dramatically improve the effectiveness of your time in the gym - exerting 100% effort on every rep, regardless of the weight!
Advanced lifters, when trying to develop speed, power, and strength, try to maximally overpower the weight, regardless of how heavy it is. This may seem subtle, but results from this method relative to effort matching are stark.
When you put 100% effort into completing a rep as fast as possible (with high quality technique), there is a variety of stimuli you will get at different weights. Every weight will actually have a mix of benefits, but lower weights will target developing more speed, medium weights will develop more power, and heavier weights will develop more strength.
If you are effort matching, your workout may look like:
1 Set of 5 at 40% - 5 Reps Warming-up
1 Set of 4 at 55% - 4 Reps Warming-up
1 Set of 3 at 65% - 3 Reps Warming-up
1 Set of 3 at 75% - Strength stimuli starts at about 75% of a 1 rep max, so this would provide 3 Reps of Low Quality Strength Training
3 Sets of 5 at 80% - 9 Reps of Low Quality Strength Training (reps 1-3 of each set) and 6 Reps of High Quality Strength Training (reps 4 & 5 of each set).
Again, the average lifter will only get 6 Total Reps of High Quality Strength Training because there are only 6 reps in the workout that force effort above 90%.
Now, let’s look at what the advanced lifter is getting out of the exact same workout (on paper), even during warm-up! We are going to assume they put 100% effort into overpowering the weight on every rep.
1 Set of 5 at 40% - 5 Reps of High Quality Speed Training
1 Set of 4 at 55% - 4 Reps of High Quality Power Training
1 Set of 3 at 65% - 3 Reps of High Quality Power Training
1 Set of 3 at 75% - 3 Reps of High Quality Strength Training
3 Sets of 5 at 80% - 15 Reps of High Quality Strength Training
The advanced lifter will get 5 total reps of quality speed training, 7 total reps of quality power training, and 18 total reps of quality strength training! Now, compound that difference across every strength workout you do and it’s no surprise that there can be widely varying results from a group of people following what on paper looks like the exact same program.
The MovementLink program calls for 100% effort on reps when the target is speed, power, and/or strength.
Now, remember that for effort matching, we assumed that we selected the optimal weight, but remember that in practice, because our max actually fluctuates +/- 15% day-to-day, there will be many days in which we will have too much or too little on the bar. With too little weight, it will be even less reps, if any, that will force us into that 90% or more effort required. When we actively put 100% effort behind each rep, it allows for a wider range of barbell weights that will produce high quality strength reps.
The best progression for strength training should be as follows:
Can you perform the exercise with good technique?
Then, can you perform the exercise faster and with 100% effort maintaining good technique?
Then, can you perform the exercise, with 100% effort and good technique, with heavier and heavier weight?
Most skip step 2. If this concept is new to you, the great news is that once you incorporate the 100% effort intent into your reps, you will unlocks loads of potential! Enjoy!