Strength Training Terminology

If you work out regularly, you will get comfortable with the strength training terminology.

They will help you understand how to structure and improve your training routine.

In this article we will explain hypertrophy, progressive overload, etc.

Here are 4 important principles of strength training:

1. Hypertrophy

It is the goal of increasing muscle size & strength, which is a result of exercising.

Which is the same as saying "I want to build muscle."

Hypertrophy is the process of building muscle mass with strength training.

It's the amount of work you do in your training session.

Training volume is the number of reps, sets and weight you do in a workout.

It is how often you train a muscle group.

The more you train it, with at least 48 hours of recovery between sessions, the more results you will get.

Training frequency is how often you train a particular muscle group. It's recommended to train a muscle group 2-3 times a week, with proper recovery.

Here's a workout you should try:

After exercising and proper recovery, your body gets stronger for the next session.

So you need to increase training volume if you want to keep progressing.

Progressive overload is the process of gradually increasing the reps, sets, weight or frequency so your body can keep getting stronger.

As you get more consistent in your fitness journey, you will notice how important these factors are.

When your first start exercising, your number of reps / sets / weight keeps increasing.

Then you will hit a plateau, and that's when it becomes interesting.

When this occurs, the goal is not to try to "force" the progressive overload by adding more weight and diminishing the importance of proper form.

You will have to plan how to overcome this plateau, as a strategist and an athlete.

That's a skill-set that will be necessary throughout your fitness journey.

Personally, I like changing one variable at a time.

For example, increase the weight, then see how far I can do that.

If I cannot overcome this plateau after 2-3 times, I first look at my fatigue.

Stress and tiredness have a big impact on your performance.

If these are good, I tend to increase hypertrophy by adding another training session.

However, not everyone can train a muscle group two times a week.

So my recommendation to you is, adjust one variable at a time, stay consistent and track your progress.

Strength training is a very interesting activity if you practice it seriously.

It will help you build problem solving skills, resilience and patience, which we all need more of.

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