Strength training is one of the most effective ways to improve your overall health, build muscle, and maintain independence as you age. However, the abundance of advice on social media can make it difficult to distinguish between valuable guidance and misleading trends.
Let’s break down three essential, evidence-based facts about strength training and actionable steps you can take to maximize your results—all tailored for busy professionals.
Stick to the Basics and Avoid Complex Combination Exercises
It’s tempting to try complex combination exercises like combining lunges, bicep curls, and shoulder presses into a single movement. While these might appear efficient or flashy, they often dilute the effectiveness of each exercise, reducing the overall impact on your muscles. Research shows that focusing on individual, compound movements is more effective for building strength and stability (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2018).
Actionable Steps:
Separate and Master Each Movement: Instead of trying to incorporate two movements one, separate each exercise in order to focus on form and intensity. For example rather than trying to do Squats and lunges together simply perform one intense set of squats followed by one intense set of lunges. Doing these individually will actually be more efficient when it comes to building muscle and strength.
Focus on Form: Quality over quantity is key. Prioritize controlled, deliberate movements to ensure proper muscle engagement and prevent injury.
Incorporate Compound Lifts: Add exercises like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses to your routine for maximal strength gains across multiple muscle groups.
By isolating movements and executing them with precision, you’ll achieve greater strength and muscle development than by combining them into complex sequences.
Use Moderate to Heavy Weights
One common myth is that endless repetitions with light weights will lead to muscle “toning.” In reality, moderate to heavy weights and progressive overload are more effective for building strength and achieving a defined physique. Strength is the foundation of muscle tone, and visible definition often results from a combination of muscle growth and fat loss (American Council on Exercise, 2021). When you use a heavier weight you are going to fatigue your muscle quicker. Heavier weight will allow you to get closer to Momentary Muscle Failure (which is really the goal of any given exercise) by mitigating the amount of time you are experiencing muscle discomfort before getting to the point of failure. The longer the set the harder it is to achieve true muscle failure because long sets require a lot more mental toughness!
Actionable Steps:
Select Challenging Weights: Choose weights that allow you to complete 8-12 reps with proper form while reaching fatigue by the last few reps.
Prioritize Progressive Overload: Gradually increase the weight or intensity of your exercises to continually challenge your muscles and encourage growth.
Endless reps with light weights may feel productive but won’t deliver the results you desire. Focus instead on challenging your muscles with moderate weights and proper form.
Train Intensely for Maximum Efficiency
For the best and most efficient results, train intensely. Intensity simply means how hard you are working in any given moment compared to how hard you CAN be working. For example we would say a marathon while very difficult is not intense because you are pacing yourself out. You are never actually running as fast as you can. Conversely a 100 meter dash is very intense because you are working at maximal effort the whole time. Performing one set of each exercise to momentary muscle failure—or at least to 80% of muscle failure will ensure you are receiving the maximal benefit possible on any given exercise. Training to this level ensures constant progress without plateaus and keeps your workouts efficient, as you only need one set per exercise. Once you've reached Momentary Muscle Failure there's simply nothing else you can do to get stronger!
Here’s how to do it:
Select a weight that challenges you within 8-12 reps.
Perform each repetition with full range of motion and control.
Continue until you reach a point where completing another repetition with proper form is no longer possible (momentary muscle failure).
This method not only saves time but also maximizes muscle activation, helping you achieve better results in less time. It’s a game-changer for busy professionals who need their workouts to be as effective and efficient as possible.
BONUS: Practical Tips for Smarter Strength Training
If your schedule is packed, focus on these efficient and actionable strategies to incorporate strength training into your routine:
Plan Short, Effective Workouts: Dedicate just 30 minutes, two to three times a week, to strength training. Focus on compound lifts (e.g., squats, deadlifts) that work multiple muscle groups simultaneously
Use A Slow, Controlled Movement Pace: At Reformed Fitness we perform the concentric phase (push or pull part of the movement) no faster than 2 seconds and the eccentric phase (lowering part of the movement) no faster than 4 seconds. One repetition is 6 seconds long at the fastest! Slow movement allows for two things. First, you are going to keep all of the tension on the muscle and away from the joints. This allows for an incredibly safe and low impact strength training workout. Second, because you are keeping all of the tension on your muscles you will have a more efficient workout. You are able to fatigue the muscle a lot quicker because there is no gravity or momentum helping you lift or lower the weight.
No Warm Up and Cool Down Necessary: When you go for a run, bike riding, swimming, play sports, or engage in "Olympic Style" weight lifting then a warm up is essential. When you're engaging in proper resistance exercise a warm up is not necessary. You are moving in a slow and controlled manner when you are doing strength training exercises, the movement is slow enough to mitigate all risk of injury so the first few repetitions of each set of exercises is a built in warm up! This allows you to skip a formal warm up and jump right into the workout.
Track Your Progress: Keep a workout log to monitor your weights, reps, and sets. Adjust your routine periodically to avoid plateaus. You should always try to do more repetitions or more weight than the previous workout!
Don't Forget To Recover: Allow 48 hours of rest for the same muscle group to recover and grow. If you are doing a "split routine" this means you should be waiting two days before doing the same workout. If you are doing a full body routine this means you only need to do 2 workouts per week to maximize your results! Prioritize sleep, a high protein diet, and adequate hydration for optimal fat loss and muscle growth
Start Building Strength Today
At Reformed Fitness, we specialize in creating personalized, evidence-based strength training programs designed to fit seamlessly into your busy life. With just two 30-minute strength training sessions per week, you can achieve significant health benefits without overhauling your schedule.
Ready to Get Started? Schedule your FREE Discovery Call today and let us help you build a customized plan for a stronger, healthier you—no fads, no fluff, just results.
Stay Fit,
Xavier Robinson
Founder, Reformed Fitness
References
American Council on Exercise. (2021). The Truth About Muscle Tone and Strength Training.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. (2018). Effectiveness of Basic vs. Complex Strength Movements.
Mayo Clinic. (2020). Benefits of Strength Training for Aging Adults.
International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. (2019). Myths and Facts About Muscle Growth in Women.