To complement the research done on supplement effectiveness, it’s useful to review the other side of the strength equation : the actual exercise. It’s no good taking supplements and pursuing a sedentary lifestyle. That will result in weight gain (not in a good way) and won’t help you reach your training goals.
Rhea et al (2003) show there is an ideal number of sets and ideal % of one rep max (so well under the weight you can lift once) for building strength. By trawling through a huge number of research articles, it appears:
- 3 days per week is the optimum workout frequency for untrained gym-goers;
- 4 sets is the best number per muscle group for both the trained and untrained athletes;
- 60% of your one – rep maximum is ideal for increasing strength – Rhea et al equate this to 12 repetitions;
- Going higher than 60% could increase your risk of injury while not speeding up your strength gains (no need to go too heavy).
What are the limitations?
- The study looked mainly at young adults over 18 and under 50, so more data is needed to reach really firm conclusions across all ages;
- There were large disagreements between many studies about optimal reps, but statistically it looked like 12 gave the best strength gains;
Conclusions?
All in all it looks like good news – no need to get too much weight into the workout. This means it is easy enough to achieve with free weights. This equipment can be easily kept in the house so there are no excuses even if the gym is far away.
Avoiding weights that are excessively heavy means more chance of maintaining good technique, and therefore less risk of injury. It is tempting to think that doing more in the gym leads to better results, but the law of diminishing returns is present! Doing more than the optimum amount seems to do more harm than good based on this study’s results.
Check out the source:
Rhea et al. 2003, A Meta-analysis to Determine the Dose Response for Strength Development, http://server2.docfoc.com/uploads/Z2015/12/15/JgUn5BoZxb/a159eef132fc32466b7139fca0004bab.pdf