The best exercises for gaining strength
Welcome to the weekly warble here at Ideanthro Movement where this week we are talking about...
THE BEST EXERCISES FOR GAINING STRENGTH
Or rather, I'm going to help you to understand why that question isn't helping you as much as you might think, and what a better question to ask would be.
So let's now get into WHAT SHOULD I BE ASKING ABOUT GAINING STRENGTH?
Everything I'm about to explain hinges on one key concept, The SAID Principle.
SAID stands for Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. In a nutshell it means that we get better at the things that we do regularly; and that in turn helps us to improve at other similar movements, however none of this makes us much better at movements that are very different to the ones that we are practising.
For example, squatting makes you:
much better at squatting
somewhat better at lunging
a tiny bit better at deadlifting; and
likely very little if at all better at pull ups.
Why. Because squatting is quite similar to lunging, vaguely similar to deadlifting and essentially not at all similar to doing pull ups.
But wait!
What does all of this have to do with the best exercises for gaining strength and why there is a better question to ask?
Because whatever strength training that you do, it will primarily make you better at those things. Hence you can't know the best exercises to pick without first knowing the ways in which you wish to be stronger.
Thus we can improve the question by restating it as...
WHAT ARE THE BEST EXERCISES TO ACHIEVE MY STRENGTH GOALS OF X, Y AND Z?
When you state the question that way, it becomes easier to identify what's going to help, and what isn't. You can consider your goals, and pick exercises that resemble those goals closely enough that they're likely to move you towards your goal.
Now of course there's far more nuance to it than that. For example:
do you have any existing injuries?
what is it the appropriate weight to use?
how many sets and repetitions should I be going?
am I mobile enough to move with good technique?
But the point is, start with your goal in mind. Everything else flows from there? And if you need further help, speak with an experienced trainer, even if it's just to get some pointers before continuing on your own strength and fitness journey!