The exercise principles that create dad strength and power

If you want to get the most out of your workouts, there are a few principles to you need to apply.

Building strength and power optimally takes a strategic approach. We’re going to touch on 2 of 4 principles here, saving the other 2 for another post that focuses on training intensity.

The first principle is your foundation. Continually getting results from your workouts depends on this.

The second is what I believe to be the most underrated principle to training that most people do not do.

The combination of these ensures you get the best results now and can keep building on those results for as long as you workout.

Let’s dive in.

Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is the before-mentioned foundation.

You could apply every other strategy and principle to your workout but without this, you’re not going to be able to continually progress.

The goal of progressive overload is to give your body a stimulus to adapt to.

In order for your body to want to adapt, it has to be something your body hasn’t experienced before.

So put pretty simply, progressive overload is:

Doing more.

There’s a variety of ways to do more. You could add weight, increase reps, or go for longer.

Here’s how you apply it:

Your workout calls for 3 sets of 5 reps of Bulgarian split squats. When we consider the +/- 1 rep rule, it’s really a range of 4-6 reps.

Let’s say you pick 50 pound dumbbells to hold in each hand and you get 4 reps in all 3 sets.

Next week you come back and you know you have to do more.

Increasing weight sounds tough, those 50s already kicked your butt. So instead, you add reps.

You get 5, 5, and 4 reps. You didn’t get 5 reps on every set, but that’s still growth!

The following week, you hit 5 reps for all 3 sets. And the week after that, you’re feeling good so you hit 6 reps for all 3 sets.

You’ve successfully overloaded into the high end of the rep range.

Now you can add some weight — more overload — and start over.

So then you hit 3 sets of 4 reps with 55 pounds in each hand.

And the cycle continues, forever and ever.

This is the most straightforward way to progressively overload, and it works. Which means your goal every workout is to do just a little more than last time — squeeze out 1 more rep or add a bit more weight.

It won’t happen 100% of the time and that’s ok, your intent to do so is the most important piece.

Which leads right into principle number 2.

Intent

It took me a lot longer than I’d care to admit to learn optimal intent.

I worked out hard for years before I realized 2 things:

1. I wasn’t actually working that hard

2. I wasn’t strategically working hard

I realized I wasn’t working hard enough because I wasn’t zoned in.

Sure I got after it during my sets, but I wasn’t locked in.

When you are in the mothafucking zone, it’s different. There’s another level you can go to and I was missing that next level for years.

To fix this, I simply added focus.

I walked up to the weights, I put my hand on my diaphragm, and I took 4 controlled breaths into my hand. The whole time I visualized dominating the weight.

I brought the intent of being an absolute fucking savage to each set, and each rep.

You’ve got to bring that kind of intent to your workout.

Training is challenging, it’s how we build muscle and strength. Embrace it. Own it.

As far as strategy, I was only even focused on hypertrophy at the beginning. I didn’t mess around with strength or power exercises.

Those require a similar savage intent generally, but also are a little different. Both require maximal muscle recruitment and effort.

For strength, you’re moving heavy weight. Even with proper intent, the weight moves slow. It’s a grind.

For power, you’re moving light weight fast, so the weight moves quick. You have to tap into your speed and explosiveness.

You can’t go through the motions and stimulate these qualities. The intent you bring to each set matters depending on the quality we’re working on.

If you can master your intent, you can drive gains consistently.

It really just comes down to being honest with yourself about how much you’re challenging yourself.

Which doesn’t mean you aren’t already working hard; it just means that like me, there might be another level you can tap into which will increase your results.