Strength Training and Power-Lifting
To continue with a discussion that we started several weeks ago about what is your purpose for going to the gym, here are some thoughts to consider if you main goal is to be able to lift the most weight that you can. Or in other words just to build strength:
Training for Strength (Power Lifter)
If you are really just going to the gym to be able to lift the most weight possible, great! Power-lifters are after the highest one rep maximum they can possibly handle. So to reach higher levels of strength the general rule of thumb is to workout with lower reps (2-4 range) and heavier weights. Essentially you may not have to use the same strictness of form that someone training for size will have to because your whole goal is to lift as much as you can. If you’ve ever watched a power-lifter in action, you’ll notice that they are throwing everything they have into the lift. Of course form is important so you don’t injure yourself, so make sure you know what you’re doing if you decide to just train for strength.
Luckily there are lots of resources to help you with training to gain strength. Check out our Training Articles section for some ideas.
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It really blows my mind to see how much some of those power lifters can lift. That must take a lot of dedication.
Strength training and power lifting are both interesting subjects. Although one would often think not, there really is a different approach to gaining muscle as there is for strength training. You’d think they would both come through the same path, but they often don’t, well, not exactly.