Strength training

Get Started with Training

The best workout plan is the one you can stick to. Therefore, it's a good idea to start small, with sessions you enjoy. Here you will find several suggestions for strength training for inactive individuals and exercisers based on the recommendations for adults and seniors. If you are unsure about how to perform the exercises, it may be wise to seek expert guidance in the beginning.

The Benefits of Strength Training

A little is better than nothing. In terms of public health, a couple of weekly strength training sessions have been shown to provide a longer life with better quality of life and improved health. Furthermore, strength training can both prevent and treat over 30 different diagnoses and conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, various forms of cancer, depression, and anxiety.

How to Perform the Training?

Before exercising, it is recommended to warm up for 5-10 minutes to reduce the risk of injury and enhance performance. The main goal here is to increase body temperature. Cycling, rowing, or brisk walking are all good options.

The sessions above can be done 1-3 times per week. Have at least 1 rest day between each workout session. Perform 2 or 3 rounds with between 8-15 repetitions of each exercise. Take about a 2-minute break between each round of the same exercise. Use a weight that is heavy enough that you could not have managed more than 3-4 additional repetitions in the last round of each exercise. Tip! By alternating between 2 exercises that use different parts of the body, you can make the workout more efficient! For example, a set could consist of a round of squats followed by a round of pushups, which you then repeat a given number of times. This way, you get the necessary rest between each round on the same muscle group.

Fact Box: Strength Training

When we train strength, several processes happen in the body. The heart pumps blood throughout the body, muscle tissue is broken down, and carbohydrates and fats are burned. However, it is during the period after training that we build muscle and become stronger. This happens because the body prepares to handle future stimuli. Therefore, it is recommended to have at least 24 hours of rest between direct training of the same muscle group. To continue getting stronger, it's important that we keep challenging the body by increasing the weight or difficulty of the exercises.

Warming Up:

A training session often starts with general and specific warm-ups. The purpose of warming up is to reduce the risk of injury and prepare the body for the day's activities. The latter has been shown to improve performance, meaning you get more out of your training.

General warmup involves increasing blood circulation and body temperature through low-intensity cardiovascular training for about 3-10 minutes. Examples of activities include spinning bike, walking or jogging on a treadmill, rowing machine, and similar. Research suggests that this can reduce the risk of injury [3]. For most people, the body will also feel better after a general warm-up. [4]

Specific warmup is a measure done to prepare the muscles that will be trained. In some cases, this may involve stretching if there are mobility issues required for certain exercises. If this is not necessary, warm-up sets will be the next step.

Warm-up sets involve starting by performing a set at low intensity with many repetitions, before performing several sets where you gradually increase the weight and perform fewer repetitions. In this way, you prepare yourself for the working sets that are planned. A concrete example might look like this:

Warm-up sets: 10x40kg - 6x30kg - 4x40kg

Working sets: 3 sets of 6 reps with 50kg

The lower the weight used in training, the fewer warm-up sets are required. An exercise like bicep curls, therefore, often does not need any warm-up sets. It's also important to emphasize that warm-up sets should not feel heavy to perform. The focus should be on treating the warm-up as if it were a working set, without exhausting the muscles.

Exercise Selection: The rest of the session will consist of several exercises aimed at meeting your needs. For strength training, the body is often divided into three groups: Push muscles, pull muscles, and legs. A good checklist to follow when creating a workout plan is as follows:

1-3 horizontal and 1-3 vertical push exercises, the same for pull exercises, and 1-3 hip-dominant and 1-3 knee-dominant exercises for legs.

The number of exercises will depend on the situation, but two exercises per movement are often enough. Exercises that train muscles through a large range of motion are advantageous for developing general strength [5]. If you only have one exercise, it should be one that you can safely load relatively heavily. Compound movements like leg presses, rowing exercises, and bench presses can be prioritized as they train multiple muscle groups simultaneously. However, if there are specific muscles you are particularly focused on, it might be a good idea to supplement with isolation exercises, such as biceps curls, which target only one muscle group.

Now that the exercise selection is set, the next step is to choose the order of the exercises and the number of repetitions to be performed. Since the musculature, nervous system, and focus generally weaken over a workout, the order of exercises matters. If there is an exercise or muscle group you prioritize highly, it should be trained first, as this will yield the greatest benefits. Otherwise, exercises that involve high loads, train multiple muscle groups at the same time, and are less stable, should be done first. These will require the most from the limiting factors mentioned above. From there, choose exercises that gradually become easier.

Training load has been discussed in previous articles, but not related to individual sessions. Some research indicates that more than 10 sets per muscle group in a session do not necessarily provide any additional effect on muscle growth. Therefore, it may be sensible to adhere to this when planning a session. Regarding the number of repetitions for an exercise, a good rule of thumb is that the more muscle groups involved and the more stable an exercise is, the fewer repetitions can be used. For maximum strength, it is beneficial to perform some work over 80% of maximum load, with 1-4 repetitions. An example of an exercise where this is useful is the deadlift. For exercises like Bulgarian split squats or biceps curls, too heavy load often compromises technique, leading to a higher risk of injury and poorer training outcomes. The number of repetitions must therefore be assessed on an individual basis, but somewhere between 1-10 repetitions is a sensible place to start.

As for the intensity of working sets, the recommendation of 1-4 repetitions in reserve still stands. Anything more than this will yield suboptimal training outcomes. [6]

Terms

Repetitions: Often referred to as reps. The number of times an exercise is performed without a break.

Sets: The continuous repetitions performed together constitute one set. Breaks are often specified between sets.

Volume: A term for the amount of training. Often expressed as the number of sets or kilograms lifted in a session, week, or longer period.

Intensity: Also known as resistance. Used to describe how heavy a workload is, and is often given as a percentage of 1RM (one-repetition maximum) or the number of repetitions in reserve (RIR).

Frequency: The number of times something is trained, usually on a weekly basis.

Training Split: Weekly structuring of training.
Hva gjør styrketrening med kroppen?

Strength training is a stimulus that leads to an acute response where various tissues in the body break down. This tissue is rebuilt after training during what is called recovery. For the body to better handle the same load the next time, it compensates by becoming bigger and stronger than before the training. To achieve this effect, it is important that you train hard enough and with a sensible amount of volume.

How Much Should You Train?

Finding the right balance between training and rest can be challenging. To ensure that you train with the appropriate intensity, it's wise to organize your training so that the total training volume is sensible. A good starting point would be to train a muscle group 2-3 times a week, with 1-3 exercises, and 2-3 sets per session (7). It is recommended to have at least one rest day between training sessions for the same muscle group.

How Hard is Hard Enough?

Regarding how hard to train, it is recommended to keep 1-4 repetitions in reserve (RIR) per set. RIR is a subjective measuring method where you estimate how many more repetitions you could have done if you continued until you could do no more. RIR training has been shown to yield better results than training with a percentage of maximum lift (%1RM). The reason for this is likely that RIR better accounts for daily form, ensuring a more suitably adjusted load. Training with more than 4 RIR could compromise your progress. Estimating RIR requires practice, and its effectiveness can vary from person to person. (8+9)

A good exercise would be to perform push-ups, guess when you have 3 reps left in reserve, and then continue until you can no longer perform more repetitions with proper technique. This way, you will see how good you are at estimating RIR.

What is Too Little?

A little is much better than nothing, but there are guidelines for how much exercise is required to maintain muscle mass and strength. Building new muscle mass and strength requires much more effort than maintaining what you already have. If you are new to strength training, you will see progress with little training, and you should therefore prioritize technique over high load. For older experienced athletes, it will require somewhat more training to maintain muscle mass. Most people, however, can expect to maintain muscle mass with as little as 3-6 strenuous sets per muscle group per week.

How Often Can You Train?

Based on how many times a week you want to train, there are different ways to structure the training. With 2-3 weekly sessions, it is practical to train the whole body each session. If you train 4 sessions a week or more, the training can be divided into upper body and lower body sessions, or a so-called push-pull-legs training split. As long as the above recommendations are followed, there are many different training splits you can use.

How Little is Needed?

Are you aware of how little it takes to benefit from physical activity for better health?

It's much less than you think, and that's exactly why you should take the time to look into what researchers refer to as the "dose-response curve." You don't need to force yourself through 60 minutes of activity for it to have a positive impact on your health. People with low activity levels have a lot to gain by increasing their activity by a comparable amount. In other words, the greatest health benefits are achieved among those who are in the poorest physical shape.

But what does it really mean to be everyday strong?

Everyday strength simply involves having the strength to carry out daily activities. This can range from walking in uneven terrain to carrying grocery bags. To maintain the strength needed to perform these activities, you are dependent on training your muscles. Therefore, we recommend performing exercises for both the upper and lower body.

The exercises below can be performed anywhere and can be adjusted to your level. They should be just the right amount of challenging to perform. A good sign is if you feel your muscles working. Examples of this are if the exercise requires extra focus and effort and if the movement is slower despite good effort. Listen to your body and assess whether you should make the exercise easier, more difficult, or adjust the movement slightly.

Progressive overload involves precisely this: performing more total work in a given period compared to before. Put simply: training heavier than last time. As a beginner, it will be easier to achieve progressive overload from week to week, without needing to structure the training too meticulously.

However, if you have been regularly strength training for over a year and no longer see progress in your strength training, you may have reached what is called a plateau. If factors such as your training plan, diet, sleep, and recovery are good, it might be appropriate to start periodizing your training.

What is Periodization?

Periodization is described as planned alterations of training variables to maximize results. These variables typically include volume, intensity, and frequency. Periodizing training, therefore, is a tool to create a systematic plan for how to train over time. When periodizing strength training, the training is often divided into training blocks typically lasting 4-8 weeks. These blocks can look different depending on the form of periodization used as a basis.

Quick Recap

Volume: A measure of the amount of training. Often indicated as the number of sets or kilograms lifted in a session, week, or longer period.

Intensity: Also called resistance. Used to describe how heavy a workload is, and often expressed as a percentage of 1RM (one-repetition maximum) or repetitions in reserve (RIR).

Frequency: The number of times something is trained, most often on a weekly basis.

Which Form of Periodization is Best?

Current literature points to a greater increase in maximal strength through the use of periodization in individuals with experience in strength training (10). The advantage of periodization is likely the structuring of the various training variables. Assuming this is done well, there is no overarching best form of periodization. The method that yields the best results will depend on your needs.

Here are the most common forms of periodization, and what they are often used for:

The simplest form of periodization is called linear periodization. This involves gradually increasing intensity over a specified period (fig.1). Autoregulated linear periodization means increasing intensity based on daily form (fig 2). One way to autoregulate training is to train with repetitions in reserve (RIR), as daily form will determine when to stop a set. This form of periodization is suitable for those who want a simple way to get stronger.

Daily and weekly undulating periodization is another example of periodization. Here, every other session, or week, consists of high intensity and low volume, and low intensity and high volume (fig.3 and 4). This type of periodization is often used by those who aim to increase both strength and muscle mass. The sessions with high volume typically focus on hypertrophy, and the sessions with high intensity focus on strength gains.

The periodization strategies mentioned above often address one block at a time. Between such blocks of 4-8 weeks, it is advisable to take a rest week, also called a deload, where the total volume can be reduced by 40-60%. This is done to reduce physical and mental stress and prepare you for a new training block. Based on your goals, you can decide whether to repeat the same block over and over again, or to vary your training more through block periodization. Block periodization simply means dedicating separate blocks to specific focus areas. Therefore, it is often used by athletes and can look like this: