Keys to increasing strength

Increasing your strength is not as complicated as it may seem. You might ask, so how many reps should I be doing on each set? If your goal is to improve your strength then you should be doing reps 3-5 with about 90-95% of your 1-rep max. The next very crucial part that gets often forgot is the rest time you should be taking in-between sets.

You should be taking at least a 120 second rest between sets; this will allow your Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) and Creatine Phosphate to fully replenish before your next set. This allows your muscles to be fully recovered and you to be able to produce your maximum amount of energy and power on your next set. The reps you will be doing are limited so you want to get the most out of them that you can.

The next one is a more obvious step. They say you can't out workout a bad diet, and the same is true for strength training. It is impossible to get the results you want without reaching your daily protein intake. If you are trying to gain size you should be eating 1.2-1.4kg/per lb of bodyweight.

Lastly, you should continuously try to go up in weight each week, even if it is only 2.5lbs. You are applying progressive overload by doing this, which is putting your muscles under stress their not accustomed too, and eventually they will be used to their new weight and you can continue to increase weight.