Personal Trainer Reveals Top 10 Tips to Build Strength Without the Bulk

Lifting heavy (greater than 90 percent of your one-rep max) will improve strength by recruiting what are called high-threshold motor units. The muscle fibers associated with these motor units have the most potential for increasing strength. However, they fatigue quickly. Maximal lifting is best applied to compound exercises (e.g., squats, deadlifts, presses, and pulls). Even though the weight is heavy, your intent should be to move the weight as fast as possible. This will ensure you’re recruiting as many fast-twitch muscle fibers as possible.

Speed lifts are an excellent lifting style to teach acceleration and power development. Loads around 60% 1RM should be used and moved as fast as possible. Accommodating resistance (e.g., bands and chains) can be applied to further challenge your ability to accelerate the load. Obvious explosive exercises that should come to mind are the Olympic lifts (e.g., clean & jerk and the snatch). However, medicine ball throws and kettlebell swings also fit into this category as well. 

For men looking to gain power without the mass “lifting consistently with power will improve strength, movement skill, and build some muscle, but won’t provide serious growth,” says Coates. 

Otherwise known as jump training, plyometric training involves hop- and jump-type exercises that train and develop what’s called the stretch shortening cycle. This teaches the body to better utilize stored elastic energy to produce stronger and more forceful contractions. This improvement in reactive ability can also be explained by improvements in muscle-tendon stiffness. Bodyweight or weighted plyometric exercises can be utilized such as consecutive body-weight jumps over hurdles or continuous dumbbell jump squats.

A common protocol for building size and strength is the 5×5 workout; that is, 5 sets of 5 reps. But if you want to focus on strength over size, try doing just 2 or 3 sets. Lowering the volume and focusing on moving the weight quickly will have a better training effect for improving strength and explosive power rather than the size of muscle. You should also experiment with logging fewer training sessions per week, which will give your central nervous system more time to recover between strength-focused training sessions.

Nothing builds running speed and quickness on the field than sprint workouts. Performing sprint intervals, hill sprints (linear), or agility drills (multi-directional) will help develop strength and power specific to running and cutting. Being able to accelerate—and decelerate—on the field will make you stand out among the slower, less-coordinated players.

Contrast training incorporates heavy strength training with plyometric training in the same workout. The physiological mechanism behind this training method is known as post-activation potentiation, or PAP for short. Basically, you’ll start with a heavy strength training exercise (roughly 5-rep max). After a 3 to 10 minute break, you’ll do a similar plyometric exercise for about 5 to 10 reps.

Research has shown an improvement (or potentiation) of the plyometric exercise, in that more force and power can be developed. An example is back squats followed by tuck jumps.

Just be sure to take some time. If the break between the strength and plyometric exercise is too short, you’ll experience fatigue and a decrease in jump performance. It’s not a superset, so don’t perform these exercises like a circuit.

When bodybuilding or training for muscle growth, lifters typically rest for only about 30 to 60 seconds between sets. When training for strength, though, you should increase your rest period to about 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the exercise. Because you’re lifting heavier loads, your body will need those longer rest periods to ensure you complete the same number of reps in the subsequent sets. Your mental strength and ability to focus on the heavy set will also appreciate the longer break.

You’re only going to be as strong as your weakest link. The major muscle groups that perform traditional exercises are known as your prime movers (e.g., pecs, lats, quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, deltoids, etc.). Often, an athlete’s weakest link will be his behind-the-scenes muscles, (e.g., rotator cuff, middle and lower trapezius, serratus anterior gluteus medius, abdominals, etc.). Incorporating exercises to strengthen these muscles will reduce the chance of muscle imbalances and decrease your risk for injury. The better able you are at recruiting these muscles, the more potential you have of increasing the strength in your prime movers.

Plus if you’re worried about gaining too much muscle you can simply “ease up training the body parts that are more muscular” and instead hit those less used muscles for a more well-rounded “leaner athletic physique,” Coates says. 

Yeah, we’ve seen those videos of dudes squatting on top of hoverboards or stability balls. But here’s the reality: Strength training shouldn’t be a circus act. Functional training has its place, and adding instability to your workout isn’t a bad option for rehab or accessory balance work. But if you’re really focused on training for strength, then just focus on strength! Stand on stable ground, focus on proper form, and make sure you’re recovering properly to fuel your progress. Otherwise, you’re liable to just waste your time.

Back in high school gym class, your teacher probably told you to static stretch prior to working out. News flash, coach—dynamic warmups are now recommended to prepare you for your exercise session or competition, especially because static stretching has been shown to negatively influence strength and power production, speed, jump performance, and agility. To better prepare you for your strength and plyometric training-type workouts, save your static stretching for after the session.