Often, people around me tend to think that to gain muscle strength, you have to put yourself through long strength training sessions in a gym, lifting weights and doing more repetitions. However, to gain muscle strength, one workout per week could be enough, depending on your situation!
However, before continuing, we must still make a distinction between gaining muscle mass and gaining muscle strength.
Indeed, it is possible to gain muscle strength without gaining muscle mass. It's generally easier to gain strength than mass.
Moreover, gaining muscle strength has several advantages:
- better muscle tone;
- better quality of life;
- better health;
- better performance in different physical activities;
- reduced risk of injury;
- etc.
What is the minimum amount of training needed to gain strength?
A recent literature review looked at the minimum amount of strength training you should do to gain muscle strength…and the results might surprise you!
Indeed, the amount of training needed to achieve at least some muscle strength gains is quite low.
Indeed, on average, according to the literature review above, it would be enough to do just ONE session per week of muscle strengthening at moderate intensity (less than 50% of 1 RM for experts) to gain muscle strength.
And this program could lead to muscle strength gains during at least 12 weeks.
Obviously, without increasing training volume or intensity, it will become difficult to generate gains beyond the first few months of training. On the other hand, by keeping the same routine, it will be possible to maintain the gains made.
Some tips for gaining strength as efficiently as possible
Favor multi-joint exercises
A multi-joint exercise is one that uses several joints during its execution. For example, the bicep curl is a single-joint exercise that primarily targets the biceps, while the row is a multi-joint exercise involving the biceps muscles as well as those of the back.
By focusing on multi-joint exercises, you'll gain more strength and need to do fewer different exercises to challenge all of your muscles, allowing you to spend less time training. It truly is the best of both worlds!
In fact, single-joint exercises should be reserved for those who want to MAXIMIZE their gains in strength and muscle mass and who are willing to invest the time to achieve this.
If multi-joint exercises seem too technical to you, you can use machines that will help you perform the movements well if you are a beginner.
Incorporate functional training
La Scala Teixeira et al. defines functional training as an approach that stimulates different skills to improve performance in daily activities.
Often, functional training sessions will include multi-joint exercises that resemble situations found in different physical activities. In general, the exercises are done with lower loads and often, certain exercises will require developing great power, a bit like in plyometrics.
To learn more about functional training, click here.
Incorporate stretching
To my surprise, the study mentions that prolonged static stretching can produce improvements in muscle strength and even gains in muscle mass.
The advantage of stretching is that it can be well suited to people who are reluctant to do strength training because they find the activity too tiring.
Stretching, on the other hand, requires a greater investment of time than strength training to produce results.
To maximize your strength gains
If your goal is to maximize your strength gains, here's how much training to do according to the study:
- if you are new to bodybuilding: 3 workouts per week, 4 sets per muscle group, moderate intensity (60% of 1 RM);
- if you are a recreational athlete: 2 workouts per week, 4 sets per muscle group, high intensity (80% of 1 RM);
- if you are a seasoned athlete: 2 workouts per week, 8 sets per muscle group, high intensity (85% of 1 RM).
In the end, whatever method you choose, you have to take into consideration that doing just a little bit of bodybuilding is already much better than not doing it at all and you can get a lot of benefits from it.
