Building up strength is a fitness training goal that takes some careful planning and dedicated consistency to achieve. You want to form and maintain strategies that will actually help you look and feel the way you want. Here are a few strength training methods worth following.

FOCUS YOUR TRAINING

Ideally, your strength training should focus on four key workouts, especially in the beginning: shoulder presses, bench presses, squats and deadlifts. You want to work all these muscles evenly to build strength and promote muscle growth. Don’t try to do too much at once. The more you focus on what’s most important, the more likely you are to see results.

SIMPLIFY YOUR SETS

The best way to get stronger is to increase the amount of weight you’re lifting, forcing your muscles to endure more and more resistance. This really doesn’t have to be complicated, so don’t make it that way. Focus on lifting that weight up; down; repeat. Focus on number of reps and how you’re performing compared to previous sets. Don’t over-complicate things.

KEEP A STRENGTH TRAINING LOG

It pays off to keep track of what you’re accomplishing each time you go to the gym to do some serious lifting. If you maintain a log of all your strength training efforts, everything from weight to number of reps and sets to results, you have at your disposal a written-down motivational tool. Refer back to it before and after each workout session to help you strive to improve your numbers and accomplish your strength training goals.

LEARN YOUR LIMITS

It’s okay to push and challenge yourself at the gym, but doing too many sets at one time is actually pretty ineffective. The longer you exercise, the less effort you’re going to put into it. In terms of strength training, short bursts of physical activity will serve you well in the long-term. Don’t push yourself so hard that you risk injury or burnout.

Showing up at the gym with a plan and a goal is only part of the effort. Stick to these strength training strategies, and you’ll soon be able to lift more and gain more than you ever have before.

Source

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/10-strength-building-strategies