What is Strenght ?

Last time, we scrutinized hypertrophy; what is it, and what are the benefits of a workout focused in hypertrophy. Know we need to understand his opposite: “Strength”.

Strength can be defined as the ability to generate maximal force through muscle contraction. It is often demonstrated through heavy lifting and maxing out. The ability to generate maximum levels of force is dependent on a few key factors, such as: the central nervous system, rate of force production, and neural fatigue.

Central Nervous System

The central nervous system is the control center for all movement and hard training.  It’s made up of your brain and spinal cord. When you train heavily, you train the nervous system to withstand heavier loads without inhibiting your ability to train hard. The more your nervous system is prepared for heavy loads, the less likely you are to pick something up and feel instantly tired or drained.

Rate of Force Production

Faster rates of force production equate to more force being produced at once, which can help you move heavier loads more efficiently, be more explosive, and break through sticking points.

Neural Fatigue

This occurs when the central nervous system does not have enough recovery time due to lifting too heavy, doing too many sets and reps, or training too much in general. When neural fatigue occurs, you will often feel overly sluggish, have decreased performance and motivation, and will need to often take some time off, often weeks, from heavier training.

Benefits of Strength Training

Increases Neural Drive and Peak Strength

Strength specific training increases the central nervous system’s ability to send impulses to the muscle fibers to contract.

These impulses can improve the rate at which the muscle fiber contracts (rate of force production) as well as how many of them contract at once (firing synchronization). Both factors will allow you to move heavier loads more efficiently.

Can Maintain or Build Strength While Training Less

Heavier strength training can help you maintain strength when cutting, mainly due to the central nervous system being stimulated under heavier loads. When people eat less, they often think they need to stop lifting heavy, but rather, they should keep some heavier lifting in as they cannot lose as much strength during a weight loss phase.

Now that we know the difference between hypertrophy and strength. Make your choice in what are u more interested in. Increasing your strength or your muscular fibers to seem buffed. Remember that you will gain both benefits regardless of the type of training you pick but in less measure. Also, training is just 20% of your results and food intake is 80%. It is getting late so… see ya later.