Those who say that they're only training for looks and not for strength are full of shit. (I'm referring to everyday Joes here, bodybuilders are a different story - and by bodybuilders I mean those who compete, if you don't compete, you're not a bodybuilder end of story).

The relationship between Strength and Hypertrophy can be explained using a very simple example. Imagine an empty bottle that can hold 500ml of water. The bottle represents strength, and the water represents the amount of muscle you can add on (hypertrophy). You can fill up your bottle with water, but only to a certain limit. Increase the size of your bottle to 1500ml, and you can fill up more water.

Basically, increasing maximal strength allows you to put on more muscle. Strength is the basis of everything. Powerlifters always complain that they put on too much muscle the moment they get on a bodybuilding program. If you only train for looks and not for strength, here's something for you to think about.

Imagine 2 people, A and B with the exact same strength levels. They both have a max squat of 100kg. A decides to use a 'bodybuilding' program for 8 weeks, staying in 8-12 reps at 60-70% of his 1RM. This means he will be squatting 60-70kg for 8-12 reps.

B decides to get on a program to increase his strength for 4 weeks, using 3-5 reps at about 85-90% of his 1RM. This means he will be squatting 85-90kg for 3-5 reps. After 4 weeks, his new squat max is 120kg. Now he decides to get on a bodybuilding program just like A used. This time he will be squatting between 72-84kg for 8-12 reps.

After 8 weeks of training, who will get better results? Just think about it.

Strength is not the side effect of getting muscular, it is the other way around. There's a reason why programs such as 5x5 work so well even for advanced lifters.

As for those who claim that our daily lives do not demand much strength, you can't be more wrong.

Being strong makes daily life easier. How many people have you seen hurt their back when they pick u something light off the floor? If you can deadlift 200kg, picking up something from the floor should be easy for you.

Lifts such as squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses all strengthen the core muscles. Strong core muscles mean less likelihood of suffering from things such as back pain. Those of you who work in an office, take a look at those around 30-40 years old, I bet you most of them are suffering from some niggling injuries and pain. Being strong simply reduces the likelihood of geting injured. Many people have been injured simply by doing everyday stuff. Sure you might not have to lift up cars, or pick up heavy objects day in day out. I've seen people injure themselves by reaching up the shelve to take something, picking up something from the floor or even walking up the stairs simply because they are weak.

Those of you who have or will have kids, being strong makes you less likely to injure yourself when you carry them around, or chase them around the house. Besides, you kid might even call you superman.

The point is, get strong and everything will take care of itself

I'm currently lifting to improve for football, hoping to make it big soon My current priority is to increase strength and put on some weight (I'm 6 feet 2 and 67kg, hoping to reach 80kg by the end of the year). I've been watched by some of the best coaches in the country, and they all say the same thing - I need to improve my strength.

As a football player, that means that whatever weight I put on it has to be functional weight, weight that will help me sprint faster, weight that will help me hold off defenders, you get what I mean.

Currently I'm on an 4 week program. It goes like this:

Workout A: Hang Clean Pull 5x5 Deadlift 5x5 Incline Bench Press 5x5 Bent Over Barbell Row 5x5

Workout B: Hang Clean Pull 5x5 Deadlift 5x5 Barbell Press 5x5 Pullup 5x5

I go to the gym 3 times a week so I alternate between Workout A and Workout B every time I go to the gym. I also add in things like single leg work, 1 leg back extension, shrugs and also some shoulder injury prevention work (I've had a torn rotator cuff before).

After 4 weeks my plan is to reduce from 5 reps to 3 reps, meaning I'll use much heavier weights, and probably increase the sets to 7 sets. So basically these 8 weeks my plan is to increase my strength on those lifts as much as possible.

You might be asking why no squats? Well before this I was ignoring the deadlift, and I did only front squats, and it was a big mistake. My quadriceps became stronger than my hamstrings, making me more prone to suffering hamstring strains.

My strength is nothing to shout about, currently I think my 1RM for deadlift will be around 80-85kg.

Pizzaboy you are an olympic lifter right? Just curious, do all of the olympic lifters you train with have a very high vertical jump? Above 30 inches?

This post has been edited by Desvaro: Jul 9 2008, 02:08 PM

I've read articles from Chad Waterbury, and also many articles from T-Nation.

Almost all of them suggest similar methods for strength gains in athletes.

http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuildi..._my_cranium&cr=

I derived my current routine from this article, the part about muscle building.

Nice to see someone who knows about Chad Waterbury's methods =)

So to answer your question, I guess it is partly Chad Waterbury, but it is suggested by many other strength coaches as well.

Actually if you read the article, the getting stronger effect works when you're doing low rep sets, not deadlifting x10.

When I deadlift for 3-5 reps, I feel that I get stronger and stronger after each set until the 5th set or so.

Here's the thing, the reason they write it in such complex manner is because they not only want to tell you what to do, they also want you to know why you are supposed to do that.

Do you know that Poliquin is regarded as one of the best coaches in the world? So many countries are fighting for him to coach their olympic teams.