Bodybuilding.net - Bodybuilding Forum - View Single Post

EricT · 02-26-2010, 06:05 AM

^^^ ditto

If you are starting from a very low strength level than doubling your strength shouldn't be too tough.

But you have to be clear on what 'doubling your strength' means. Primarily it's going to mean being able to lift double the weight on whatever implement and lift you are using. Depending on what you do that does not necessarily mean you're going to be able to bring that strength to bear in any kind of useful way.

So, in other words, like IW was saying, you can build up very strong biceps but still not be able to carry shit because your your core is too weak.

Also, while doubling your strength in say a deadlift type movement (like lifting the backpack to your waist) would be easy, doubling your strength in a clean or something would be quite hard. That is, it depends on the exercise, how technical it is, and how many large muscle groups are involved, etc...

As always, it depends.

Given that, pushups, pullups and something like a heavy backpack or sandbag is fine and you can train with that in various ways.

You don't need to train every single day.

And yes, once you get the strength level you want it should be fairly easy to maintain 80% of that without a lot of training. But you need to know how to do that effectively and without getting hurt.

The reason I mention getting hurt while maintaining strength is because often times people train with a very low frequency and just go in and try to lift as heavy as possible so they can say, "I am just as strong".

However, you need a certain frequency and profiency to be able to do that well. The first thing that starts to go with the lifts is the coordination and neural drive. So while it is possible to maintain strength on just a few simple movements with just training once a week, twice a week would still be better.