Building Strength Without Bodybuilding

Almost a year ago, I adjusted my weightlifting routine to put much greater emphasis on strength training than on muscle building.  Since then, my bodyweight decreased about 25 lb but my strength and power improved noticeably.  I'll briefly share how my training routine changed.

During my senior year of college, I experimented with a bodybuilding method called High Intensity Training (HIT).  The former Mr. Olympia, Dorian Yates, would be the most famous example of a HIT disciple.  The basic idea is that only one grueling set is needed to sufficiently stimulate a muscle to grow.  This is counter to the traditional model of the Arnold-esque high volume, multiple sets per exercise format.  Thus, HIT is supposed to build muscle more efficiently by cutting the amount of time you spend at the gym by a significant amount.  I was normally in and out of the gym in 30 minutes.  (Not too surprisingly, this is the cornerstone for Timothy Ferriss' bodybuilding foundation in his book, The 4-Hour Body.)  A good article that explains the philosophy behind HIT is here.

I definitely did pack on the most mass in my life from that training.  However, I didn't feel that I was very strong for my size.  Also, I had a rather embarrassing bowling accident in August 2012 that forced me to stop working out for about a month because I tore a muscle in my lower back.  I figured that once I hit the gym again, I will focus on strength to bring my numbers back up.

I began with Rippetoe's Starting Strength format of focusing on squats, deadlifts, bench presses, shoulder presses, and rows (instead of power cleans).  I eventually put in power cleans and felt a night and day difference in my energy levels.  My body felt much more dynamic and the strength I developed from the other lifts felt more transferable with my increased ability to generate fairly high velocities with heavy weights (aka power).

I eventually plateaued, so I am currently using Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 periodization, adding power snatches and front squats.  Here is my schedule:

Monday

Power clean

Deadlift (Conventional with hook grip)

Press

Barbell curl

Wednesday

Power snatch

Front squat (Clean grip)

Barbell row

Dip

Friday

Squat (Olympic)

Bench

Chin up

I have italicized the main lifts where I follow the 5/3/1 template.  The assistance exercises are always done last and are done for five sets of 10+.  Wendler recommends running hill sprints but I can't find any good hills so I try to use incline treadmills for my conditioning days.  Stretches are to be done before and after every workout and make sure to use warm up sets.

A big takeaway is that hypertrophy does positively correlate with strength gains but you have to focus one of them to have proper training goals.  I may not be as big as I was last year but I feel more energetic and athletic than I have felt in a long time.  Female Olympic weightlifters in the lighter classes repeatedly prove that smaller people can be extraordinarily strong and powerful given the proper training, nutrition, supplementation, recovery, and motivation.