How to Get Stronger, Without Getting Bigger

The initial strength gains when you start strength training come mostly from neuromuscular adaptations rather than hypertrophy. If you notice your muscles “pump up” during or shortly after the session, don’t panic or be too happy (depending of what your goal is). This is a short term increase in size caused by fluid retention. It should fade away within 60-90 mins after the training.

Lets look at the main mechanisms of neural adaptation:

1. Increased Motor Unit Recruitment

This means neural adaptation to training that rapidly increases the strength of a novice who hasn't yet experienced hypertrophy. What is a motor unit? A motor unit is made up of a single motor neuron, as well as all of the muscle fibers that neuron activates. This refers to our skeletal muscles, which are made of hundreds of thousands of fibers. These muscle fibers are activated by motor neurons when they receive signals from the brain to contract the muscle. A single motor neuron can control several hundred muscle fibers at a time, depending on the size and function of the muscle.

Why is it good to recruit more motor units and how does it relates to strength gains? Even when you engage in very low intensity activities, like lifting a glass to your mouth, your brain recruits motor units that have a smaller number of muscle fibers to allow you to lift the glass.However, when you are lifting something extremely heavy or applying a lot of force your body will contract more available motor units to allow you to perform the activity.

Your brain is a very clever mechanism. Imagine what would happen if your brain told your muscles to contract fully when lifting a glass up. You’d be knocking yourself in the face every time you wanted to have a drink. Motor unit recruitment is a trained and learned ability. The more motor units you can recruit, the more muscle fibers you can activate. The more muscle fibers you can activate, the more force you can apply.

2. Coordination of Motor Unit Recruitment

As mentioned above – as the athlete training progresses, his or her ability to utilize multiple motor units increases. Please note that each muscle fiber in a motor unit is functionally identical, which means it is either slow twitch or fast twitch, never both in the single motor unit. Training increases the total number of motor units that affect a muscular contraction. In other words, trained individuals can recruit more motor units than novices.

3. Increased Frequency of Firing

The frequency of motor unit firing increases with the training, as well as the total number of motor units that affect a muscular contraction. More motor units work together and they fire more rapidly (faster).

4. Improved Technique and Skill Acquisition

Out of the two similarly sized men, the one whose technique is competent will be able to generate more force than the novice. Also, he will do so in a safer manner.

5. Cross Education

Increased involvement of the neural pathways contributes to strength gains, too.For example, an untrained arm will gain significant strength in concert with a trained arm because of interaction between the nerves of either arm at the spinal column. This cross-education is one of the clearest demonstrations of neural adaptation.

Best Exercises for Strength Development

So now you understand the theory and you want to put this into practice. What exercises are best for this sort of strength development? My six fundamental exercises are:

1. Deadlift
2. Front Squat
3. Overhead Squat
4. Pull Up (weighted or not)
5. Military Press
6. Push Up (weighted or not)

• + (extra / optional) Bench Press

Once an athlete’s form is proficient in all of the above, then we can start playing with variations. The chart below will explain the repetitions range you should be aiming for depending on what your goal is.

Variable	Strength	Power	Hypertrophy (mass gain)	Endurance (local muscle endurance)
Load (% 1RM)	80-100	70-100	60-80	40-60
Repetitions	1-5	1-5	8-15	25-60
Sets	4-7	3-5	4-8	2-4
Rest btw sets (minutes)	2-6	2-6	2-5	1-2

Even more detailed guidelines as per The Kinesiology of Exercise by Michael Yessis:

• 1-4 reps per set @ 2-4RM increase pure strength but do not increase muscle mass
• 4-9 reps per set @ 5-9RM increase strength together with muscle mass
• 10-15 reps per set increase muscular strength, muscular endurance and muscle mass
• 16-30 reps per set increase muscular endurance with little to no increase in muscle mass
• 31-50 reps per set or circuit increase muscular endurance with no effect on muscle mass
• 50-100 reps per set or circuit increase muscular endurance, cardio-respiratory endurance, and there will be a possible loss of muscle mass (or fat) but absolutely no increase in strength

With all the guidelines above, just remember to stick to the numbers and be consistent and honest with your training. Be honest with yourself. If poor technique or mobility hinders you from lifting heavier, don’t stack more weight on the bar. Work on technique and mobility, as this is the problem. Changes will happen, as long as you are smart about your training and forget about the ego.