# 3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Strength



## Dtownry (Jun 27, 2014)

I get these on occasion and the good ones I like to share.  Enjoy.


_Chad Wesley Smith_

*1. Increase Volume In Your Warmups*

This may be tough at first but you will adapt and improve. Let’s say for example that you and I are both warming up to a heavy set of 3 in the squat, I warmup as Bar x20, 135x10, 225x5, 315x3, 405x3, 495x3, 585x3, 675x3, 765x3 (9 Sets total and 13,095 pounds of volume) while you do something like Bar x20, 135x10, 225x5, 315x3, 405x3 (5 sets total and 5,535 pounds of volume), so I already squat a lot more than you and I just did a lot more work than you, so how are you gonna catch up if you're warming up like so many people do? Simple you have to do more!

Let's change your warmup to Bar x20, 135x10, 185x10, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3, you've now done 8 sets and 9,855 pounds of volume. So now we are getting closer. Make smaller jumps in your warmups to allow yourself the opportunity for more work which will build more muscle and better technique.

If you have a training partner that is stronger than you, match their total number of worksets, so whether that means you are doing more warmup sets or back down sets after, you need to at least match their number of work sets (aka squat/bench/deadlift practice) if you hope to rise to their level.


*2. Make The Lifts Harder*

Now I'm a big advocate of specificity and want you to practice the competitive lifts with your competitive technique, but even small changes can be made here to increase their difficulty.

*For the primary lifts try these...*


Squat-Lift without a belt or wraps longer through your warmups or wear looser/shorter wraps in training, 2m compared to 2.5 or 3m.

Bench-Pause longer on your chest, hold your lockouts for an extra 1 count between reps, fully lock out every rep during multiple rep sets, do your own handouts

Deadlift-train double overhand during your warmup sets, hold the lockout of every rep for an extra 1 count, train all your reps from a deadstop-not touch and go. Wear Olympic shoes to pull in.

Your assistance work allows for more flexibility here as you don't need to concern yourself as much with altering competitive technique, so try pausing your pause squats longer, squatting with less favorable leverages, benching with a fat bar, benching with your feet up through warmup/backdown sets, deadlifting from a deficit, doing GHRs with a Log/Swiss bar to force the bar to stay away from your midline.


*3. Control Your Rest Periods*

Lots of lifters are lazy. They want to sit and talk and BS between lifts and I'm certainly guilty of this myself at times. One of the most significant changes that was made in my training happened when Josh Bryant (The JoshStrength Method) began prescribing me controlled rest periods on lots of my lifts. At first, these were BRUTAL, we are talking 500 for 10 sets of 4 in the deadlift with 1 min rest between sets, but eventually I adapted and my special work capacity improved, I had to focus more on my technique, my physique improved and I had to recruit more new muscle fibers every set to get the work done.

Most lifters only look at manipulating intensity and volume within their training, some also understand the value in frequency but only very few control their rest periods. 

Get the stop watch out and make sure your rests on main movements are consistent and on your backdown sets/assistance work, try to start cutting down your rest. It will be a struggle at first but will yield you long term improvement in work capacity and muscularity.


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## PillarofBalance (Jun 27, 2014)

How does wearing oly shoes in a DL help your technical ability?


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## Dtownry (Jun 27, 2014)

I don't think he is presenting it from that point, not of overriding the need for technical specificity but as a supplement.

You could look at it two ways I suppose:  One that it pushes you onto your quads, which can develop your floor break power. I know that when my quads get stronger so does my pull from the floor.

Other is mechanical disadvantage.  Why do we pull from a deficit, or from blocks, or with a snatch grip?  Well if we can pull from a mechanical disadvantage with a high load would we not be able to pull in perfect position even better? I know my anthroprometry is not optimal for a convention DL. My technique will never overcome that. So I need to do all I can to work it from different angles.

It is a tool like anything else I guess.  Not to take the place of a the main lift, but to train parts of the main lift.


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## PillarofBalance (Jun 27, 2014)

OK I misread it as "practicing the competitive lifts." 

What he is referring to is what is called "lifting like shit." Rounding on GM's, deadlifting with the chest down etc... All to improve the technical lift.


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## JackC4 (Jun 28, 2014)

Yeah, I've got to stop shooting the shit in between sets...kills me


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