One of the biggest myths surrounding strength training is that it has to take over your entire life to be effective. For most people, strengthening their entire body and enjoying the many benefits that can bring – from improving physical capacity to reducing injury risk and combatting chronic diseases – can be achieved with two time-savvy sessions each week.
“The most important thing is following an exercise plan you can stick to and be consistent with,” says Marchon Victoria head coach Patrick James. The key is doing what you can, when you can, while living an enjoyable life. The goal? Gradually building a capable and resilient body you enjoy living in.
The minimum effective dose
The vast majority of people want to exercise as little as they can, reaping the rewards, while leaving as much time as possible for the rest of their life. The good news is that most people only need two full-body workouts per week to enjoy the perks of strength training.
“Doing two 45-minute sessions per week is, in the long term, going to be far more beneficial than if someone did a few hour-long workouts in the first week then didn’t show up at the gym the following week and the week after that,” says James, who says that the first step is to work out how much time you can realistically allocate to your fitness efforts.
“This shouldn’t be based on a good week, but on a rubbish week when work is stressful,” he says. “Think, ‘What can I do to give me the most bang for buck in my sessions without it ruining me?’”
The vast majority of people do not need to train like a bodybuilder to enjoy the benefits of strength training (Getty/iStock)
Make the most of your strength training
James suggests aiming for six to 10 challenging sets per muscle group per week, spread over two or three full-body workouts. And your efforts need to be consistent, structured and progressive – it pays to have a plan.
“To build muscle, the most important thing is to be consistent,” says James. “We need to accumulate some form of reps and sets over time for our muscles to be able to adapt and for us to create a stimulus for growth.”
If you do two weekly full-body workouts, performing three challenging sets of exercises that cover all major muscle groups in each one, you will hit James’ prescribed minimum effective dose.
“We should definitely be hitting our quads, glutes and hamstrings [in the legs], and our pecs, lats and delts [in the chest, back and shoulders, respectively],” he explains.
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Two full-body workouts per week can provide the stimulus needed to build a stronger, more resilient body (Getty/iStock)
Make workouts more efficient
Compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, rows and presses allow you to hit multiple muscles at once. This way, you can work every major muscle group in your body with as few as four moves.
“Focus on the bigger muscle groups first, because those are the ones that you’re probably going to lift more weight with, and they are going to be a little bit more taxing,” says James. “That’s why we often prescribe people do their compound lifts first. You might also want to prioritise the areas you want to develop most.”
He uses the analogy of filling a jar with rocks, pebbles and sand to describe this. Exercises that focus on smaller muscles, like bicep curls, are the pebbles. Bonus healthy behaviours, like supplements and red light therapy, are the grains of sand. But compound lifts are the rocks.
If we want to fill our jar efficiently, while adding as few things as possible, we start by adding the rocks – and we don’t need to add all that many.
“Once you’ve done an exercise, you don’t need to do another one that mimics it. People can train smarter rather than just training harder.”
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You do not need to do several variations of the same strength training exercise in the same workout to experience positive results (Getty/iStock)
How often should you train?
Spreading your weekly workload over multiple shorter sessions, rather than “annihilating” a certain muscle group on any given day, can help your body adapt and recover, leading to better results.
“Think about it like feeding a plant – you want to give it water little and often, rather than drowning it then leaving it for a week,” James explains. “No one else has time to do 20-plus sets per muscle group per week, and training twice per week and doing six to 10 sets per muscle group is going to give you the vast majority of the stimulus you need.”
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Lowering weights can build thicker muscles, study finds (Getty/iStock)
It’s not just how much you train, but how you train
For muscles to grow, an exercise needs to be performed in close proximity to task failure, which means your muscles have tired to the point that you cannot perform another repetition with good technique. A good signifier of this is that the speed of your repetitions will involuntarily slow down.
“We want to make sure that the six to 10 sets we are doing are performed with good form and taken close to task failure,” advises James.
“If we do this and we are consistent, hopefully we will be able to progress over the weeks and over the months by either adding weight or adding reps to what we’re doing.”
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Strength coach Patrick James prescribes two 45-minute full-body workouts for most people (Getty/iStock)
The four-move full-body workout
This is a beginner workout which works every major muscle group, should take no more than 30 minutes and can be repeated two to three times per week. Aim for at least 10 repetitions in every set, while using a weight challenging enough that you cannot easily lift it for 20 repetitions.
“As you adapt and become familiar with the movements, try to either increase the weight or number of reps,” James advises.
Exercise 1: Squat to chair or sofa
How to perform a goblet squat to boxShow all 4
Sets: 3 Reps: 10-20 Rest: 90 seconds
Coach’s notes:
If you are not using a weight, hold your arms out straight in front of you If you are using a weight, hold it against your chest in the goblet position Place your feet just outside hip-width apart with your toes turned out slightly Take a big breath in and hold it as if someone were going to punch you in the belly Take two seconds to lower your bum to the chair in a smooth, controlled motion When it touches the chair, stand back upright, breathing out as you do so Keep your eyes looking straight ahead with your chest upright throughout the movement Over time, you can make this exercise more challenging by increasing the depth of the squat or by increasing the weight or reps
Exercise 2: Romanian deadlift
How to perform a kettlebell Romanian deadliftShow all 2
Sets: 3 Reps: 10-20 Rest: 90 seconds
Coach’s notes:
Hold the weight in front of your thighs in both hands with your arms straight and relaxed Place your feet hip-width apart with your toes pointing straight ahead Take a big breath in at the start of the rep Bend your knees slightly, then keep them in this position throughout the exercise – this is important for preventing you from using your lower back rather than your lower body muscles Lower the weight in a straight line toward the ground by hinging at your hips, keeping it close to the front of your legs throughout As you do this, think about pushing your hips back horizontally as if you are closing the fridge door with your bum At the same time, let your shoulders come forward like you are looking over a cliff Stop when the weight reaches the middle of your shin, then stand back up Your back should remain in a relatively straight position the whole time
Exercise 3: Press-up to chair or sofa
How to perform a hands-elevated press-upShow all 4
Sets: 3 Reps: 10-20 Rest: 90 seconds
Coach’s notes:
Find a chair, sofa or another sturdy raised surface to press up from. This makes the exercise slightly less challenging than a standard press-up – the higher the surface, the easier the exercise will feel, so you can progress to lower surfaces over time to make the exercise more difficult Place your hands on the surface, just outside shoulder-width apart Keep your bum squeezed and hips forward so that your torso and hips stay in one line Bend at the elbows to lower your torso until your chest touches the chair or sofa, then press through your hands to return to the starting position Start on your knees, and over time, you can progress to your feet as you get stronger
Exercise 4: Single-arm row
How to perform a single-arm rowShow all 2
Sets: 3 Reps: 10-20 Rest: 90 seconds
Coach’s notes:
Support yourself on the back of a chair or sofa with one arm while you hold the weight in the other hand Keep your back flat and your torso roughly parallel to the ground As you row, think about pulling your elbow towards your trouser pocket rather than pulling the weight straight up to your chest Finish the rep with the weight at the bottom of your ribcage, then slowly lower it back toward the ground until your arm is straight