The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recently released a landmark update to their position on resistance training. This is a massive deal in the world of exercise physiology as they haven’t updated these guidelines since 2009. After over 15 years the findings are in.
The study reviewed over 30,000 participants, and the resounding theme was consistency over complexity.
If you are showing up consistently, day after day, you're winning. Not every workout has to be "great". I'd rather see three sub par workouts over one home run workout. And the findings from this study support that.
The ACSM also did a dive deep into the nuances of how we train.
Let's break it down...
When you lift, you are essentially training three distinct qualities. You’re never training just one quality in a vacuum, but the weight you use and the speed at which you move it determine which attribute you are emphasizing.
- Strength: Your absolute ability to apply force (e.g., pulling a massive suitcase off the airport carousel).
- Hypertrophy: The scientific word used for muscle growth (increasing the literal size of the fiber).
- Power: Your ability to generate force quickly (e.g., reacting fast to dodge an obstacle).
1. Strength: The Case for Heavy Loading
To drive strength adaptations, the ACSM identifies Load as the most important factor. They suggest working with greater than 80% of your 1-Rep Max. (This is the most amount of weight you could perform just once.)
My Take: In practical terms, this means heavy sets in the 3–5 rep range. While you can get stronger with lighter weights and higher volume, moving massive loads is the optimal path.
However, I think it's important to note a little caveat here...
For those with joint limitations, this intensity might carry more risk than reward. I generally only advise this "heavy" periodization for people with a high Training Age (multiple years of experience) or those working with a professional. But if you are an athlete or a healthy adult looking to maximize longevity, this is a must. Strength is one of the greatest predictors of independence and injury reduction as we age.
2. Hypertrophy: Volume is King
If your primary goal is muscle growth, the most important variable is Total Volume. The "sweet spot" is 10+ sets per muscle group, per week.
Example: To grow your quads, your week might look like:
- 4 sets of Squats
- 3 sets of Lunges
- 3 sets of Leg Press
My Take: More is generally better, up to a point. Diminishing returns kick in hard once you cross the 20-set-per-week threshold. Keep it intense, keep it focused, and don't just chase sets for the sake of it.
3. Power: The Missing Link
The ACSM suggests moderate loads for power: 30–70% of your max. The focus here is moving the weight fast(er).
My Take: This is the most undertrained quality I see in both athletes and adults. Power requires intentionality. It’s about moving weight with maximum speed. Specifically, it’s about the amortization phase, the transition point where you switch from lowering a weight to exploding upward (like reversing direction at the bottom of a squat).
Even if you aren't a pro athlete, power is vital for the active ager. It maintains elasticity in our tissues, creates a spring effect in our muscles, and improves balance. Power is what helps you catch yourself if you trip on a curb.
There's much more here, from this study which I will hit on in subsequent write ups...
The main takeaways here...Don't overcomplicate the science. Focus on consistency and the intent of your movement.
Questions to ask...
Are you moving weight that is heavy enough? Are you doing enough volume to elicit muscle growth? Are you moving the resistance fast enough to get the benefits of power?
If I could put a big asterisk next to all of this I would say before anything, are you choosing exercises that first prioritize your safety? Do no harm, should always sit at the top of the exercise list.
More to come...
Dedicated to your health and performance,
