Everyone is strength training right? That’s all we see on Instagram and TikTok nowadays. People lifting weights and looking great so there it is… got a problem? Answer: squat.
Well not quite, there are many assumptions of strength training from different angles which all come into play as if you should be doing it. And if so, how? why? who?

Strength training defined:
The use of resistance to muscular contraction to build strength, anaerobic endurance and size of skeletal muscles.
Ok so it sounds like we want to be doing all of these things for a better, fitter self. However, a few key considerations to be aware of before reading on. Strength training and seeing results is a slow continuous process that takes time (we’re talking years) - yes you will see some short term results, particularly when first starting as your body reacts quickly, but after that stage it will be a slow progress to making you look and feel stronger. So if you’re a female reading this, don’t worry about getting “too bulky” - it takes a long time and you have sufficiently less testosterone than men - even look at some men who go to the gym 4 x per week and still don’t look bulky. Unless you’re actively trying to get “bulky” it won’t happen by chance.

Should getting strong be a fitness goal?
For most of us yes, and it depends on the type of fitness goal you have as to how much specific strength training you should do. Improving your muscle strength has been proven to increase overall health and maintain your body for a longer time. However, the key here is how much “getting stronger” you should do. This comes down to what you’re training for.
Let’s take some examples at different points of the scale
Marathon runner: all of your exercise should be aimed at being a better marathon runner, obviously. But this doesn’t mean just running in intervals, different distances, and altitude training. Marathon runners need to train leg muscles and their core to improve their marathon times. It makes the muscles stronger and their recovery time faster. They aren’t going to be doing the heavy squats or bench press (in fact barely any upper body exercises are needed), but more likely to be doing lighter weight, high rep, single leg exercises. Something like a Bulgarian split squat, with a jump at the top of the range of movement.
Recovering from an injury: strength training is vital when recovering from an injury. Your muscles and joints have recently gone through trauma and at one of their weakest points. Even before operations, muscle strength around the injured area should be strengthened as it allows for a quicker recovery - muscle memory is an incredible thing (we’ll get into that one day). After an injury, recovering the muscle from a weak point will mean a lighter weight and gradually increasing it back to its original point and hopefully further, to prevent a recurring injury. Something that can easily be done with the Unitree PUMP and you don’t need to go to the gym for it.
Ironman: we’ve all heard of these 9 hour long sessions of swimming, cycling, and running. These people are superhuman and go through some of the toughest training you can imagine. Because of the variety of sports they do in the event, strength training will be more rounded by having a wider range of exercises throughout their programme. For example, leg curls to help with cycling and lateral pull downs to help with swimming.
It’s interesting hearing what people do who do different types of exercise, but I feel like you get the jist and could apply these ideas to most areas by looking at what muscles are needed for individual sports and the answer is to do some strength training for that.
But… most of us are casual gym goers, with no real particular event to train for (maybe the odd marathon or Hyrox event) so how do I strength train as an average Joe?

This is a photo from the film ‘dodgeball’ which, although a comedy, has some very true underlying points, relating back to the intro in this blog too.
The average person should strength train. No you don’t have to have an Instagram account. What most people are strength training for is…. nothing particular. It’s to be in better shape and health so that if you decide one evening you want to play squash or you want to go for a 10 mile hilly hike on Sunday after lunch or do that 5-a-side game your colleague drags you in to, then you won’t wake up the next day with aches and pains, or worse, pull a muscle because your muscles aren’t used to it.
Being the average Joe strength training means you’re keeping your muscles in good health, ready for pretty much anything, which allows you to live a healthier and longer life.
So how should the average person strength train?
Social media will have you thinking Monday - chest, Tuesday - legs, Wednesday - Shoulders etc. This does mean over a week you train all your body in 4 - 5 sessions, but at what cost? You’ll get delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) every day and your muscles will be working harder to recover. Research shows you don’t need to do this and actually can split your exercise throughout a week. For example, if you did 4 x chest exercises on Monday, 4 x leg exercises on a Tuesday etc., change this to on Monday do 1 x chest exercise, 1 x leg, 1 x shoulder, 1 x back, then on Tuesday repeat this but with the second exercise you would normally do on your ‘muscle days’. Training like this has shown to have the same impact, for the average gym goer, for their strength, and means you avoid DOMS, so you consistently feel fit throughout the whole week with the whole of your body. Some people like the feeling of DOMS as they “feel” like they have worked their muscle because it’s sore the next couple of days, but this mindset needs to change, as what’s the point in walking around with a sore muscle every day of your life? It just isn’t sustainable or optimal.
How often should you strength train?
This comes down to how much of it in your life do you want it to be and how much it can be. Most of us are busy people; jobs, kids, family, friends, socialising, holidays etc. all take up time. What we know is that the more you do a week to a certain level is better with diminishing returns. A mouthful, but let’s break it down.
Training once per week is good, twice per week is about 1.5x as good, three times per week is about 2x as good, 4 times per week is a little bit better, 5 times a week is a tiny bit better, and after that we don’t see much change, unless you’re an athlete. So if you can only get to the gym 1 or 2 times per week, it is still worth going. You will see progress in your strength training, just not as much as if you went 3 or 4 times a week.
45 minutes to 1 hour is a good amount of time for a gym session. Anything less and you probably haven’t worked your muscles enough and anything more, you’re either doing too much or wasting time between sets on your phone (leave it in your locker!). If you are starting out with strength training, you may want to start with shorter sessions to build up to this time to get your body used to working for this duration. This does not assume your travel time to the gym and if you never want to commute to the gym, check out our blog on how to build your home gym.

How to stay consistent at strength training
Muscles are amazing at putting on strength and losing it, which is why consistency is so important. Muscle memory is not given credit for as much as it should be. So firstly, yes consistency is very important, but do not worry if your routine changes and you can’t get to the gym for a few months - in that short time you will lose some of the muscle you have built, but you will be able to put it back on much faster than it took to gain the first time.
Staying consistent means having a routine and making it non-negotiable. Holidays can always be tricky so read our blog here on how to stay fit when travelling. Making specific times for your gym sessions is key to this, so try staying on the same schedule, whether that’s the same time every day, or set times on set days that work for you. And don’t stress if you miss a session, just know that you’ll make the next one - life gets in the way and that’s fine, we don’t all need to look like photoshopped Instagram models.
You need to make it habitual to do a gym session so that it doesn’t become a conscious decision - moving the decision from system 2 to system 1 for those psychology people out there (Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman can tell you all about this). And habits don’t just happen overnight, to integrate a habit (or change one) you should make small adjustments over a long period of time. No one goes from no gym sessions a week to 5 a week and makes it last and sustainable - but people do go from no gym sessions a week to the first month being 2 sessions a week, then month 2 making it 3 sessions a week, and month 4 being 4 sessions a week. Making drastic changes in a short period don’t last, and yes you may get that boost of motivation which is great, but only in the short term, and as we’ve discussed, strength training results require consistency over a long term. But as L’Oréal says, it’s worth it, so as Nike says, just do it.
One way to help with this is the Unitree PUMP so check out some videos on strength training on our YouTube channel here.