Best Ways To Resistance Train

A really good piece of research came out recently that looked to review all the studies done on resistance training, weight lifting and strength to see what does the evidence actually tell us? It was done by the American College of Sports & Medicine (ACSM) as part of their position stand review.

The way science works is that big organisations take a position statement, where they state their beliefs, and use that as a core of their approach. They only make updates when there is enough evidence that they have to change their mind. This ACSM review brought about a lot of changes. The main points from the research were –

Don’t need high volume – For a long time people thought more sets, more exercises and more time in the gym meant better results. What this shows is you can get very similar gains on much lower volumes if the work you are doing is of good quality.

Effort more important than volume – How hard you push a set matters more than how many sets you do. Many people waste a lot of time just going through the motions with loads of sets at low effort level. A smaller amount of proper effort will beat that every time.

Frequency does not have to be every week – As long as the overall work adds up over time, you do not have to be perfectly consistent week to week.

Diminishing returns kick in fast – You get a lot from doing something, you get less and less returns as you add in more. This is where people waste time chasing small gains when they have not even nailed the basics yet.

Consistency beats optimisation – The idea of just doing something regularly seems to hold true. It is far better to do a simple plan you can stick to than a perfect one you cannot maintain.

If you review what this all means then going forward you should look to focus on –

Effort > Volume – Focus on making your sets count. Get close to your limit rather than just ticking off numbers on a sheet. This means you can dramatically reduce how much time you need to put into weight lifting. 

Hit minimum effective dose – You do not need loads of exercises and sessions. Find the smallest amount of work that moves you forward and build from there if needed.

Wide rep zones work, for both strength and hypertrophy – You do not need to be stuck in one rep range. Lower reps, higher reps, it can all work if the effort is there. I saw this first hand by growing muscles doing hyrox style training with high reps. Personally, I always like high reps over lower reps as you get a nice burn and use way less weight which was better on the joints.

Frequency is optional – You do not have to train multiple times every week to get results. For a long time I have been telling you how most people can do just a little exercise and still make great gains. I see clients miss weeks of training all the time and they still progress. If your schedule is busy, you can still make progress with fewer sessions.

Adherence longer term is critical – The best plan is the one you actually follow. This is where most people fall down, not the details of the programme itself. If you routinely lift, do fitness, the accumulation over the months and years is sensational.

What Does This Mean For You

When big organisations make changes in their position statement, though usually a fair bit behind what people are already doing, it shows that the evidence has moved on.

To this point, we now know that you can get resistance training benefits by doing a small amount of focused work, pushing yourself properly when you do it, and staying consistent over time. It does not need to be perfect, it just needs to happen regularly.

Most people still do not do any resistance training. You can do it at home with bands or outside using bodyweight, bands or outdoor gym equipment. If the gym is your scene then you can of course join one.

If you are unconfident in any of these areas you just need to learn, it is the same as learning anything else. My members area for clients has 20 follow along band exercise videos, just press play and copy me. 

The above research should give you confidence as it confirms you can get results in many different ways. You do not have to use free weights or do heavy squats to benefit. Most of these small changes, done consistently, turn into something significant over time.

Photo – Me doing resistance training in the gym at home and outside – 

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