Strength training

Strength training in the strict sense means teaching your body to produce more force. That takes heavy weight, low reps, and enough rest that you start every set fresh. A session is built around a handful of compound lifts, usually a squat, a hinge, a press and a pull, done for 3–5 sets of 3–6 reps with two to three minutes between sets.

The structure matters more than it looks. Compounds go first, while you are freshest, because they are the most technically demanding and they pay off the most. Accessory work comes afterward if there is time. The rest is part of the program rather than downtime. Cut it short and you have turned a strength session into a mediocre conditioning session.

Progress comes from adding a small amount of weight, or one more rep, while every rep still looks the way it did last week. If you have to change your form to finish a set, you added weight too quickly.

Expect the early progress to be fast and then to slow down. At the start you improve mostly by getting better at the movement itself, before the muscle changes much. The slowdown is not a plateau. It is the normal shape of the curve.