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Part 2: The 4 Universal Laws of Strength Training

Writer: Rob Scholten
Rob Scholten
4 days ago
3 min read

This is Part 2 of our Strength Series. Read Part 1: What Is Strength Training? first.


LIFT Strength Training: Trap Bar Deadlift

Every successful training programme relies on four foundational sports science principles. Understanding them allows you to structure workouts that produce predictable progress while avoiding overtraining and injury.


1. Specificity (The SAID Principle)

Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (SAID) dictates that your body adapts to what you repeatedly ask it to do. Adaptations are highly specific to movement patterns, force demands, and energy systems (3, 4). Long-duration, low-intensity cardio improves cardiovascular efficiency, but does little for muscle growth or maximal strength (3, 4).


Range of Motion (ROM)


Tension drives hypertrophy, making ROM a key driver of adaptation. Completing lifts through as large a ROM as possible is generally best for hypertrophy, overall muscular adaptation, and connective tissue tolerance (fascia and tendon).


However, full ROM is not always appropriate:


  • Rehabilitation: During early hamstring strain recovery, full-range Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs) may aggravate tissue.


  • Anatomical Deficits: Postural limits can cause compensations (e.g., excessive hip or spine shift), causing smaller stabilisers to overload and increasing injury risk.


  • Sport-Specific Demands: Athletic actions rarely occur at maximal joint flexion. Replicating the base position and force-velocity profile of a sport (e.g., court readiness) makes partial-range, velocity-focused work far more functional.


Velocity-Based Training (VBT)


Sports performance and everyday injury prevention require producing force quickly (reactive strength). In older adults, reactive strength prevents falls—a vital protective mechanism given that 20–30% of women over 65 die within a year of a hip or femoral fracture (1, 2, 7).


When to start VBT?


Before introducing specialized speed protocols, it is essential to establish a baseline of foundational strength. Sports science research uses benchmarks such as a 1.5 times bodyweight 1RM back squat (or moving your bodyweight on the bar for 5 controlled reps in under 6 seconds) to indicate when a lifter has built sufficient joint resilience and neurological motor unit recruitment.


For less experienced trainees, this simply means that standard, full-range strength training should come first. Doing so naturally builds the necessary tissue tolerance and foundation without needing complex velocity tracking. Once that strength foundation is established, incorporating targeted velocity work yields far greater transfer to athletic power and explosive performance. 


2. Progressive Overload

To continue adapting, training must become more demanding over time via load, volume, complexity, or rest reduction (5). Small, consistent increases prevent adaptation from stalling (5, 6).

LIFT Strength Training: Progressive Overload chart

To manage progression safely, use the Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR):


LIFT Strength: Acute:chronic workload formula

  • Optimal Target Ratio: 0.8 to 1.3 maximizes adaptation while minimizing injury risk.


  • Struggling with Recovery? Split long workouts into shorter sessions. Shorter workouts reduce fatigue, preserving velocity and neurological engagement.


  • Stalling Progress? If recovery is good, add another effective set per session to boost weekly volume.


3. Individuality

Differences in training age, injury history, anatomy, lifestyle, and recovery demand personalized programming (6, 7).


  • Anatomy: Hip socket (acetabular) angles vary between 15°–20° in males and 18°–22° in females, directly altering ideal squat stance width.


  • Training Age: Advanced lifters with a decade of experience adapt slowly, whereas beginners (<1 year experience) make rapid neural and structural gains.


At Lift Personal Training Studio Fulham, diagnostic mobility and movement screenings are used to tailor exercises like squats and deadlifts to your exact anatomical leverage.


4. Reversibility

Strength gains decline when training stops.


  • 1 Week: Functions as recovery/deloading.


  • 2–3 Weeks: Minor detraining without major strength or muscle loss.


  • 4–6 Weeks: Expect a 7% to 12% reduction in repetition maxes, with faster loss rates thereafter (11, 12, 13).


Well-trained individuals regain lost muscle faster than untrained individuals upon returning. Consistency remains the ultimate driver of long-term progress.


Part 2 References

  1. Seguin, R., & Nelson, M. E. (2003). Benefits of strength training for older adults. Am J Prev Med, 25(3 Suppl 2), 141–149.


  2. Westcott, W. L. (2012). Resistance training is medicine. Curr Sports Med Rep, 11(4), 209–216.


  3. Schoenfeld, B. J. (2010). Mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy. J Strength Cond Res, 24(10), 2857–2872.


  4. Vieira, A. F., et al. (2021). Training to failure vs non-failure. J Strength Cond Res, 35(4), 1165–1175.


  5. Schoenfeld, B. J., et al. (2017). Advanced resistance training techniques. Sports Med, 47(6), 1139–1150.


  6. Lovegrove, S., et al. (2022). Repetitions in reserve reliability. J Strength Cond Res, 36(10), 2696–2700.


  7. Martins, W. R., et al. (2022). Resistance training and bone mineral density. Healthcare, 10(6), 1129.


  8. Bosquet, L., et al. (2013). Effect of training cessation on muscular strength. Scand J Med Sci Sports, 23(3), e140–e149.


  9. Mujika, I., & Padilla, S. (2000). Detraining: Short term insufficient stimulus. Sports Med, 30(2), 79–87.


  10. Mujika, I., & Padilla, S. (2000). Detraining: Long term insufficient stimulus. Sports Med, 30(3), 145–154.

 
 
 

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