The Best Predictor of Results From Your Strength Training Workout

The variable that best predicts the results you’ll see from your strength training workout? 

Long-term consistency.

Across all of the scientific literature, the best predictor of results from our workout is not the number of sets, reps, type of equipment, concentric or eccentric movement speed, or days per week… the best predictor is whether or not we do it for the long haul. Stated otherwise, the strength workout that we actually stick with is the workout that will produce the greatest benefit in terms of strength, performance, appearance, and health promotion.

A brilliant Australian colleague of Discover Strength, Tim Dettmann (he’s a physical therapist by education, but he has spent most of his career in resistance training), always reminds me that we should, above all else, optimize for long-term consistency.

We should ponder questions like…

• Can I do this workout a decade from now? Three decades from now?

• Can I do this workout when I’m busy and don’t have time?

• Can I do this workout when I’m unmotivated?

• Can I do this workout when I have an injury?

So much will change in our lives in the next year and the next 20 years. We must find a way to keep our strength training consistent.

Try Expert-Led Strength Training

Ready to try the strength training that works better in less time? You can put hours back into your schedule when you train at Discover Strength — just book a free introductory workout at Discover Strength.