We’ve all collectively largerly moved past the “summer body” scramble – and thank goodness for that. Following a recent survey, fitness professionals found that clients are no longer driven primarily by how they look, but by how they live, with longevity and healthy aging now outpacing traditional physique goals as the fastest-growing client priority.
Cardio has always been the cool kid on the fitness block – and running clubs have only shored up that reputation – but the floor plan tells its own story: treadmills remain the most-used piece of cardio kit in UK gyms, yet free weight areas have grown by 20% over the last five years.
The real question is: do you actually know what machines to use for your strength workout, how long to use them for, and whether you’re making the most out of your time in the gym?
According to JC, Founding Director at Foundry, a small-group personal training gym chain in the UK, the shift makes sense, because most people still misunderstand what a good strength session is even for.
What we’re doing wrong about strength training
According to JC, the biggest misconception about strength training is that more is always better. He argues that soreness, fatigue, and a hard sweat aren’t the markers of a good session – the real driver is progressive overload, the gradual, consistent increase in demand on your muscles over time.
“A well-programmed 50-minute session that leaves you feeling moderately challenged but stronger than last week beats a hardcore, unstructured hour that leaves you wrecked but not progressing.”
A second myth that does just as much damage is the assumption that lifting weights is chiefly about appearance. “The other big misconception is that strength training is about aesthetics,” JC says. “In reality, its biggest returns, for most people, are more functional: how you move, how you age, how strong your joints and bones are.”
JC argues that its real value has almost nothing to do with how you look. Instead, the biggest returns, for most people, are more functional: how you move, how you age, and how strong your joints and bones are. The visible changes, like better posture or a leaner build, are a by-product of a body that’s mechanically sound.
Why we should take strength training seriously
Strength training and longevity are definitely linked – but why is that, you may ask? “It’s not really about the weights themselves – it’s about what strength protects,” says JC. Building muscle in your twenties, thirties and forties is effectively banking capacity you’ll draw on decades later.
“Muscle mass and strength are strongly linked to your ability to get up off the floor unassisted as you age, to survive a fall without breaking a hip, and to maintain the metabolic health that counters chronic disease.”
Grip strength, he explains, is a useful shorthand for this whole idea. “Research points to grip strength as a simple proxy for upper-body strength that correlates with reduced all-cause mortality.” Gripping things won’t keep you alive for longer, but it paints a reliable picture of your overall muscular and physical robustness.
The three strength training exercises you can’t budge on
Keeping it simple is almost often the best advice. JC suggests three specific movement patterns that are crucial in building strength:
- The first is a squat pattern – a goblet squat, box squat, or leg press all qualify. “Like grip strength, leg strength is strongly correlated with reduced all-cause mortality,” he says.
- The second is a hinge pattern – a deadlift, hip thrust, or kettlebell swing. This one, he explains, “builds strength in your lower back and core, which is where most functional strength carries over.”
- The third is a push or pull pattern – a push-up and a row, which “keeps your shoulders and upper back strong, maintains posture and keeps you pain-free.”
Together, these three patterns transfer to almost everything your body needs to do in daily life – sit, stand, bend, lift, and carry. That’s also often called functional training.
These are just the types of exercises you should be doing – but what about how to do them, and how often? Naturally, every body is different, so pushing yourself really is the end goal, but if you do want baselines (some people love their numbers), Harvard suggests 6-12 reps per exercise, with beginners starting around 10 reps at light-to-medium resistance and progressing toward 6-8 reps as weight increases. The US Physical Activity Guidelines recommends at least 2 days a week for all major muscle groups, with 48 hours between sessions hitting the same muscles.
Can you actually get strong training at home?
The honest answer, per JC, splits down the middle. “A good home programme, done consistently, can absolutely build meaningful strength,” he says. The obstacle isn’t equipment or space but what you can’t see in yourself.
“What’s hard to replicate at home is a motivating environment and expert coaching feedback,” he explains.
“Most people don’t know what they don’t know, or can’t see. It’s easy to miss a rounded back on a deadlift, a knee collapsing in on a squat, or a half-rep on a press-up – which is the difference between progress and potential injury over time.”
A coach’s real value sits in the follow-through most of us can’t give ourselves. “A good coach will pick these up and fix bad patterns and habits,” JC says. Accountability is another key component that a coach can support us with, which can expedite our progress but also remove a weight off our shoulders (pun not intended!) as it removes all the guesswork on the exercises we need to do, and when.
What does a good strength training session look like?
Your training session should be, above all, focused. That’s why at Foundry, sessions are capped at six people per coach, and both phones and mirrors are stripped from the room.
“Most people don’t need one-to-one personal training, but there are very real limitations to 16–20 person classes that are more generic and cardio-based, where coaching and form correction is difficult. Small group sizes mean the coach can tailor the session to each individual, based on their needs and goals. What we do is personal training, delivered in small groups. More affordable, more flexible, and more fun. The coaches get to know you and keep you progressing, which means significantly better results over time.”
The phone ban is all about removing distraction for everyone and ensuring you get the most out of your time in the gym,” JC says. “For most people this might be the only time in their day where they properly disconnect and focus on themselves. All of our sessions are coach-led, so it would be a bit odd if people had their heads in their phones!”
Meanwhile, removing mirrors allows people to focus on their rep and set, without the distraction of everything else going on around them. Without these distractions and any potential outside noise, the environment is fully focused, and people can simply be present with their coach and the others in the room, “which means a more enjoyable workout, and much better results over time.”
How to build a routine that works for you
For anyone starting from zero and wanting a single instruction to hold onto, JC skips the technical detail and goes straight for mindset.
“Consistency over intensity,” he says. “The people who get strong and stay strong aren’t the ones who have the hardest single workouts – they’re the ones who show up consistently over months and years, doing properly programmed and tailored sessions that they can recover from appropriately and repeatedly.”
Those early sessions matter less for how hard they push you and more for what they teach your body. You’re laying down movement patterns and a habit you can sustain and that will keep you fit and active for the longer term.
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