Strength Secrets

As Britain’s Strongest Man, Adam Bishop can teach you a thing or two about busting out of a rut in the weights room

Lifting lessons from Britain’s Strongest Man

By day, Adam Bishop is strength and conditioning coach at Harlequins rugby club. The rest of the time, he’s an elite strongman who holds the title of Britain’s Strongest Man. The 31-year-old – who’s also the second strongest man in Europe and a World’s Strongest Man finalist – tells MF some of the heavy-weight secrets to his serious strength...

1. DON’T RUSH IT

If you’re expecting rapid progress, Bishop says you’ll be disappointed. “One of the biggest mistakes I see guys in the gym make is trying to progress too quickly,” he says.

“ey don’t have a long-term goal, they just want to lift as much as possible.”

Social media has a lot to answer for in this regard, says Bishop: “We’re in the Instagram age where you see people posting their best lifts all the time, so people think they’ve got to try and emulate that.”

Following a set plan can help you achieve your strength goals in a timely and attainable manner that is speci c only to you. “Not going into the gym with a plan is a one-way ticket to ‘snapville’,” Bishop adds.

2. CALL ON COMPOUND LIFTS

ey might not be sexy or fashionable, but basing your training on compound lifts will see your strength surge to new levels.

“ey’re your bread and butter, and the cornerstone of a strength-training programme,” says Bishop. “Most people don’t have an unlimited budget for kit, or unlimited time in the gym. Squats, bench presses, deadlifts and military presses – these large, multi-joint exercises will give you the biggest bang for your buck.”

3. AVOID THE EASY OPTION

And don’t be fooled by the relative simplicity of these compound lifts. ey get results because they put such a high level of stress and stimuli on your major muscle groups, central nervous system (CNS) and connective tissue. “We have to remember that getting stronger is an adaptation to stress,” says Bishop.

While bodybuilding-style isolation exercises have their place, Bishop says they aren’t as taxing on the major muscle groups, don’t require as much energy, and ultimately don’t correspond to more overall strength.

“Take a triceps cable pushdown, for instance, and compare it to a dip or closegrip bench press,” says Bishop. “ese larger, tougher exercises are the ones that’ll give you the better chance of taking your strength to the next level.”

4. TRAIN LIFTS NOT MUSCLES

Most people tend to base their workouts around a speci c muscle group, regardless of whether they’re training for muscle growth, fat loss, a sport or overall tness. Chest Mondays, leg day, arm day – we’ve all been there. But Bishop says that a more e ective method for gaining strength is to train lifts instead of muscle groups.

“For the vast majority of people – guys who are not pro bodybuilders – it’s very hard to see muscle growth in a mirror if all you’re doing is a series of isolation exercises weekon-week,” says Bishop. “How do you know if an isolated bicep curl is adding any muscle to your body? “If you think, Last week I deadlifted 200kg for ve reps, this week I’ve done 210kg for ve, you’ve increased your strength through a neural adaptation, and you’re also likely to have gained muscle mass.”

5. MANAGE YOUR MICROS

When dieting for a surge in strength, Bishop says a common mistake made is excessive focus on calories. “Guys always focus on calories, calories, calories,” he says. “But getting your micronutrients in is key.” While it’s di cult to get stronger in a calorie de cit, you shouldn’t take this as licence to binge. Your calorie surplus should only be slight, and should focus on foods rich in micronutrients: vitamins, minerals and nutrients. “Get your greens, your multivits and omega-3 fatty acids,” he adds.

6. SLEEP IS ESSENTIAL

The hour you spend in the gym is not that important, overall. It might sound counterintuitive, but what matters more is how you recover from intense strengthtraining sessions. “The first thing you need to look at for recovery is good-quality sleep,” says Bishop. Sleep promotes the body’s natural release of testosterone and growth hormone – both vital for adding extra weight onto the bar in the gym. “It doesn’t matter how many ice baths or cryotherapy sessions you’re having if you’re not getting good-quality sleep”, says Bishop – who is an ambassador for Levitex.

7. FORGET ‘BEAST MODE’

Modern fitness culture places a great emphasis on the importance of training with extreme intensity, typified with the popular level of support for mantras such as ‘beast mode’ and ‘team no days off’. But Bishop says you need to know when to switch off, too, because recovery is your best friend for adapting and growing in the gym. “If people applied the level of commitment they show in the gym to every other aspect of their life –” he says, “getting their meals in, going to bed at the right time, sleeping in a tidy and comfortable environment – their results would improve so much.”

“The larger, tougher exercises are the ones that’ll give you the best chance of taking your strength to the next level”