The Strength Check-In - Edition 1 - Basics

Strength Training: Finally Starting the Series

Today marks the start of a series I’ve wanted to write for a long time.

But here’s the honest truth: trying to do all the things at once rarely ends well. 2025 was full of ideas, plans, and enthusiasm — and while enthusiasm is great, it doesn’t always make for sustainable systems.

So instead of doing all the things in 2025, I decided to carry one idea forward into 2026 — focusing my energy on one project I’ve been meaning to start for ages:

👉 a series on strength training.

If you know me, this probably doesn’t come as a surprise.

I’m not a bodybuilder, nor do I aspire to be one. You won’t find me chasing maximum muscle size or structuring my life around protein shakes. But as an endurance athlete and a trained dancer, I’ve learned first hand how important strength training is — not for aesthetics, but for function.

Strength is what allows muscles to do their job properly.

Why Strength Training Actually Matters

Strength training isn’t just about lifting heavy things for fun (although that is fun). It’s about building a body that can support everything else you ask it to do.

Consistent strength training can:

• Reduce injury risk by strengthening muscles, tendons, and connective tissue

• Improve movement efficiency, so endurance work feels smoother and less draining

• Support joint health and stability, especially as we rack up years (and sitting hours)

• Maintain bone density, which becomes more important the longer we plan on being active humans

• Improve balance and coordination, two things we don’t miss until they start disappearing

• Preserve independence as we age, because future-you deserves to move with confidence

Put simply: strength training helps you move better now and keep moving later. And that’s a pretty strong argument in its favour.

Sets, Reps, and Volume (Without the Confusion)

If strength training feels intimidating, it’s usually because of three words: sets, reps, and volume.

Let’s simplify.

• Reps (repetitions) are how many times you perform an exercise

  • Example: 8 squats

• Sets are how many rounds of those reps you complete

  • Example: 3 sets of 8 squats

So far, so manageable.

Now let’s talk about the thing that actually drives progress.

What Is Training Volume?

Training volume is the total amount of work you do and is often calculated as:

Sets × Reps × Weight

For example:

• 3 sets

• 8 reps

• 40 kg

That gives you a total volume of 960 kg.

Volume matters because it gives your body a reason to adapt. More work over time (done sensibly) leads to stronger muscles, tendons, and bones.

How Do You Increase Volume?

There are three simple ways to increase training volume — and no, you don’t need to do all of them at once.

1. Increase reps

   • Moving from 3×8 to 3×10 at the same weight

2. Increase sets

   • Adding an extra set while keeping reps and weight the same

3. Increase weight

   • The most tempting option

   • Also the one people rush far too quickly
     

Progress doesn’t mean going harder every single session. It means small, consistent increases that your body can actually recover from. Boring? Yes. Effective? Very.

Strength Training Is a Long Game

This series isn’t about shortcuts, hacks, or “one weird trick” exercises.

It’s about:

• Building strength that supports endurance and movement

• Training in a way that’s sustainable

• Making progress without constantly feeling broken
  

Over the course of 2026, we’ll cover how to structure strength sessions, how much strength training you actually need, and how to progress in a way that fits into real life.

This series has been a long time coming — and now it’s finally here.

Let’s get strong, sensibly 💪