Strength Gone Simple

Cancel out the industry noise and get back to basics with these four, max-crushing, strength-building tactics.

- Eric Velazquez, CSCS

The strongest professional athletes in the world don’t share a single body type or build — some are broad-shouldered and barrel-chested while others are long, lean and modestly muscled. But they do share specific traits that help them excel at their sport: bullish allegiance to the basics, freaky hip strength and silky-smooth range of motion.

Ashley Krotine, USAW-1, a Southern California–based strength and conditioning coach, feels that the pursuit of strength has become muddled by a cacophony of gurus looking to innovate. “I am old school and believe in the basic fundamentals of strength building,” she says. “I try my best not to reinvent the wheel when it comes to this stuff.”

Although Krotine is a strength fundamentalist, she does believe that everyone — no matter if your goal is aesthetics or performance — can benefit by focusing on these four things:

1. Ignore the Clock, Focus on the Reps