The WHO 2020 guidelines advise adults to do muscle-strengthening activities at moderate or greater intensity on two or more days a week, alongside aerobic activity (PMID 33239350). They recommend regular muscle-strengthening activity for all age groups (PMID 33239350).
The American College of Sports Medicine position stand sets out how to progress resistance training. For beginners it suggests loads that can be lifted about 8 to 12 times, on two to three days a week (PMID 19204579). Once you can do one or two repetitions more than the target, it suggests adding 2 to 10 percent more load (PMID 19204579).
Volume matters for muscle size. A meta-analysis of 15 studies found a graded relationship in which more weekly sets produced greater gains in muscle size (PMID 27433992). In a meta-analysis of 49 trials, protein supplements taken during at least six weeks of resistance training increased gains in strength and muscle size (PMID 28698222).
Power is strength produced quickly. In older adults, muscle power declines earlier and faster than strength, and it has emerged as an important predictor of functional limitations (PMID 22016147). The position stand trains power with lighter loads moved fast (PMID 19204579).
Steps
1. **Do muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week** (PMID 33239350).
2. **Start with loads you can lift about 8 to 12 times**, the beginner range in the position stand (PMID 19204579).
3. **Progress in small steps.** Add 2 to 10 percent more load once you can do one or two repetitions more than your target (PMID 19204579).
4. **Add sets over time.** More weekly sets produced more muscle growth in the meta-analysis (PMID 27433992).
5. **Include some fast movements with light loads** once your technique is solid, to train power (PMID 19204579, 22016147).
6. **Look at your total daily protein before any product.** The protein benefit levelled off beyond a certain daily intake (PMID 28698222).
Duration
The protein trials ran for six weeks or longer (PMID 28698222). The position stand sets out training as progressive, with frequency rising from two to three days a week for beginners to four to five for advanced lifters (PMID 19204579). The guidelines set a weekly amount rather than a course with an end (PMID 33239350).
Limitations
- **The volume meta-analysis pooled 15 studies** and reports a graded relationship, not an upper limit (PMID 27433992).
- **The protein benefit depended on the person.** It shrank with age and was larger in people who already trained (PMID 28698222).
- **The power paper is a narrative review**, and it reports power as a predictor of functional limitations rather than testing power training (PMID 22016147).
- **A position stand gives expert recommendations**, not results from one new trial (PMID 19204579).
- **No dose appears in this guide.** Protein amounts are a clinical decision and are held for clinician review.
- **This guide has not been reviewed by a clinician.** `reviewStatus` above says so.
Cautions
- **Recommendations should fit the person.** The position stand says its advice depends on goals, physical capacity and training status (PMID 19204579).
- **If you have a long-term health condition or disability, plan changes in training with a clinician.** WHO gives separate recommendations for these groups (PMID 33239350).
Related canonical ingredients
No ingredient is linked from this guide. It covers how to train for strength and power, and it does not point to a product.
Sources
| PMID | Title |
| --- | --- |
| 33239350 | "World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour" |
| 19204579 | "American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults" |
| 27433992 | "Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis" |
| 28698222 | "A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults" |
| 22016147 | "Skeletal muscle power: a critical determinant of physical functioning in older adults" |