Tip: Your PR Isn't That Important Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip Your PR Isn t That Important Are you strong enough by Lee Boyce February 6, 2017April 11, 2022 Tags Tips, Training The strength and conditioning community does its due diligence in showing the importance of improving strength for improved fitness, bone density, and better quality of life. Beginners and intermediates alike should develop and maintain a foundation of strength in order to benefit from other kinds of training, see results in the gym, and have better performance outside of it. The Problem The problem comes when we look at the flip side of the coin. Oftentimes, people who are already in great shape don't seem to realize that they've surpassed the point where training to improve strength PR's is a dire necessity, and has rather become a hobby or recreational pursuit. Lifters have become so closed-minded to anything outside of finding ways to improve our PR's that we've forgotten to acknowledge that fitness is comprised of eleven components – strength being only one of them. Granted, improving strength will spill over into a number of those other ones, but your life doesn't depend on whether or not you can pull 650 any more than being able to do reps with, say, 300 pounds. Many of us have snapped, cracked, tweaked, broken, fractured, and torn our way to "elite" numbers without considering what value this provides to things we do in daily life, or our safety in the weight room as an average Joe who doesn't compete. Nervous systems get fried, injuries are racked up, and once recovered, the typical behavior is to go right back to the lifts, rep ranges, and variations that caused the injury in the first place. What's the sense in trying to push strength PR's if it continues to leave you in a weakened, less capable, or hurt state? Get Strong But Stay Healthy Strength is THE most important thing most people can focus on in the gym. But it doesn't mean training for other goals should be viewed as unimportant once you've gotten strong by general standards. Being strong doesn't necessarily mean you're in shape. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Workouts 3 Days a Week is All You Need Four rules to follow when you can only train 3 days per week, plus the 4 common mistakes to avoid. Sample plan included. Bodybuilding, Training Akash Vaghela March 14 Videos Tip Push-Up Stand Up Squat Prisoner Jump Countdown Start with one rep of each exercise, then do two on the next round. Keep the ladder going until you're doing 10 reps per movement on the last round. No rest! Exercise Coaching, Fat Loss Training, Metabolic Conditioning, Tips Eric Bach February 11 Training Tip The Steinborn Squat Back in the day, strongmen didn't have squat racks, but they did have crazy-strong cores. This is why, and it's still a good exercise today. Exercise Coaching, Powerlifting & Strength, Squat, Tips David Dellanave May 16 Training Tip The 3 Worst Bodyweight Exercises You might be tempted to do these, but they're not worth the effort. Training Scott Hansen June 7