Building strength is vital for building muscle. Problem is, most guys jump directly into high-rep 5x10 workouts to pump their muscles before there is any muscle at all. This keeps most guys in the beginner stage of training, whether they’d like to admit it or not. <br> <br>You need strength. It builds the foundation for all fitness skills: without it, all the volume in the world won’t help you put on muscle mass; the overall stress on your body is too low. <br> <br>There are two big factors to strength building muscle. <br> <br>First, getting strong teaches your nervous system to be more efficient. That means you'll recruit more muscle fibers to work together to perform movement and thus build more strength and muscle. <br> <br>Second, strength builds your work capacity. Building muscle requires three factors: Metabolic stress, mechanical tension, and muscular damage. <br> <br>Without the ability to build tension and lift moderately heavy weights for more volume, you can't create the stress needed to build muscle. <br> <br>To get strong, go with a basic 5x5 style program for six months and get strong, and aim for these benchmarks: <br> <br>Bench Press your bodyweight <br>Squat 1.5 x your bodyweight <br>Deadlift 2x bodyweight <br>Make your focus on hitting these goals first. Achieving these numbers will build tons of strength and muscle, while giving you a great foundation for more specific workouts going forward. <br>