I get a lot of questions about my Think Strong and Think Big programs — and oftentimes, those questions involve adding more work to the plan. It's a tough one to answer, because — while I can certainly relate to wanting to work hard — I know doing so is usually a bad look.

In fact, I can generalize by saying that one of the biggest mistakes I see beginning and intermediate strength athletes make involves trying to gain more by doing more. In my experience, it just doesn't work that way.

Instead, I believe in learning how to work harder on less. The harder you can train on one set, the better your results will be. Once you've learned to do that, then you can benefit from adding more volume. But if you take the laundry-list approach of adding movements right off the bat, and never learn to push really, really hard on one set, you'll never see the full benefits of all that work.

Let me be clear: I don't think you should stick with low volume forever. I do believe that using low volume programs for an extended period of time is an important part of a strength athlete's progression, regardless of whether the primary goals are strength or size.

Ultimately, of course, you need to enjoy your training, and if that means doing a ton of work, by all means, have at it. But if progress is your number-one priority, consider trying to streamline rather than expand a plan.