by- Josh Bryant

Strongest bodybuilder of all-time, Joe Mackey, 910 deadlift.

Think of your body like a factory. Muscle is the workforce. More muscle equals a bigger labor pool. More strength equals higher production. Simple math.

But size alone doesn’t get the job done. If those workers don’t know what the hell they’re doing, you’ve just got a bunch of overpaid meat statues staring at the clock. Meanwhile, a smaller crew that actually knows its job will get more real work done than a big crew that’s basically just flexing in the break room.

That’s the starting point: building muscle is your foundation. Add smart training on top and you metaphorically go from milling around on a moped to rolling a big old Cadillac puffing a 150 dollar cigar. Get the muscle, make it useful, and your strength will start climbing faster than a Permian roughneck burning through his per diem the second he spots the neon glow of Frack Daddy’s.

Bottom line: the fastest way to increase strength potential is to add muscle mass. Hypertrophy isn’t just for looks; it’s physical armor and raw horsepower.

Look at the athletes I coached at Metroflex. Plenty were strong before, but the right training turned them into some of the strongest humans walking the planet. Joe Mackey and Johnnie Jackson didn’t just get strong, they became titans.

Technical Efficiency

Now the next step: turning those slabs of muscle into efficient firing tissue. Whether you’re an IFBB Pro, a weekend warrior, or the guy who just joined the YMCA, technique is the multiplier.

One of the best concepts for technical mastery is greasing the groove. Strength is a skill. Skills require reps. Not burnout reps, quality reps.

Every time you lift, your nervous system sends signals that tell your muscles to contract. Repeat the movement enough and the body builds better motor patterns through something called myelination, a fatty sheath that makes nerve signals move faster. Faster signals mean quicker contractions, smoother movement, and more force.

It’s why walking feels automatic, but skiing for the first time feels like you’re auditioning for America’s Funniest Home Videos. Repetition, properly executed, builds efficiency.

Efficient motor patterns are simply superior movement economy and more potential strength. The faster you can recruit muscle fibers and the more fibers you recruit, the stronger you become. Think Olympic lifters, stronger than Appalachia’s best corn liquor but they would not turn a head for physical presence if they walked into a serious bodybuilding or powerlifting gym.

Greasing the Groove

Reading about this dichotomy of muscle size and neurological efficiency either has your head spinning or it finally makes sense why powerbuilding creates true strength synergy. It combines both qualities into something far more powerful than either on its own.

The question becomes, how do we turn muscle mass into efficient firing tissue?

This is done by greasing the groove, a concept Pavel popularized. It simply means practicing a lift often enough that your body fires it automatically, like a Waffle House cook flipping eggs without thinking. More efficiency, more strength, less wear and tear

How to Use GtG

For technique and strength, high-frequency practice works wonders as long as the intensity stays in the sweet spot.

Beginners and intermediates especially benefit because their nervous system adapts fast. As you get stronger, you’ll need less technical practice because heavy weights create more fatigue. Max strength grows quickly; CNS and work capacity don’t keep pace.

Here’s the formula:

Intensity:
Work in the 70–80% range of your 1RM.

Never hit failure:
Missed reps don’t build technique; they ruin it.

Move the weight fast:
Speed without slop.

Cluster-style training:
Low reps, more sets.
Instead of 3 × 10 → do 10 × 3.
More first reps = more technical practice.

The more complex the movement, the more this matters. A snatch demands far more technical practice than a semi-rounded deadlift from a farm boy with good genetics.

Benefits of Greasing the Groove

Run GtG correctly and you unlock a whole list of benefits:

Better neuromuscular efficiency:
Your brain talks to your muscles faster and more clearly.

More strength:
Better motor patterns = heavier weights with less drama.

Cleaner technique:
Repetition makes your movement automatic and safer.

Improved endurance:
Efficient firing reduces fatigue and helps you keep the reps rolling.

Time-efficient training:
GtG can be done in short, frequent sessions that fit any schedule.

Faster skill acquisition:
Just like music or sports, frequent practice accelerates learning.

Injury prevention:
Better technique and stronger neural pathways make injuries less likely.

Grease the groove with XXL strength and size.
Run the program that builds muscle, sharpens skill, and turns you into a force.

XXL Strength and Size HERE.

All JoshStrength programs HERE.