Strength

I coach CrossFit for a living, and I am pretty darn good at it. Having a background in exercise science certainly helps, as does the experience I have gained over the past few years. (experience being the greater of the two teachers ). CrossFit encompasses a number of traits and requires your to be excellent in a number of domains. If there was only one I could excel in I would choose strength. Perhaps it is because I am a big dude who is already pretty strong, (246 and a 575 dead lift). Or maybe it is because strength seems so straight forward to me. While the things I am about to say can be applied to basically any physical ability or skill you wish to excel at, strength is the one where people seem to be baffled the most. Or at least it is the one I get asked the most questions about ( perhaps just because of the way I look). Strength is very simple to attain, It simply requires that you consistency and a tolerance for pain. In mind the fear of that mythical beast "over training" is what keeps people from getting strong and maybe a fear of getting fat as well.

There are 4 basic lifts to use to get strong and two more you can use to add a does of athleticism.
All you need to do is :
Squat
Bench
Dead Lift
Over head press

you can also add
snatches
clean and jerks

these 4(6) lifts are literally all you need. Really just do those 6. Need more info? of pick two a day and work out 3 times a week and you have your self a stellar program. Still want more directions ? Start with a weight that allows perfect form for 5 reps then add 5 lbs ever time you do the exercise. What happens when you start missing reps well then just do 3 reps then start working up to singles. that should take you about a year or more to hit a true plateau. Here is the rub though this program is simple it is effective and it is super boring, i mean really really boring. One of the reasons I started CrossFit was because I have training A.D.D I get bored really easy and if I cant switch it up then I eventually stop. However strength is not acquired through variance but through consistency no amount of fancy schmancy "special exercises " will get your squat better than squatting will, there is a time and place for variance but unless you are squatting near 2x body weight you are probably not there yet. There is another problem with this program. It hurts, You knees elbows shoulders and hips will get sore, and tight, you will likely develop tendinitis in some spot or another and once you are able to move something that is actually heavy the pain will last all day long Most people give up at this point, but most people are not actually strong. Strength may be attained by following a simple path it is however not easy it is earned through suffering and discipline and constant push to be better. It is fought for and won by not listening to your body and striving to work through and around whatever ails you. The secret to strength is that there is no secret show up every day and lift more than you did before even though it hurts and even though it feels way to freaking heavy, you do it any ways, whether you feel like it or not, whether your body is at 100% (or even 60%) or not you just show up and lift it.

Stop searching for the magic pill, hard work, perseverance, and a little bit of crazy is all you need to become truly strong. Most of the time people answer their own questions when it comes to strength they are simply  either hoping for an easier path or they just need to hear some one else say it. If you want to get stronger first decide what that means to you. How do you measure your strength? is it by the bench, the back squat or the snatch. Then just do that.

When people ask me how to squat more ; my usual answer is to squat more. either more weight, more reps, or more often just do more. you must force your body to adapt and it will fight you on it but you must bend it to your will. There are no secret programs or special soviet exercises. Just put your head down and keep working.

This all comes with a caveat of course and that is that every one is different and minor tweaks to a program will be necessary but you are not qualified to know what those are for yourself. Even coaches need coaches ( I pay others to write programs for me and coach me and i am far better for it seriously check out BE STRONG ATHLETICS they are great). So if you are truly serious about getting stronger (or fitter) Find a coach and get to work.