Sun’s out, Guns out (No, not your firearms dammit!)

Similar to the stats system in GTA San Andreas, you also have different stats for your character in GTA Online that’ll help you survive the crime-infested streets of Los Santos. The stat tied to improving your hand-to-hand combat damage and agility is strength. 

Unlike GTA San Andreas, enhancing your player’s strength will not result in any physique changes; your character will continue to look the same. However, a high level of strength does help you: boost melee damage, lessen the damage you take from others, climb ladders at a faster rate, and improve your performance in sporting activities. 

This article talks about the 5 best ways to increase your player’s strength early in the game in GTA Online.

5. Arm Wrestling

Tough men sport

If you’re a masculine sport, then you should immediately find an arm-wrestling table and start breaking your opponents’ hands. There’s no victory sweeter than proving how strong of a man you are in arm wrestling, even if you have a female character in the game. Just make sure you have the guts to accept defeat as well sometimes, as losing an arm wrestling match can be a bit personal once in a while.

Arm wrestling is a fun activity that’ll help you increase your strength. Find a friend or a reliable player you can compete against. Also, the activity can be a bit buggy or laggy sometimes.

To arm wrestle:

• Go to one of the various arm wrestling locations across the map. They’ll be tagged with an icon of a flexed bicep.
• Start the activity as a host and invite a player to arm wrestle.
• To arm wrestle on PC, press A and D rapidly, or move the left or right stick horizontally on console,  to beat your opponent.
• Once you manage to outpace your rival, you’ll pin their hand on the table and win the match.

4. Picking fights with NPCs

Rights and lefts 

The innocent civilians roaming around Los Santos don’t mean any harm to you. Unlucky for them, you need to get your strength up and find a punching bag, since Rockstar didn’t add any gyms in the game, like GTA San Andreas. So, you just need to start smacking NPCs left, right, and center. 

For every 20 punches you land, your strength will increase by 1%. Though it’s a tedious task, it’s actually very fun. Just don’t start feeling bad for the ones getting knocked out instantly.

To pick fights:

• Approach a random NPC and start punching them. They’ll fight back quite often so make sure you dodge their punches too.
• You can alternatively start a contact mission and start punching NPCs within the mission. This won’t get the cops chasing you, so you’ll be at full liberty to beat everyone up on the street. 
• The best and the most crowded place to pick fights is at Vespucci Beach, next to all the shops. 

3. Beating up your friend

No mercy at all

If you want real competition in a fistfight, then you’ll have to challenge other players in the lobby to a brawl. Not only will it be super satisfying for you to land your punches on them, but you’ll also be getting battered by them equally. Make sure you don’t start weeping once you’re the one getting knocked out every time.

It gets even easier to increase your strength once you find a friend that’ll volunteer to be your punching bag. There are a few nifty ways you can use with your friend to gain strength fast.

To fight a friend unchallenged:

• You can just ask them to stand there and get beaten by you.
• They can walk into a clothing store and use the changing outfit menu at the back of the reception. You’ll just have to keep hitting them until your strength keeps increasing.
• Your friend can also just sit in a car while your stand outside and keep kicking and punching the car. It’s more forgiving because your friend won’t be getting hit.

2. Playing Tennis

A sport of royals

Get your glutes and hammies stretched, you’re about to play tennis!

Like many other pastime activities in GTA Online, you can also play a competitive game of tennis with other players. Once you play for a while, you’ll start to see your strength stat increasing. 

There is a total of seven tennis courts, all within Los Santos, marked with a tennis racquet icon.

To play tennis:

• Find a nearby tennis court.
• Access the one closest to you.
• Once inside the court, you can host a tennis match and invite another player to play with you.
• The instructions and controls to play will appear on the top left and bottom right of the screen.

1. Playing Golf

Don't swing too hard!

There’s no better way to experience the relishes of your success as an established kingpin in GTA Online than swinging your driver at the Los Santos Country Golf Club. A nine-hole golf course is a great place for you to spend quality time with your mates once you feel like you’ve achieved more than enough in life. It’s a good change of pace from all the other crime-centered activities you’d be doing otherwise. 

An added benefit of playing golf is that you’ll not only be playing to level up your strength, but you can also play solo. Plus, it tends to get interesting too.

To play golf:

• Go to the putting flag icon on the map in Richman.
• Host a game and select the starting and ending holes.
• Invite others or play solo.
• The instructions and controls to play will appear on the top left and bottom right of the screen.

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