Strength may be defined in relative terms or absolute. Relative strength refers to strength levels related to body weight. On the other hand absolute strength is strength regardless of body weight. To illustrate, the world record total in Olympic Weightlifting for the 105 kg class is 436 kg. The same record for the 77 kg class is 378 kg. In terms of absolute strength the heavier weightlifter is stronger but relative to body weight the lighter weightlifter is stronger.
Why is this important? Most functional activities and many sports (running, wrestling, MMA, gymnastics, etc) require high levels of strength without extra mass (i.e. relative strength). To prioritize this type of strength use lower repetitions (6 or less), more sets and longer rest periods. To illustrate, a sample squat workout is written below.
Front squat: 6,4,2,6,4,2. Rest 3-4 min between sets.
* 6,4,2,6,4,2 means a set of 6, rest 3-4 min, increase weight, do a set of 4 reps, rest 3-4, increase weight, do a set of 2 reps, rest 3-4 min drop weight to 1st set + ~2.5%, then do a set of 6, etc.
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