Considering a strength program this fall-winter ? What’s Important
Sets, reps, specific exercises, weight used.
- This is often over looked and the most important part of your programming to consider. It should be started and progressed very intentionally and smartly. This is your total load and your progression in your programming. How it’s placed in relationship to your other workouts is really important and the total load across your entire program. Without correct and appropriate planning athletes get injured, do not benefit correctly from the addition of strength training and are risking it actually hurting their overall progression.
Why are you doing it? Have a clear understanding why you are adding strength training to your program. Should it be sport specific strength ( hills running, paddle work or buckets on the swim, big gear work on the bike for some examples). Should it be strength focus and a progressive program of close chain compound lifts. Or do you need more power focus, open chain, explosive work and plyometrics. Maybe you simply need injury prevention? What are you trying to change by adding strength.
Build strength
Build power
Injury prehab / rehab
Where is it placed in relationship to your training sessions:
Have a coach that has good understanding of the impact of the strength training you are doing, where to place it in the program, how often, and in relationship to your other workouts. This is absolutely critical!
This is often why adding an outside strength coach doesn’t work. If you do, they need to be in clear communication with the other coach doing the overall program.
Adding random classes or strength programs like HITS, CrossFit, ect are extremely risky and often end poorly when used as an athletes strength program while maintaining their overall program. If you choose this route be sure your coach understands the impact of these classes and in relationship to the total program.
Ask yourself these questions when planning your strength program:
-What specifically is your weaknesses.
-What is your background
-What is your sport
-How do you recover from it
-What is your experience level
-What is your range of motion and ability to move through the exercises
-What is your age
How often do I lift?
Depending on what type of program you need this is another area athlete easily make mistakes. If you are doing rehab/prehab type work that can be 3-4x per week and every second day. Strength and power programming is very dependent on the athletes overall program but most likely twice a week and minimum 72 hours apart, that’s a good rule of thumb
What tempo?
Understanding what tempo of your lifts is a good idea. It adds to what specifically you are training. Some examples of tempos are 1:1 or 2:1. Those are the two most common.
What should the speed and rest be while I do the workout ?
This also depends on your specific program. Most strength programs should be done focused on form and accuracy over speed. Rest between sets is typically 2-3min up to 5min when lifting very heavy.
On a more rehab/prehab type work ( body weight ) you can move smoothly and quickly from one to the next. Perhaps even super setting certain exercises.
With strength and power programs you complete all sets and reps of one exercise and then move to the next one. The higher the power movement is or heavier the strength work is the more rest you need between sets.
Your total time logged to do your strength routine doesn’t matter much. Most strength programs should be in the 30min-60min time frame but total time isn’t relevant in most strength programs.