Developing an Effective Strength Training Program

By

Dr. Raymond Tucker, CSCS

The key for athletic success begins in the weight room. Studies have shown athletes who participate in a strength-training program are faster, quicker, explosive, and have fewer injuries. Several guidelines should be followed before any athlete is permitted to start a strength-training program. This article will discuss those guidelines and recommendations to developing a successful strength-training program for any sport.

A successful strength-training programs main goal is geared toward improving the movement patterns of a particular skill. This goal can be accomplished by conducting a movement analysis to determine which muscles are being used to perform that skill. For example, in football a quarterback and an offensive lineman use different muscles and movement patterns. Therefore, they should not be doing the same generic strength-training program. Each program should be tailored to meet the demands of that skill and to prevent any injuries.

The physiological demands of the sport must also be determined. For example, long distance runners would benefit from developing their endurance because this is the physiological demand for that sport, speed, endurance, strength, quickness, power, flexibility.

It is very important that one have a general knowledge of the bodies’ energy systems and how they relate to athletic performance. If you attend a track meet and watch athletes run the 400m they are running fast for the first 200m and then slow down. This is contributed to the energy system not being trained properly and the depletion of that energy system for that event.

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is the major source of fuel stored in the body. However, a limited amount is used by the muscles in a matter of seconds. Therefore, the body must resynthesize ATP during exercise. The four energy substrates used for the production of ATP are (1) creatine phosphate, (2) fat, (3) carbohydrates, and (4) protein. The three energy systems to produce ATP are (1) ATP-PC, (2) Glycolytic, (3) Oxidative. Table 1.3 is the National Strength and Conditioning Association table of the effect of event duration on primary energy systems used.

Table 1.3

• All energy systems turn on at the same time. One system may be providing the majority of ATP for that activity and the other two are still working to produce ATP. For example, an athlete running the 400m will use the phosphagen and anaerobic glycolysis energy system to complete the race.

The strength-training program should be divided into your training goals for your athletes. You must also determine how many days a week you plan to lift.

• Off-Season – improving hypertrophy and maximal strength

• Pre-Season – sport specific power and strength endurance

• In-Season – maintaining power and strength endurance

• Transition – rest phase to give athletes time to rest before starting another cycle

It is also very important to determine what types of resistance exercise are going to be used in your strength-training program and to determine if these exercises meet the demands of the sport you are training for. In other words sports specific training.

• Power Lifts

• Multi Compound Lifts

• Core Lifts

• Assistant Exercises

• Dumbbells

• Functional Training

• Machines

• Static or Dynamic stretching

• Plyometrics

In order to prevent injury and early fatigue in your athletes, the following exercise order is recommended. The order of exercise should be power, core, and assistance. The power clean or any other power movement should be the first lift in your workout. The reason for this is that power lifts are very taxing on the body, and if an athlete is too tired to perform the lift with proper technique, the athlete could be seriously injured.

The workload and repetitions are important components of your strength-training program. Table 2.3 is the National Strength and Conditioning Association recommendations for load and repetitions assignments based on the training goal.

Table 2.3

The volume of a strength-training program is important. It is defined as the total amount of weight lifted in a weight training exercise. For example, if an athlete does 3 sets x 5 reps x 225 lbs =3,375 that is the (volume) total weight lifted for that exercise.

Table 3.3 is the National Strength and Conditioning Association Recommendations for volume assignments based on training goals.

Table 3.3

Rest Periods

Athletes should be given the proper rest period between sets to ensure there is adequate time to replenish the proper energy systems used for their training goal. It is only when these systems are replenished that athletes will be able to perform the required number of repetitions for successful gains in strength. If athletes are not given adequate rest periods between sets, they will not be able to perform the reps required to achieve that level of strength. The consequence of this could lead to serious injury, burn out, and frustration on the athletes part because they do understand why they are missing reps. Below are the following guidelines for proper rest between sets.

• Maximal strength training places enormous stress on the neuromuscular system, this stress requires longer rest intervals between sets, and should last between 2-6 minutes.

• Resistance training for power training demands a high quality of movement. Short rest intervals will compromise lifting technique. Rest periods of 2-5 minutes are recommended for power lifts.

• Rest intervals of 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes are recommended for hypertrophy.

• Rest intervals for improvements in strength endurance should be less than 30 seconds.