Strenght and conditioning programs

Everything you want to know about our top-rated Study Programs are just a call or click away. Up until about 40 years ago, most athletes were told to avoid resistance training because the misperception was that strength training would actually reduce their athletic performance.

Of course, we now know that a proper strength and conditioning program is essential for athletes who want to reduce their risk of injury and enhance their performance. Athletic performance is based on a number of skills that can be developed through a sports conditioning program. This particular program focuses on improving both muscular strength and power using a technique called post-activation potentiation PAP , also commonly referred to as complex training.

A complex training set involves performing two exercises back to back, with a brief rest period in between. The first exercise is a strength exercise using a heavy weight for four to six repetitions ideally fatiguing by the final rep. The second exercise is a power exercise focusing on explosive movement for five to eight repetitions. There should be a to second rest interval between the strength and power exercises and a to second minute rest interval after both exercises.

You start with the bar and add weight, doing 5 reps, until the bar slows you down. Pretty easy starting point. What if I have experience lifting? If you already know your 5 rep maxes, you should work backwards in the program. Meaning if you deadlift lb for 5 reps and you do six weeks of the program you should end your sixth week at lb.

Every week should increase so you need to calculate backwards 10 lb lighter squat and deadlift 5 lb lighter presses for each week. So Week one would start at lb, week two, lb, week three, lb, week four at lb, week five at lb. Then, your next cycle you would add 10 lb to all of those.

Can I add accessory movements or other exercises? The Good — A logical, predictable, progressive structure to gaining strength. The Bad — Potential boredom if following cycle after cycle for months on end. Bodyweight — Bodyweight exercises which complement the main lift. You never do conditioning the day before lower body lifting. How many cycles should I do? Do at least 5 cycles and monitor your progress. If you get stalled jump back to weights in your second or third cycle, then do five more cycles from there.

Quick answer, no. Jim Wendler recommends using front squats as accessory work and recommends the same with movements like cleans. The Good — Gives the ability to pack on serious strength using short-time high-volume training sessions; which gives time for conditioning. The Bad — No programmed assistance exercises and timed dynamic efforts can be intense for some.

For me, I can knock out the strength portion of my workout in 35 minutes, or less. Yes, one barbell is needed. Technically if all you had were weights and a bar you could do a three-day a week split of deadlift, cleans and snatch no rack needed.

Which version should I follow? If you want to follow multiple cycles for a few months I recommend version one. If you just want to do one or two cycles and have experience in strength training, go version two. Can I use Olympic lifts in the program?

Yep, yep! As a general rule, most phases will last weeks. This is an important phase as it prepares athletes for strength work to come in the later phases of training. It may not be the most exciting phase for your athletes, but it is absolutely necessary to get their bodies ready for the heavier, more intense phases to come. Phase 2 The next phase is our Basic Strength phase.

The reps and sets for this phase are generally in sets of 5 reps. Phase 3 The third phase in our periodized training plan is the Strength-Power phase. In this phase, the athlete trains using sets of reps in the main lifts of their program. In this phase, generally due to the increased strength the athlete has experienced but also the decreased fatigue because of the lower volume, the athlete can display greater power. Phase 4 The last phase is our Peaking phase. This is used to taper the athletes in the last few weeks before a major competition.

Here, the athlete will usually train using sets of reps, with high intensity. The key here is to not wear out the athletes and allow them to regain full stamina before they compete. The ectomorph body type is often described as having a flat chest, small shoulders, and thin waist.

These individuals are often described as thin or skinny and have trouble putting on weight, possibly due to a faster than average metabolism i. Building muscle and gaining weight is primarily a function of three things: [Read more…]. Its popularity has stemmed from its simplicity, flexibility, and ability to be run over and over for long periods of time.

It favors slow, steady, repeatable progression over the long term instead of programs that pile on the weight for a few weeks or months before progress grinds to a halt. It has a fair amount of heavy singles followed by back off volume and accessories.

It looks like a lot of fun to run. These are tried and true fully body training plans that will help you get stronger by exposing you to heavy weights and letting you add weight on a regular basis and build muscle. Ivysaur is another solid pick. Intermediate level lifters may benefit from training 4 or 5 days per week in order to achieve the necessary stimulus to disrupt homeostasis and induce adaptation in the necessary muscle groups.

It really depends on how the program is designed and what its goals are.