1. Strength Concepts

2. What is Strength?
Classically, strength is defined as the ability of a given muscle or group of muscles to generate muscular force under specific conditions (Siff, 1999).

3. Fundamental Principle of Strength Training
All strength increase is initiated by neuromuscular stimulation (Fleck & Kramer, 1997).

4. More Definitions……. Functional Muscular Action (functional effect)
Muscle Hypertrophy (structural effect)
Functional Resistance Training
Structural Resistance Training

5. Types of Strength Training
Fundamental Strength Movements
Isometrics, Isotonics, Variable Resistance,
Isokinetics, Eccentric
Specific Strength Training
Hypertrophy, Strength, Speed-strength,
Strength-endurance, endurance

6. Basic Periodization Principles (Bompa, 2001)
Anatomical Adaptation:
Foundation on which the other phases of training are based. Progressive adaptation of an athlete’s body.
Higher volume of training with low to medium loads to aid integrity not only muscle tissue, but ligaments, tendons, bone, and joint capsules

7. Basic Periodization Principles
Hypertrophy
Enlargement in muscle size, through increasing the cross-sectional area of muscle. Unlike bodybuilding, hypertrophy training for selected sports focuses mainly on increasing the size of prime movers.

8. Basic Periodization Principles
Maximum Strength
Develop highest level of force possible to aid in creating sport specific strength

9. Basic Periodization Principles
Power
Ability of neuromuscular system to produce the greatest possible force in the shortest period of time
Fast, ballistic application of force.
Load – standard weight of the implements
Repetitions discontinue as movement speed declines

10. Physiology of Movement
Connective Tissue
Nervous System
Muscle

11. Connective Tissue
Role: passively stabilize the joints, facilitating contact between parts and absorbing shock
Tendons, ligaments, joint capsules only display significant adaptation and hypertrophy after several weeks or months of progressive loading (McDonagh & Davies, 1984)

12. Nervous System
Neuromuscular system is fundamental to all training (Siff, 2000)
Major adaptation is developing the ability to recruit all motor units needed to perform a task
Neural adaptations make up for most of strength gains in first 2-8 weeks of strength training

13. Muscle Highly innervated and very well nourished
Muscle tissue adapts much quicker to resistance training than does connective tissue, thus an overemphasis on muscle strengthening can compromise connective tissue, and produce a complex that is more prone to injury

14. Program Characteristics for Basic Goals in Resistance Training
1 Rep Max (RM)Strength
*Choice of exercise,the specific movement patterns, and types of muscle action
*Exercises to be emphasized are performed early in training session
*HEAVY resistances (<6RM)
*Mod to Long Rests (>2m)
*Mod to High # of sets (4-10) for primary specific exercises (the squat), low to mod # of sets (1-3) for assistance exercises

15. Power
Multi-joint structural movements (Oly type exercises) Eccentric actions not emphasized
Performed early in Training Session
High-Intensity (<10RM)
Rarely more than 5 reps
Moderate to long rest periods (>2m)
Mod to High # of sets (4-10)

16. Hypertrophy Large variety of exercises Large variety of exercise order
Concentric and eccentric actions
Moderate to High intensity (6-12RM)
Higher number of reps
Short rest periods (<1.5m)
High total # of sets/ muscle or group (>3)

17. Muscular Endurance Choice of exercise needed for specific sport
Low intensity (12-20RM)
Moderate rest periods (2-3m) for long rep sets (>20) and short rest periods (45sec) for lower rep sets (12-19)
Moderate # of sets (2-3)

18. Variable Power Endurance
Strength
Power
Hyper-trophy
Endurance
Load (% of 1 RM)
Repetitions per set
1 - 5
8 - 15
Sets per exercise
3 - 5
4 - 8
2 - 4
Rest between sets (mins)
2 - 6
2 - 5
1 -2
Duration (secs per set)
5 - 10
Speed per rep (% of max)
6 - 80
Training sessions per week
3 - 6
5 - 7
8 -14

19. Designing a Program Needs Analysis
What phase of training is the athlete in?
What muscles need to be trained?
What energy sources will be utilized?
What movements are related to performance?

20. Other Considerations Trainability Neuromuscular Efficiency
Biomechanical Efficiency
Psychological Factors
Injury and Fear of Injury
Fatigue

21. Conjugated vs. Complex & Rehabilitation
Periodization Models
Conjugated vs. Complex & Rehabilitation

22. Complex Training
The concurrent and parallel training of several motor abilities with the intention of producing multi-faceted development of physical fitness.
May be appropriate for lower level athletes, but may have negative influence on highly trained individuals

23. Conjugated Training
Extension of Complex Training focusing on the elite athlete.
Overlapping of several different training variables (hypertrophy,strength,etc.), each of which has a different training objective.
At any time, a different proportion of each type of training is provided, but at no stage is there only one type of training.

24. Advantages of Complex Simple design
Effective for beginning clients or athletes
Useful for athletes training 1 or 2 days/ week

25. Advantages of Conjugated
Produces a specific training effect
Preserves magnitude of training effect
More effective for highly trained

26. Points to Remember!
The long term use of the same training variable, even if volume is increased, will not increase one’s level of special fitness and will decrease the existing level of maximum strength…

27. Rehabilitative/Corrective Exercise
Imperative to strengthen integrity of connective tissue
4 Phases of Rehabilitation
Quality of Movement Biomechanical limitations
Transfer to sport specific

28. Concepts for Athletic Trainers
Understanding of Fundamentals
Creating a Continuum in Rehabilitation
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