Principles of Strength Training and Conditioning

7/24/2019 Principles of Strength Training and Conditioning

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Concepts of Fitness and Conditioning

Basic strength training and conditioning (S&C) principles underlie program design. Theseprinciples can be applied to all training programs in numerous ways. Ultimatelyprogression is a long!term goal associated with many S&C practitioners. The ad"antageof S&C is that there are many ways to design e#ecti"e programs. $any programs canwor% e#ecti"ely pro"ided that guidelines are followed. This is a critical concept for S&Cstudents to understand as one may become bombarded with a spectrum of trainingad"ice. This chapter focuses on the three %ey principles of progressi"e o"erloadspecicity indi"iduali'ation re"ersibility and "ariation .

*+,SS-, *,/*01Progressive overloadprinciple states that human body has no need to becomestronger or more conditioned unless it is forced to meet higher physical demands. Thelac% of progressi"e o"erload in a program is a leading factor for stagnant progress. Theuse of progressi"e o"erload can o"ercome accommodation. 0ccommodation is thestaleness resulting from a lac% in change in the training program . 0daptations to a

training program ta%e place within a few wee%s. roper manipulation of acute program"ariables alters the training stimulus and if the stimulus e2ceeds the indi"idual3sconditioning threshold then further impro"ements in muscular tness can ta%e place.There are se"eral ways to introduce progressi"e o"erload duringS&C. The following sections discuss resistance training (T)4 5e2ibility4 speed power andagility4 and aerobictraining (0T)..

RESISTANCE TRAININGrogressi"e o"erload can be incorporated into T programs in many ways. These include6. The resistance/loadingmay be increased. The athlete may train with a higher

relati"e percentage of his or her one!repetition ma2imum (6 $) or use greaterabsolute loading within a constant repetition scheme. For e2ample during wee%s 678

the athlete uses 9:; of 6 $ for se"eral structural e2ercises. 1uring wee%s < and =9=; of 6 $ is used. 1uring wee%s >7? ?:; of 6 $ is used. This e2ample applieswhen a true 6 $ is %nown for structural e2ercises and the loading is calculated byta%ing the 6 $ and multiplying it by :.9: (and by :.9= and :.?: respecti"ely). Foran absolute loading e2ample@ during wee%s 6 and A the athlete lifts AA: lb in thebench press for ? reps. 1uring wee%s 8 and


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lengthening the rest inter"al will enable more reco"ery in between sets to toleratehea"ier loading. Forendurance and hypertrophy training the rest inter"al could be reduced decreasingreco"ery in between sets.=. Training volumemay be increased within reasonable limits (A;7=;) or "aried toaccommodate hea"ier

loads . From beginner to intermediate training small increases in "olume can enhanceT. Gowe"er with further progression it is the "ariation of "olume and intensity thatbecomes most important in program design.>. *ther supramaimal!loading trainingtechniDues may be introduced. For e2ampletechniDues such as forced repetitions hea"y negati"es partial repetitions in thestrongest area of the range of motion (*$) and"ariable!resistance de"ices can be used to load either a segment of the *$ or a muscleaction with greaterthan 6::; of 6 $. These techniDues should only be used sparingly by e2periencedindi"iduals.

"LE#I$ILIT%For 5e2ibility training the intensity "olume duration and freDuency can be increased forprogressi"e o"erload.Intensity refers to the *$ of the stretch as higherintensity stretching e2pands Hoint*$ and poses morediscomfort to the indi"idual. olume (number of reps) and duration (length of eachstretch) can be increasedwith progression. /astly the freDuency of stretching can increase with progression.

P&'ER( SPEE)( AN) AGILIT%Similar to T intensity "olume (and freDuency) and rest inter"als can be altered forprogressi"e o"erload.For plyometric speed and agility drills more comple2 e2ercises can be introducedresistance may be used or

increased longer or higher Humps or throws (drills that reDuire greater power) may beused to increase intensity-ntensity also increases as athletes increase their speed Humping ability power andagility. olume may be increased within reasonable limits as conditioning impro"es.Gowe"er caution must be used as "olume and intensity are in"ersely related so properreco"ery in between wor%outs is mandatory. est inter"als can be manipulated to targetpower specically or high!intensity endurance.

AER&$IC EN)*RANCETo progressi"ely o"erload an 0T program one may increase "olume duration andintensity and decreaserest inter"als. olume and duration are altered by increasing the distance co"ered or thelength of the e2ercise

bouts. -ntensity can be increased modestly by e2ercising at faster rates addingresistance and e2ercising uphill. -t is important to note that intensity cannot increasegreatly or the wor%out can become anaerobic. -nter"al training can be used to e2ercise athigher intensities. 1ecreasing rest inter"als in between bouts increases the continuity ofe2ercise and is e#ecti"e for increasing aerobic endurance.

S,C-F-C-TIThe principle of speci+city entails that all training adaptations are specic to thestimulus applied. 0lthough nonspecic impro"ements ta%e place most impro"ements willta%e place specic to the stimuli. Training adaptations are specic to the muscle actionsin"ol"ed "elocity of mo"ement and rate of force de"elopment (F1) *$ musclegroups trained energy metabolism mo"ement pattern and intensityJ"olume of training .

Specicity becomes most e"ident during progression to more ad"anced T as manystudies ha"e shown a multitude of transfer training e#ects in untrained and moderatelytrained indi"iduals.


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This transfer of training e#ect applies toK Strength carryo"er from unilateral training (to the opposite limb)K Strength carryo"er from the trained muscle action to a nontrained action K Strengthcarryo"er from limited *$ training to other areas of the *$ or full *$K Strength carryo"er from one "elocity to another "elocityK $otor performance (Humping ability sprint speed and sport!specic mo"ements)

impro"ements resulting from T.

,*SCLE ACTI&NT with eccentric (,CC) concentric (C*L) and isometric (-S*$) actions increases musclestrength. $uchof the strength gains are specic to the type of muscle action trained . Training with C*Lmuscle actionsyields the greatest increases in C*L muscle strength. Gowe"er some transferred traininge#ects occur.Mhen comparing -S*$ to dynamic T -S*$ training can increase dynamic strength(especially whenmultiple Hoint angles are trained) and dynamic training can increase -S*$ musclestrength . 1ynamicmuscle strength increases are greatest when ,CC actions are included . Because mosttraining programs includeC*L and ,CC muscle actions strength will increase mostly in these muscle actions.0lthough -S*$ strengthmay increase (as there are -S*$ actions present during dynamic T) the most e#ecti"eway to increase -S*$strength is through specic -S*$ training at "arious Hoint angles.

-EL&CIT% &" ,&-E,ENTelocity specicity indicates that greatest strength increases ta%e place at or near thetraining "elocity. Somecarryo"er e#ects to nontrained "elocities may occur as well as carryo"er "elocity e#ects

between muscle actions (-S*$ training can increase -S*$ F1 and dynamic mo"ement"elocity) . esearch has focused on iso%inetic T where "elocity specicity is seen plussome carryo"er abo"e and below the training "elocity .Collecti"ely these studies show training at a moderate "elocity (6?:N7A


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0daptations to training ta%e place predominantly in those muscle groups that weretrained . -deallytraining will target all maHor muscle groups. Le"ertheless some areas may be untrainedor trained subma2imally. 0daptations to training can only ta%e place when muscle group7specic e2ercises are performed. Training all maHor muscle groups is important forattaining muscle balance reducing inHuries and optimi'ing performance.

ENERG% ,ETA$&LIS,0daptations to training are specic to the energy system in"ol"ement. ,nergy systemsadapt mostly by increasing en'yme acti"ity or substrate storageJusage . The interactionbetween "olume intensity repetition "elocity and rest!inter"al length is critical toeliciting acute metabolic responses that target di#erent energy systems. 0lthough allmetabolic systems are acti"ely engaged one may predominate based on the trainingstimulus. $uch of the energy demands of resistance e2ercise are met by the 0T!C andglycolytic metabolic pathways. 0naerobic glycolysis becomes increasingly importantduring intense long!duration sets and when short rest inter"als are used.

,&-E,ENT PATTERNS0lthough a transfer of training e#ect may occur and is desired when it comes toperforming motor s%illsspecicity in program design relates to mo"ement patterns. 0daptations are specic tothe types of mo"ementpatterns used during training. ,2amples of the mo"ement patterns e2amined include freeweights "ersusmachines open! "ersus closed!chain %inetic e2ercises unilateral "ersus bilateral trainingand mo"ementspecictraining."REE 'EIG.TS -ERS*S ,AC.INESSpecicity of adaptations is seen during training with free weights and machines.0lthough both are e#ecti"efor increasing muscle strength it is diQcult to state which modality fa"ors greaterstrength increases.

The testing de"ice is critical as free!weight training leads to greater impro"ements onfree!weight tests and machine training results in greater performance on machine tests .Mhen a neutral testing de"ice is usedstrength impro"ement from free weights and machines are similar . Free!weight trainingappears moreapplicable to motor s%ill enhancement e.g. "ertical Hump performance.&pen! -ersus Closed!Cain 0inetic Eercises0 closed!cain 1inetic eercise is one where the distal segments are 2ed (leg presssDuat deadlift) while an open!cain 1inetic eercise (leg e2tension leg curl) enablesthe distal segment to freely mo"e against loading. $any closed!chain e2ercises stressmultiple Hoints while many open!chain e2ercises are single Hoint. $oderate to! highrelationships between closed!chain e2ercise and "erticalJlong Hump performance ha"ebeen shown indicating that performance in closed!chain e2ercises is strongly related to

"arious motor performance s%ills.*nilateral -ersus $ilateral TrainingUnilaterally or bilaterally (one "s. two arms or legs) performed e2ercises a#ect theneuromuscular adaptationsto training. Cross education refers to strength gained in the nontrained limb duringunilateral training. The strength increase in the untrained limb may range as high as AA;(mean increase E R?;) and is thought to occur predominately "ia neural adaptations .Bilateral defcit refers to the strength produced by both limbs contracting bilaterallywhich is smaller than the sum of the limbs contracting unilaterally. Unilateral training(although it increases bilateral strength) contributes to a greater bilateral decit whereasbilateral training reduces the bilateral decit . Specicity is obser"ed as unilateral Tresults in better performance of unilateral tas%s than bilateral training . 0thletes in"ol"edin sports where unilateral strength and power are important and those with glaring

wea%ness on the opposite side may benet from unilateral training. Unilateral e2ercisesreDuire greater balance and stability. For e2ample performing a one!arm incline


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dumbbell press (with only one dumbbell) reDuires the trun% muscles to contract intenselyto o#set the torDue produced by unilateral loading and enable the athlete to maintainproper posture throughout the e2ercise. *ptimal training may in"ol"e the inclusion ofboth bilateral and unilateral e2ercises with the ratio of bilateral to unilateral contractionsbased on the needs of the sport. The 0merican College of Sports $edicine (0CS$) hasrecommended the inclusion of both into T programs targeting progression .

,ovement!Speci+c Training,ovement!speci+c training entails the use of e2ercises that train specic mo"ements.The intent is to impro"e motor performance through T and to pro"ide a lin% betweenmuscular strength gained through traditional T and mo"ement!specic strength.Training consists of multiplanar mo"ements sometimes performed in unstableen"ironments to enhance stabili'er!muscle function with "arious pieces of eDuipmentsuch as bands medicine balls dumbbells stability balls %ettle bells ropes and otherde"ices.Overweight/Underweight Implements

0 common training tool among athletes is to perform sport!specic e2ercises against aresistance e.g. o"erweight implements. *"erweight implements allow theathlete to

o"erload a sport!specic motion therebyeliciting a resisted motor pattern similar to the motion itself. -t is thought that theo"erload enhances theneural response possibly "ia potentiation and that the enhanced neural responses lead togreater powerde"elopment with subseDuent training. Training with o"erweight implements targets theforce componentof the force!"elocity relationship. Underweight implements ha"e been used primarily bythrowing athletes.Underweight implements target the "elocity component of the force!"elocity relationshipwhere athletesmimic the motor s%ill by throwing an obHect lighter than the ball used for the sport. Forthrowing athletesstudies ha"e supported the use of o"er! and underweight implement training to enhancethrowing "elocityand it has been suggested that the implement used be =;7A:; of normal load forthrowing athletes (6:).*"erweight implements are used for any motor s%ill but ha"e mostly been studied duringo"erarm throwing in baseball and handball players. Some e2amples include using achute sled or weighted "est during sprintingand Humping swinging weighted bats and using bands during a motor s%ill. *"erweightand underweightimplements should be used in conHunction with normal training as the "elocity used withhea"ier implementsmay be slower.

0-0T-*LTraining variation reDuires alterations in one or more program "ariables o"er time to%eep the stimulus optimal. Because the human body adapts rapidly to stress "ariation iscritical for subseDuent adaptations to ta%eplace. Studies show the systematic "ariation of "olume and intensity is most e#ecti"e forlong!term progressionas compared to programs that did not alter any program "ariable . Mor%outs can be"aried in innite ways.The S&C practitioner should thin% of each design characteristic as a tool in the pro"erbialtool bo2 which pro"ides a wide array of strategies for progression. $any ways e2ist toincrease strength so the trainer benetsby including se"eral methods of "ariation into program design. Training philosophies that

support minimal "ariation will ha"e limited e#ecti"eness.


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*+,SS-*L 0L1 *+0$ 1,S-+L

TRAINING STAT*S AN) PR&GRESSI&NTraining status dictates the pattern of progression for a tness component. Trainingstatus re5ects a continuumof adaptations such that tness le"el training e2perience and genetic endowment eachma%e a contribution. Thelargest rates of strength impro"ement occur in untrained indi"iduals as the window ofadaptation is greatest during this time. esistance!trained indi"iduals show a slower rateof progression. -n a position stand publishedby the 0CS$ in A::A (6) 6=: studies were re"iewed and showed strength increases ofK R; in trained indi"idualsK R6:; in ad"anced indi"idualsK RA; in elite athletesThese studies ranged from < wee%s to o"er A years in duration and the trainingprograms and testing procedures

"aried greatly. -t is "ery diQcult if not impossible to accurately classify an indi"idual astrained or moderately trained because each classication comprises an interactionbetween tness le"el and years of e2perience e.g. some indi"iduals with many years ofe2perience possess less strength than some with limited e2perience and "ice "ersa.Gowe"er one can see that progression becomes more diQcult as one3s conditioningimpro"es. Similar results were shown where untrained indi"iduals responded mostfa"orably while less increases were seen in trained indi"iduals . 0lthough these studiesha"e focused on muscle strength the same can be said about any tness "ariable. ThediQculty in strength progression occurs within as little as se"eral months of training.,ach impro"ement brings the indi"idual closer to his or he genetic limit. Short!termstudies (6> wee%s) show that the maHority of strength increases ta%e place within therst


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1,T0-L-L+ (-LC-/, *F ,,S-B-/-TI))etraining is the complete cessation of training or substantial reduction in freDuency"olume or intensity thatresults in performance reductions and a loss of some of the benecial physiologicaladaptations associated withtraining. The length of the detraining period and the training status of the indi"idual

dictate the magnitude ofperformance loss. erformance reductions may occur in as little as A wee%s and possiblysooner in trained athletes. -n recreationally trained men muscle strength may bereduced within < wee%s of detraining whereas other research shows "ery little change instrength during the rst > wee%s detraining . -n trained indi"iduals detraining may resultin greater losses in muscle power than strength . Strength reductions are related toneural mechanisms initially with atrophy of s%eletal muscle predominating as thedetraining period e2tends. 1etraining leads to other physiological changes such asmuscle ber (--a to --2) transitions reduced anaerobic substrate concentrations anden'yme acti"ity . -nterestingly the le"el of muscle strength e"en after detraining israrely lower than pretraining le"els showing that training has a residual e#ect when it isdiscontinued. Gowe"er when the indi"idual returns to training the rate of strengthacDuisition is high .

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Principles of Strength Training and Conditioning