Principles of Strength Training
Prescription
Resistance training program design variables
1.Needs analysis
2.Exercise selection
3.Training frequency
4.Exercise order
5.Training load and repetitions
6.Volume
7.Rest periods
Step 1: Needs Analysis
Needs analysis is a two-stage process that
includes:
1.An evaluation of the requirements and
characteristics of the sport
2.An assessment of the athlete
1.Evaluation of the sport
• Movement analysis: body and limb movement
patterns and muscular involvement
• Physiological analysis: strength, power,
hypertrophy, and muscular endurance priorities •
Injury analysis: common sites for joint and
muscle injury and causative factors
2.Assessment of the athlete
• Training status
• Type of training program
• Length of recent regular participation in
previous training programs
• Level of intensity involved in previous training
programs
• Degree of exercise technique experience
Assessment of the athlete
Physical testing and evaluation
• Tests should relate to the athlete’s sport.
• Use the results of the movement analysis to
select tests.
• After testing, compare results with normative or
descriptive data to determine the athlete’s
strengths and weaknesses.
Primary resistance training goal
• Typically to improve strength, power,
hypertrophy, or muscular endurance.
• Concentrate on one training outcome per
season.
Step 2: Exercise Selection
Exercise type
1.Core exercises
Recruit one or more large muscle areas
Involve two or more primary joints
Receive priority because of their direct
application to the sport
2.Assistance exercises
Recruit smaller muscle areas
Involve only one primary joint
Considered less important to improving sport
performance
3.Structural exercises
Emphasize loading the spine directly or
indirectly
4.Power exercises
Structural exercises that are performed very
quickly or explosively
Movement analysis of the sport
Sport-specific exercises
The more similar the training activity is to the
actual sport movement, the greater the
likelihood that there will be a positive transfer
to that sport.
This concept is called training specificity or
specific adaptation to imposed demands
(SAID).
Movement analysis of the sport
Muscle balance
• Agonist: The muscle or muscle group actively
causing the movement
• Antagonist: The sometimes-passive muscle or
muscle group located on the opposite side of the
limb
Exercises to promote recovery
• Do not involve high muscular stress or high
stress on the nervous system
• Promote movement and restoration
Exercise technique experience
• Do not assume that an athlete will perform an
exercise correctly.
• If there is any doubt, have the athlete
demonstrate the exercise, and provide instruction
as needed.
• Availability of resistance training equipment
• Available training time per session -Prioritize
time-efficient exercises when time is limited.
Step 3: Training Frequency
• Training frequency is the number of training
sessions completed in each period.
• For a resistance training program, a common
period is one week.
Training status
• Training status affects the number of rest days
needed between sessions.
• A frequency of three workouts per week is
recommended for many athletes to allow
sufficient recovery between sessions.
• More highly resistance-trained (intermediate or
advanced) athletes can augment their training by
using a split routine in which different muscle
groups are trained on different days.
Sport season
• Seasonal demands of the sport may limit the
time available for resistance training.
Training load and exercise type
• Athletes who train with maximal or near-
maximal loads require more recovery time before
their next training session.
Other training
• Training frequency is influenced by the overall
amount of physical stress.
Consider the effects of:
• Other aerobic or anaerobic training
• Sport skill practice
• Physically demanding occupations
Step 4: Exercise Order
• Exercise order is the sequence of resistance
exercises performed during one training session.
Power, other core, then assistance exercises
• Power exercises (such as the snatch, hang
clean, power clean, and push jerk) should be
performed first in a training session
• Followed by other nonpower core exercises
• Then assistance exercises
Upper and lower body exercises (alternated)
• One method of providing the opportunity for
athletes to recover more fully between exercises
is to alternate upper body exercises with lower
body exercises.
• If the exercises are performed with minimal rest
periods, this method is also referred to as circuit
training
“Push” and “pull” exercises (alternated)
• Another method of improving recovery and
recruitment between exercises is to alternate
pushing exercises (bench press, shoulder press,
and triceps extension) with pulling exercises (lat
pulldown, bent-over row, biceps curl).
Supersets and compound sets
• A superset involves two sequentially performed
exercises that stress two opposing muscles or
muscle areas (i.e., an agonist and its antagonist).
• A compound set involves sequentially
performing two different exercises for the same
muscle group.
Step 5: Training Load and
Repetitions
Terminology used to quantify and qualify
mechanical work
• Mechanical work = force × displacement.
• Volume-load is a practical measure for the
quantity of work performed in resistance training.
• Volume-load = weight units × repetitions.
• Arrangement of repetitions and sets affects the
intensity value, a measure of the quality of work
performed.
Relationship between load and repetitions
• The heavier the load, the lower the number of
repetitions that can be performed.
• Load is commonly characterized as a
percentage of a 1-repetition maximum (1RM) or
as a repetition maximum (RM).
Assigning load and repetitions based on the
training goal
• Once decided on, the training goal can be
applied to determine specific load and repetition
assignments via the RM continuum, a percentage
of the 1RM, or the results of multiple-RM testing.
Assigning load and repetitions based on the
training goal
Repetition maximum continuum:
• Use relatively heavy loads if the goal is strength
or power.
• Use moderate loads for hypertrophy.
• Use light loads for muscular endurance.
• A certain RM emphasizes a certain outcome
(indicated by the larger font sizes), but training
benefits are blended at any given RM.
Assigning load and repetitions based on the
training goal
Percentage of the 1RM:
• The relationship between the percentage of the
1RM and the estimated number of repetitions
that can be performed at that load.
• The training goal is attained when the athlete
lifts a load of a certain percentage of the 1RM for
the goal number of repetitions.
Assigning load and repetitions based on the
training goal
Percentage of the 1RM:
• Load and repetition assignments are indicated
for athletes training for single-effort power
events (e.g., shot put, high jump, weightlifting)
and for multiple-effort power events (e.g.,
basketball, volleyball).
Progression of the training load
Timing load increases:
• As the athlete adapts to the training stimulus,
loads must be increased so that improvements
will continue over time.
• Monitoring each athlete’s training and response
helps the strength and conditioning professional
know when and to what extent loads should be
Key Term • 2-for-2 rule: A conservative method
increased.
that can be used to increase an athlete’s training
loads; if the athlete can perform two or more
repetitions over his or her assigned repetition
goal in the last set in two consecutive workouts
for a given exercise, weight should be added to
that exercise for the next training session.
Progression of the training load
Quantity of load increases:
• Table 17.10 (next slide) provides general
recommendations.
• Variations in training status, volume-loads, and
exercises greatly influence appropriate load
increases.
• Relative load increases of 2.5% to 10% can be
used in place of the absolute values in table
17.10.
Step 6: Volume
Volume – load and Repetition - load
• Multiple versus single sets
• Single-set training may be appropriate for
untrained individuals or during the first several
months of training.
• But many studies indicate that higher volumes
are necessary to promote further gains in
strength, especially for intermediate and
advanced resistance-trained athletes.
Training status
• It is appropriate for an athlete to perform only
one or two sets as a beginner and to add sets as
he or she becomes better trained.
Primary resistance training goal
• Training volume is directly based on the
resistance training goal
Step 7: Rest Periods
•The time dedicated to recovery between sets
and exercises is called the rest period or interest
rest.
• The length of the rest period between sets and
exercises is highly dependent on the goal of
training, the relative load lifted, and the athlete’s
training status.
Scenarios
