Strength training plays a significant role in every sport. Okay, maybe not chess but pretty much every other sport. Strength training is also beneficial for non-competitive individuals who only seek to improve/maintain a healthy body and lifestyle.
It doesn't matter why you're taking up strength training. I'm pretty sure you want to see improvements. I'm also certain that you want to avoid injuries. So let's discuss how can you ensure progression and keep away from injuries.
I'm going to walk you through the process from a total beginner's point of view, all the way to explaining an expert lifter's regime.
Beginner
We can assume the person hasn't done much weightlifting at this stage and is pretty unfamiliar with the equipment. All beginner lifters should avoid brainlessly copying other people's routines in the gym. That's like jumping into a swimming pool head first, straight after the pool was drained. Instead, you need to build a solid foundation. The best way is to stick to basic exercises and follow a plan. With beginner lifters, there are a few rudimentary rules to follow. Dedicate the first 4-8 weeks of the program to establish essential skills, familiarise with equipment and gradually start stressing the body with various loads. During this initial period, focus on learning and perfecting movements like the squat, deadlift, lunge, horizontal pull and push, and vertical pull and push. Kick off the programme by keeping the different training aspects at a low level, including frequency, volume, load and intensity. As the weeks pass, we can add more sessions, increase the load and volume and turn up the intensity. This approach will allow the muscular and nervous systems to adapt progressively.
Here is a simplified example of a lower-body strength workout over a four weeks period:
Week 1:
Goblet Squat 3 sets of 12 reps (light load)
Rack Pull 3 sets of 12 reps (light load)
Alternating Reverse Lunges 3 sets of 20 reps (bodyweight or light load)
Single-Leg Isometric Glute Bridge 3 sets of 20 seconds on each side (bodyweight or light load)
Week 2:
Keep the same exercises and sets/reps but increase the load by 10-20%
Week 3:
Keep the same exercises and sets/reps but increase the load by a further 10%
Week 4:
Keep the same exercises, increase the load by a further 5-10%, still perform 3 sets but only 8-10 reps/15second according to the exercise
You can see that I picked simpler variations, for example, goblet instead of back squat or rack pull instead of deadlift to avoid overwhelming the systems and to lay down the foundation for more complex movements. Keeping the volume (sets and repetitions) at a lower level with relatively light loads but with the introduction of progressive overload allows us to gradually increase the stress on the body and minimise the risk of injuries.
Intermediate
In the case of an intermediate level lifter, we can assume that the person has done weightlifting for some time and knows their way around various equipment. When programming for a relatively experienced individual, we can use more advanced exercises, higher training frequency, load, volume and intensity. Progressive overload becomes a bit more precise too. The following simplified lower-body workout example will showcase how we manipulate the different aspects to increase strength.
Week 1:
Back Squat 4 sets of 8 reps (80-90% of maximum effort)
Romanian Deadlift 4 sets of 8 reps (80-90% of maximum effort)
Alternating Cossack Squats 4 sets of 20 reps (60-70% of maximum effort)
Single-Leg Isometric Glute Bridge 3 sets of 20 seconds on each side (60-70% of maximum effort)
Week 2:
Keep the same exercises and sets/reps but increase the load by 3-5%
Week 3:
Keep the same exercises and sets/reps but increase the load by a further 3-5%
Week 4:
Keep the same exercises, increase the load by a further 3-5%, still perform 4 sets but only 5 reps/15second according to the exercise
Expert
Expert level lifters usually have years of experience in the gym environment. As a result, they perform advanced exercises (Olympic lifts, paused repetitions, negative training etc.) whilst working with highly challenging weights. At this point, training becomes real fun; however, the risk of injury significantly increases too.
Let's look at another four weeks of a lower-body workout, this time designed for a very experienced lifter.
Week 1:
Front Squat (Clean Grip) 5 sets of 5 reps (90-93% of maximum effort)
Snatch Grip Deadlift 5 sets of 5 reps (90-93% of maximum effort)
Alternating Overhead walking Lunges 4 sets of 20 reps (70-80% of maximum effort)
Good Morning 3 sets of 15 reps (40-50% of maximum effort)
Week 2:
Front Squat (Clean Grip) 5-6 sets of 4 reps (93-95% of maximum effort)
Snatch Grip Deadlift 5-6 sets of 4 reps (93-95% of maximum effort)
Alternating Overhead walking Lunges 4 sets of 20 reps (70-80% of maximum effort)
Good Morning 3 sets of 15 reps (40-50% of maximum effort)
Week 3:
Front Squat (Clean Grip) 5-6 sets of 3 reps (95-97% of maximum effort)
Snatch Grip Deadlift 5-6 sets of 3 reps (95-97% of maximum effort)
Alternating Overhead walking Lunges 4 sets of 20 reps (70-80% of maximum effort)
Good Morning 3 sets of 15 reps (40-50% of maximum effort)
Week 4:
Front Squat (Clean Grip) 5-6 sets of 2 reps (97-100% of maximum effort)
Snatch Grip Deadlift 5-6 sets of 2 reps (97-100% of maximum effort)
Alternating Overhead walking Lunges 4 sets of 20 reps (70-80% of maximum effort)
Good Morning 3 sets of 15 reps (40-50% of maximum effort)
As you can see in the training plan, I used advanced exercises like the front squat or snatch grip deadlift to introduce different, new stresses to the body. For example, the clean grip front squat requires more upper back mobility than the back squat. At the same time, the barbell often distracts the visibility of the feet, which challenges proprioception. The snatch grip deadlift calls for a lower starting position due to the wide grip, thus increasing the exercise's range of motion. Also - because of the wide grip - the back muscles (especially the lats) have to work way harder than during a regular deadlift.
Now that we have a better understanding of exercise selection and manipulation of the various training aspects in order to promote the increase of strength, we must talk about other components of the workouts - namely the warm-up and cool-down.
To achieve the best possible adaptation and minimise the risk of injuries, we must ensure that the muscular and nervous systems are prepared before every session. Increase body temperature and blood flow, and lubricate joints by allocating 15-20 minutes at the beginning of the workout to perform cardio warm-up, mobility drills, dynamic stretches and session-specific lifts. On the other hand, muscles become tense by the end of the training, joints get compressed, and the nervous system ends up being "fried". Therefore it's highly recommended to perform light stretches for about 5-10 minutes at the end of the session to try to restore pre-exercise conditions.
Written by Szilard Jakab
28.12.2021
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