Strength Training - The Whys and Wherefores

Because of the physically demanding nature of sport, functional strength training is a vital component in your training.  Not only do you need to be physically strong enough to execute the skills and techniques effectively and for extended periods of time, you need to be able to execute those techniques with good form and absorb punishment without injury or detriment to your performance.

Functional strength is defined as the ability to perform normal movements, within normal ranges, with ease.  Functional strength then is all about training the body to move efficiently, effectively and with power, through a full range of movement and in balance.  Training to improve your functional strength should involve both body weight and held weights as the instruments of change. 

If you want to develop a strong, hard body, you should not follow the example, or advice, of body builders.  The body builder’s sole objective is to build huge muscles; this does not naturally translate into strong, resilient or flexible muscles.  Strength training for sport will focus on high repetitions, mid-range to heavy weights and multiple stretching and flexibility sessions every week.

Kettlebells have proven to be one of the most effective tools you can use as the primary training tool and a well-designed workout with kettlebells will result in muscle hypertrophy (growth), strength endurance and will also deliver a very effective High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout. 

Typically, I would expect you to be completing a minimum of two strength workouts every week, one cardio session (in addition to your normal sport-specific training) per week and at least one stretching session every day.

The key to a successful strength training program is to understand that a program designed for you will not necessarily work effectively for anyone else.  A well-trained fitness professional will take a holistic approach to designing your program.  He will look at things like your training history; medical history, e.g. limitations; your current status, e.g. weight; fitness, flexibility; and, what your goals are.  No two people are the same and therefore will require a different approach to strength training.

Therefore, the caveat is this; the strength conditioning programs you pick up off the internet are not designed specifically for you and do not take into consideration any short-term or chronic injuries or conditions you may be suffering.  I strongly encourage you to always seek expert advice, listen to your body and if you experience sharp pain or are aggravating existing injuries, STOP!  Do not persist with an exercise that causes pain.  Every exercise will, at some point cause discomfort and that is expected.  However, pain is your body’s signal to say that there is something wrong and you should always take heed.  If you do experience pain, particularly in the joints, cease the exercise and seek medical advice.

Notwithstanding the caveat stated above, approach every strength and conditioning exercise from the perspective that in order to grow more muscle, and thereby grow stronger, it is necessary to damage the muscle.  At a cellular level, lifting heavy weights will cause micro-tears in the muscle fibres which, when the muscle is allowed to recover and repair, will grow thicker, stronger and more elastic.  This is what causes the muscle to grow larger and enables you to lift much heavier weights.

A truism in strength conditioning training is this: you must be prepared to hurt yourself to grow stronger.  That does not mean you deliberately set out to injure yourself!  To the contrary, the aim should always be to push your muscles to failure (not injury) during every set.  This will ensure the maximum amount of cellular level micro-tears and complete exhaustion of the muscles’ energy source.

A critical, and often overlooked, factor in strength conditioning is rest.  If you work your muscles remorselessly every single day, you will not achieve the hypertrophy or strength gains you should expect.  If a muscle is continually working, it is continually breaking down without a chance to recover and repair.  That’s how injuries occur.  There is a phenomenon known as the Super Compensation process.  When a muscle is worked to genuine fatigue, provided with quality nutrition and then rested for seven days, the muscle will Super Compensate for the damage it has suffered by becoming stronger, in the order of 30 – 40%, than it was on the training day.  There are a lot of factors at work that will determine whether you can achieve improvements of this magnitude but, given the right circumstances and rest, it is possible.

Before we begin looking at strength conditioning in depth it is important to understand the basics and lay a strong foundation upon which to build, literally.  For basic level strength, you should focus on pushups, situps, chin-ups and burpees.  These exercises will form the basis of your strength needs and should be performed in three sets, working to failure, i.e. keep going until you cannot physically do any more.  You should aim to increase the number of exercises performed each week.  For example, if during the first week you can only manage 5 pushups each day, during the second week increase that to 6 pushups each time.  You will be surprised how quickly you will improve.

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