What and When as well as How Hard (Part 1)

Athletes ask me what should I do to get ready.  Most of these athletes are training for power sports and that is a world I enjoy working in today.  Simply put, power athletes are football, baseball, basketball players to name a few.  They play for a short period of time.  For example an average NFL play lasts 5.05 seconds.  Think about a batter facing a pitcher, and putting a bat on a 90+ mile an hour fastball is quick to say the least.  Last a basketball player drives hard to the basket and quickly elevates for a layup. These are all power moves in sport.  Explosive movements with a short rest between plays, that's power!

So how does an athlete training for this type of season.  A season that occurs for one part of the year.  Lets look at a five period cycle. The term most commonly used to describe this concept is "periodization."

The concept of periodization is used to peak and athlete at the correct time and avoid overtraining.  We'll start at the end of the prior season.  Most likely and athlete is a little tired and has some minor pains that needs a some time to heal.  Lets call this time the "active rest period." If the athlete is a college football player it will coincide with finals and winter break and may last six weeks.  During this time the athlete may do some light weight lifting, swimming, play some basketball or other activity that is enjoyable to the athlete.  Mostly its recreational unplanned/organized movement that gives the athlete a mental and physical break after a tough season.

The next phase is the hypertrophy/prep phase where and athlete will begin to prepare for the season by increasing the size of the muscle fibers.  This period will last 6-8 weeks and and is used to prepare the athlete for more strenuous training that will follow.  In addition an athlete will include 20-30 minutes of conditioning.  Many groups use this time as team development using small teams and Olympic games concept.

We'll post part 2 soon.

How many sets do I need?

If you are using resistance training as part of your fitness or performance training routine this may help you with the question; How many sets?

If you're training for general health then 1 set per exercise is adequate.  I'll define general health as not working to achieve maximal strength gains.  For example one set of lat pull downs, chest press, leg press, etc. 

If you are working to reach maximal strength gains, then 1 to 3 sets of each exercise is recommended.  Some studies indicate that when doing more than 3 sets per exercise a person will not receive any more benefit than a person doing 2 to 3 sets.  However, everyone is different and you may find you will achieve more strength with more sets.

Additionally using a non-linear program may increase maximal strength more than a linear program.  For example a linear program is 3 sets of 10 reps at 75% of 1RM done 3 to 4 days a week.  A non-linear plan may look like this 3 sets of 2 repetitions [reps] at 90% of 1RM on Monday, 3 sets of 6 reps at 85% on Wednesday and 3 sets of 7 reps at 60% on Friday.

Be sure that you are aware of the volume you lift each day.  The volume or total load [weight] lifted for 3 sets of 2 at 90% of 1RM on Monday when the 1RM is 100 is 3 x 2 x 90 = 540 total volume, on Wednesday, 3 x 6 x 85 = 1,530 and on Friday is 3 x 7 x 60 = 1,260 of total load or weight per exercise.  So the heavy day is Wednesday. It's not on the day you lift 90% of 1RM as may people mistake, including some coaches.

Go hit the weights (but you may want to hire a coach to be safe)!