In part one of this series, we told you what strength was and why you needed to develop yours. In this article we’ve provided you wiht a twice a week basic strength training programme
Warm up by performing 5-10 minutes of light cardio plus dynamic stretches such as leg swings, arm circles, bodyweight squats and lunges. If you are unsure about how to perform any of the exercises listed below make sure you get some expert advice to avoid the risk of injury. As the weights used are substantial, it’s very important to make sure you have an experienced “spotter” or training partner on hand in case you should fail on any particular exercise.
Because strength training requires such long rest periods between sets, it is quite acceptable to arrange your exercises into “lazy supersets”. In other words rather than sit and rest for 5 minutes between sets of squats, alternate between 1 set of squats and 1 set of bench press to make the most use of your training time. This will essentially half the time to have to spend in the gym as you’ll be making constructive use of your rest periods.
Day 1 (e.g. Monday)
Squats – front or back squats
Chin ups – body weight or weighted
Bench press – barbell or dumbbell, flat or inclined
Bicep curls – seated or standing, barbell or dumbbell
Perform 3-5 sets of 5 reps, increasing the weight set by set with the last set being the hardest
(48 – 72 hours later)
Day 2 (e.g. Thursday)
Dead lifts – traditional or sumo style
Shoulder press – seated or standing, barbell or dumbbell
Bent over row – barbell or dumbbell
Tricep dips – bench or parallel bar version
Perform 3-5 sets of 5 reps, increasing the weight set by set with the last set being the hardest
Cool down by performing 5-10 minutes of light cardio plus static stretches held for 15 – 30 seconds per major muscle group.
So now you know how strength training can benefit you and how to implement it into your training week. All that’s left is to warm up and hit the gym! Time spent strength training, especially in the off season, will pay dividends come competition time.
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