Powerlift pyramid

Warm up thoroughly before performing this or any workout!

The powerlifts (those used in competition) are the squat, bench press and dead lift. Powerlifters compete to see who can lift the most weight in these exercises. The totals are then added up and the winner is the one who has lifted the greatest combined load. For our workout today we aren’t going to attempt any one rep max effors as there is a lot of risk associated with 1RM performance but at the end you could plug your results into the calculator provided to estimate your 1RM and then your powerlifting total…

 
1) Squats
Perform a 10 minute pyramid of barbell squats, increasing the weight and reducing the reps set by set until you run out of time. Make sure you use a spotter or a squat rack to minimise the risk of injury.

2) Bench press
Perform a 10 minute pyramid of barbell bench presses, increasing the weight and reducing the reps set by set until you run out of time. Make sure you use a spotter or a power rack to minimise the risk of injury.

3) Dead lifts
Perform a 10 minute pyramid of barbell bent legged, increasing the weight and reducing the reps set by set until you run out of time.

On completion use the calculator http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html to workout out your 1RM for each exercise and then add the score for each exercise together to give you your powerlifing total. Post your scores below!

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Powerlifting Pyramid

Today’s workout uses the so-called powerlifts which are the squat, bench press and deadlift. Between them, these three exercise tax most of your muscles which makes them a very efficient way to get a good workout in a short time.

Perform 5 sets of 5 reps of each exercise, working up to close to your 5 repetition maximum. Start light and add weight each set so that the last group of 5 repetitions is really challenging.  A typical series of sets might look like this…

1. 5 reps 40 kgs (easy)
2. 5 reps 50 kgs (getting harder)
3. 5 reps 60 kgs (moderate)
4. 5 reps 65kg (challenging)
5. 5 reps 70 kgs (very hard)

Rest 2-3 minutes between sets and remember to warm up before and cool down and after your workout.

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Strength is defined as the ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert maximum force and is an essential quality that most recreational sports people need to develop. Combined with a well rounded conditioning programme, strength training can have a huge impact on playing performance including increasing speed, reducing the likelihood and severity of injures and making players more resistant to fatigue. In this article, we’ll explore just how to set about gaining some strength for your sport…

Firstly, it’s worth mentioning that training for strength is very different from the bodybuilding type training that many people engage it. Bodybuilding workouts utilise relatively light loads, short rests, and multiple exercises per muscle group and are all about creating bigger muscles (correctly termed hypertrophy) whereas strength training focuses almost exclusively on increasing performance. Bodybuilders, while often very big, are generally not as strong as smaller athletes who focus on strength training. Strength training will cause some hypertrophy but it is a by-product of training as opposed to the aim. The hypertrophy caused by strength training can best be thought of as “functional” or, in other words, not only will the muscles look bigger, they will also be much better suited to the demands of your chosen sport. The muscle developed by strength training will be useful rather than “all show and no go” which is more likely to be the case with bodybuilding training.

To develop strength, exercises must be selected that allow a significant amount of weight to be lifted. Exercises such as squats, dead lifts and bench press are the cornerstone on which to build an effective strength training programme. These compound or multi-joint exercises provide plenty of “bang for your buck” and will allow you to get the most from your training time. Isolation exercises such as dumbbell flies and tricep extensions are not ideally suited to the development of strength as they don’t permit large loads to be used safely. Don’t worry if you have no idea about how to go about designing an effective training programme as later in this article we’ll provide you with a basic strength training workout to get you started.

The chart below shows the difference between hypertrophy, general strength and maximal strength training.

As you can see, heavy weights, relatively low reps and longer rests are the parameters for strength training – it’s all about quality as opposed to quantity and each work set should be performed with near a high degree of focus and intensity. Maximal strength training is suitable for those who already have a history of working out with heavy weights and want to specialise it strength sports such as weight lifting, power lifting or highland games whereas general strength training is more suited to field sports such as rugby, Gaelic football and sports where strength is just one element of the physical characteristics needed for success.

Because of the near maximal effort required during strength training, it’s important to warm up thoroughly prior to exercising. Once a general warm up of light cardio and dynamic stretching has been completed, it’s time to do a more specific warm up for the exercises to be done on that particular training day. The best way to get ready for a strength training workout is to perform a couple of light to moderate sets of each exercise before piling on the weight. This gives you the opportunity to practice the exercises in question and also assess your strength on that particular day. Only after you have completed 2-3 “warm up sets” should you start working with weights closer to your 1 repetition maximum (1RM). This practice will reduce the likelihood of suffering injury and also make the work sets more effective as your muscles are more likely to be working optimally after a few specific warm up sets.

Once you are fully warmed up and ready for your working sets, you may want to consider using a pyramid approach and increasing the weight slightly set by set – this practice reinforces your warm up and allows you to ease into your workout.

For example:

1^st Set – 5 reps at 65kg
2^nd Set – 4 reps at 70kg
3^rd Set – 4 reps at 75kg
4^th Set – 3 reps at 77.5kg
5^th Set – 3 reps at 80kg

To keep improving your strength, it’s vital that you keep striving to lift progressively heavier weights. If you lift the same weights week after week, month after month, your strength levels are very likely to remain the same. Regular increases in the weight lifted or the number of repetitions performed will ensure you keep making progress with your strength training.

In part 2, we’ll provide you with a simple strength training programme that will fit into your regular weekly workout schedule.

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Straight to the point with no fluff or stuffing, in this series of articles we’ll tell you the three best exercises to give you maximum benefits from your workouts…

If you only ever do three exercises for your legs, these are the three to choose!

Squats
“A workout’s not a workout if you don’t do squats!” or so my coach used to tell me. Performed with a barbell on your shoulders, dumbbells in your hands, a rucksack on your back or just using your bodyweight, squats are one of the Kings of exercise. To perform a squat, stand with your feet hip-width apart and your feet turned out slightly. With your weight spread evenly between your heel and forefoot, push your butt back and bend your knees and hips to descend into the squat position. Aim for 90 degrees at the knees but don’t worry of you don’t make it down that far – work on your flexibility and you do it in time. Push your hips forwards and extend you knees to return to the standing position and repeat many and often!

Lunges
Lunges are a great lower body exercise with plenty of emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands by your sides. Take a large step forwards so that you rise up onto the ball of your rear foot. Bend both knees and lower your rear leg to within one inch of the floor. Your front knee should be directly over your heel and your body fairly upright. Push down with your front leg to push yourself back to the starting position and then repeat but leading with the other leg. Continue alternating for the desired number of reps. Like squats, lunges can be performed with a bar across your shoulders, dumbbells in your hands or a pack on your back but are also very effective just using your bodyweight.

Stiff Legged Dead lifts
Want a rock hard butt and a strong lower back and hamstrings? Do stiff legged dead lifts. Stiff legged dead lifts are not the much maligned straight legged dead lifts seen up and down the country in the 80’s and 90’s which were performed by large men in spandex stood on top of step boxes. This is a very different, much safer and much more effective exercise than that back wrecker! Holding a weight in front of you in both hands and at hip height, stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Bend your knees slightly and maintain your knee angle throughout this exercise. Keeping your arms straight, push you butt as far back as you can, maintain a tight core and hollowed lower back, bend forwards at the hips and lean forwards to lower the weight down your legs. Only bend as far as your hamstring flexibility allows and never NEVER allow your lower back to round. This exercise is effective if you only lower the bar to knee height so forget about trying to touch the floor! To help you to get your hips leading this exercise, stand 12 inches from a wall and try to touch your butt on the wall as you lean forwards. And yes, leg curls ARE easier but easier seldom means better when it comes to exercise!

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Todays workout is a leg blast that’ll have your knees trembling and your quads quivering…!

Perform a 3 set pyramid of the following exercise increasing the weights set by set. Ideally, your last weight on the first exercise should be your first weight on the second exercise and so on…(Don’t worry, I’ll provide you with an example)

1. Overhead barbell squats (e.g. 15 reps 20 kg, 12 reps 25kg, 10 reps 30kg)
2. Front Squats (e.g. 15 reps 30kg, 12 reps 35 kg, 10 reps 40kg)
3. Back squats (e.g. 15 reps 40kg, 12 reps 45kg, 10 reps 50kg)
4. Tabata body weight squats*

* Tabata squats 8-10 sets of bodyweight squats 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds recovery. Rest 1 minute between sets and 2 minutes between exercises.

Overhead Squats

Front Squats

Back Squats

Bodyweight Tabata Squats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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