Monthly Archives: December 2010

This blog is part of the series that I started earlier last week about structuring your strength training efficiently in order to maximize your results, no matter what your goals are.

Muscle growth is not just important for guys but also women who want to tone their arms and other body parts. In personal training we come across the misbelief a lot that women bulk up. No worries, unless you train like a bodybuilder in volume and intensity that won’t happen. Women do not have the hormone levels required to “beef up” that much.

The method of “Exhausting Submaximal Strength Training” sounds complicated but it is not really.

1. Make sure that the motion is done smoothly (no pauses, steady without momentum).
2. The intensity should be submaximal between 70-95% of your One-Repetition Maximum. The motion can be at a slow to  moderate pace.
3. The goal is total muscle exhaustion, which should result after 5-10 repetitions (different training variations suggest 3-18 reps) or 20-30 sec.
4. Your breaks are fairly long with this kind of training and should be around 2-5 min between sets (working another muscle group is suggested)
5. You should have roughly 5-10 sets per exercise if you have 2-3 different exercises resulting in 80-120 single repetitions/muscle group

An example of this would be the following:

• 1. Set Pec Flys, 2 min break, Lat Pull
• 3-5 min break
• 2. Set Pec Flys, 2 min break, Lat Pull

During personal training I don’t have the time to waste 3-5 min standing around. I usually substitute it with other exercises working on totally different muscle groups. If you have 2-3 hours to spend at the gym you can go ahead and do this 🙂

The effects of this training are the following:

1. an increase of muscle diameter (fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers)
2. an increase in phosphat depots (energy depots for ATP, CP) which will help you to perform better at submaximal-maximal levels of strength training.
3.  as well as glycogen-depots (helps prevent early onset of fatigue )

I hope  this information will be helpful to either understand what your personal trainer is doing with you or will help you improve your own training 

Have a great workout,

Michael

Strength training can have a great impact on your performance, positive as well as negative. It really depends on what your goals are and what kind of sport you want to increase your performance in.

Some sports have a bigger strength component than others. A marathon runner does need less strength than a sprinter., same for a long distance bicyclist versus a time trialist. A power lifter’s needs for strength versus endurance is just the other way around, his primary component is strength.

Even if you are fitness warrior who just likes to get stronger, leaner and more buff, structuring your strength training can give you a severe advantage.  Strength Endurance Training (Duration 30-45s)  with breaks (10-30s circle) or( 60-90 station)

This training intensity is 75-50% 1 RM. with 6 sets and 3 Exercises.

This training improves:

– the lactic acid tolerance and the recovery – which helps you withstand the acidic build up in your muscles during exercise and perform better for longer during your training.

– improves the lactic metabolism – increases your performance in the strength endurance  area

– muscle glycogen depots – increased muscle glycogen depots help you to be able to perform better during the training because your energy depots last longer. Fatigue may set in later.

This training represents a great basis for your fitness and future fitness success.

Depending on the sport this kind of a training represents a bigger component or a smaller component. The blocks of the training should be 4-8 weeks long. The following training blocks should build on that and cycle throughout your training year. We use it in personal training frequently. It is a hard training, that can feel very fatiguing and exhausting. The benefits are well worth it though.

Hello everyone,

I know you are all busy and you are stressed by the holidays. It happens every year. I wanted to touch base with you on your training and weight loss goals. Even if you have them suspended for now because of this feasting season. Come January most of you will be on the wagon again and the ones who rock hard through this season without letting go of their goals, this can make a big difference for you.

If you are trying to lose weight doing resistance training on a regular basis will make a big difference. A lot of people trying to lose weight just do some sort of cardio and lose precious muscle mass in the process. Lifting sufficiently heavy weight will help you to maintain that active muscle mass and it will keep burning energy for you.

If you try to run faster or be stronger a structured strength training is crucial as well. Performance is not just based on the activity that you are doing, running, swimming, bicycling, etc, but also on other components like strength, flexibility, coordination.

In my next blog I will give you guys an example on how to structure your training properly, similarly on how I do it in my personal training.

Thanks all,

Michael