Settling on a suitable strength
Personal Trainer
Paul O'Brien
Strength Training
Part 3
The following key questions will help you to work out which kind of strength programme is best suited to your needs.
What is the major goal in undertaking a strength-training programme? Are you training towards peak performance in your chosen sport? Are you training for health reasons, perhaps upon a specialist’s recommendation? Do you simply want to be stronger for everyday function, or perhaps strength training will benefit your work? Do you simply want to look better on the beach? The type of strength training you do needs to be specific to whatever your chosen goal may be.
Once your goal for strength training is established, think about which type of strength training will yield the results you want. If you are training for health reasons, then there may be little reason to include explosive strength and power training into your routine. You would be better served by a programme that focuses on strength endurance. An athlete, on the other hand, who wishes to maximise sporting performance, would choose a programme that includes maximal, dynamic and/or sports-specific training, as well as plyometrics. Again, the focus would change depending upon the demands of the sport.
A third important consideration is your previous experience with strength training. If you are completely new to this type of training, then I would advise starting with a programme of bodyweight training.
Bodyweight training helps prepare the connective tissue, ligaments and tendons by using a lighter weight (your body) than external options (weights). This allows your body to adapt to the demands of weight training and significantly reduces your chance of injury as you progress to more-complex training.
This type of training also develops your Type 1 muscle fibres, which are responsible for stability, leading to a safer, more solid foundation for more progressive training methods. As a rule, I will generally start my clients strength training with a few weeks of predominantly bodyweight training. If you cannot lift your own bodyweight, you are at a much higher risk of injury when lifting an external weight.
The focus for bodyweight training should be on high numbers (15-20) of repetitions and low numbers (1-3) of sets of exercises like squats, lunges, push-ups and pull-ups.
These considerations should form the starting point for all strength-training programmes. By answering them, you have established a clear picture of what you want to achieve and how best to start. Your next step is to design the actual programme. For this, it’s best to seek the advice of a qualified trainer. A trainer can work with you to design a programme that suits your needs, addresses your preferences and fits within your lifestyle. Working with a trainer should not produce an exercise prescription, but rather an agreed plan that will motivate you to achieve your goals.
Paul O’Brien is a personal trainer and life coach based in Westport.
