Fall Sports Strength Training

When it comes to getting big, there's a fairly standard formula that pretty much anyone can follow. You do the basic exercises for 6-10 reps per set and whatever number of sets is required to make your muscles grow. These basic exercises require effort from a number of muscle groups. Keeping resistance fairly heavy, sticking with a moderate number of repetitions will help you attain a balanced combination of size and strength.

But what if your goal is to build muscle strength, not size? In that case, the formula is altered with an increase in resistance and a decrease in repetitions. You're lifting really heavy weight, but only doing between 3 and 6 reps. The technique places more stress on muscle ligaments and tendons, your body's cornerstone of strength. Less emphasis is placed on your muscles when you're struggling under such heavy resistance for just a couple of reps.

Now if you're kind of new to strength training, a whole body workout where all of your muscles are trained in a single session at the gym is recommended. Begin with abdominal exercises (one for the upper abs and one for the lower abs) to build your core strength. That's important since all explosive moves like sprinting out of the blocks or throwing a football involve this 'core' muscle group.

After you've gotten your abdominal training out of the way, your body will be pretty well warmed up. Time to tackle the heavy basic exercises that incorporate a number of major muscle groups. Squats, deadlifts, bench presses, military presses and power cleans are all outstanding exercises for building strength.

You'll want to warm up with a moderately heavy weight for 8 reps to prepare your muscles and tendons for the heavier weight to come. The following 2 or 3 sets will incorporate much heavier resistance for just 3-6 reps to build strength and power in your muscles and tendons.

For Workout 1, after you've warmed up with abs training, begin the routine with lower body exercises including squats and deadlifts. Then move onto shrugs, bench presses and other upper body exercises before finishing with your arms. Workout 2 is exactly the opposite, beginning with upper body exercises (incline press, military press and power cleans) and finished off with lower body movements (rack deadlifts and leg presses). Try Workout 1 on the first day you train this week. If that's Monday, then Tuesday should be devoted to cardio. In addition to building endurance and overall fitness, you'll need at least 48 hours to completely recover from this full-body strength training session. On Wednesday, it's back to the gym for strength training Workout #2. Thursday is going to be another cardio day, but don't feel like you have to run endlessly on a treadmill. Work some lap swimming, rope jumping and plyometrics into your fitness program. Mix it up for greater results. And check your next ON Enewsletter for Part 2 of this strength training program.