Where to start?
Have you ever thought about doing a good pre-season ‘strength and conditioning’ program for your upcoming season but don’t know where to start? Currently, there is a plethora of information available nowadays especially through through online platforms on how to structure and perform a strength and conditioning program however it can be hard to decipher!
How can TPL help?
Here at TPL, we have a strong interest in designing and delivering safe, effective and personalised programs that will have you prepared for your sport of choice and therefore ready to perform at your best.
Throughout this blog we will take you through a step-by-step approach to designing and implementing a tailored strength and conditioning program.
Setting up your program
Firstly, a quality strength and conditioning program may comprise of 16 weeks and can be broken down into 4 week blocks targeting various and progressive training parameters.
The first 4 week block focuses on building strength endurance and cardiovascular endurance accordingly.
- Training consists of 4 to 6 sessions per week
- No more than 45 minutes in total per session
- Strength endurance:
- 2-3 sessions per week
- Focus on upper and lower body compound lifts
- 2-3 sets per exercise
- 12-15 repetitions per set
- 30 seconds rest between exercises
- Cardiovascular endurance:
- 2-3 sessions per week
- Focus on raising and maintaining heart rate (HR) between 65-75% of maximum heart rate (MHR)
- Cardiovascular exercise of your choice eg running, cycling, swimming or rowing
- From a physiotherapist point of view choose at least 2 different forms of exercise in order to prevent overload in specific movement patterns for example 2 running sessions and 1 swimming session or 1 session of running, cycling and rowing
- Alternate between strength and cardiovascular sessions . For example your training for the first 4 weeks might look like the following example:
Week 1:
Monday: Upper body strength endurance. 2 sets per exercise at 12 repetitions per set
Tuesday: Long slow distance (LSD) running at 65% of MHR – 30 minutes
Wednesday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
Thursday: Lower body strength endurance. 2 sets per exercise at 12 repetitions per set
Friday: Long slow distance (LSD) cycling at 65% of MHR – 30 minutes
Saturday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
Sunday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
Week 2:
Monday: Upper body strength endurance then increase to 3 sets per exercise with same weight and rep range
Tuesday: Long slow distance (LSD) running at 65% of MHR – 35 minutes
Wednesday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
Thursday: Lower body strength endurance then increase to 3 sets per exercise with same weight and rep range
Friday: Long slow distance (LSD) cycling at 65% of MHR – 35 minutes
Saturday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
Sunday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
Week 3:
Monday: Upper body strength endurance. 3 sets per exercise then increase to 15 repetitions per set and same weight
Tuesday: Long slow distance (LSD) running at 65% of MHR – 40 minutes
Wednesday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
Thursday: Lower body strength endurance. 3 sets per exercise then increase to 15 repetitions per set and same weight
Friday: Long slow distance (LSD) cycling at 65% of MHR – 40 minutes
Saturday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
Sunday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
Week 4:
Monday: Upper body strength endurance. 3 sets per exercise then increase to 15 repetitions per set. Increase weight by 2.5%
Tuesday: Long slow distance (LSD) running at 65% of MHR – 45 minutes
Wednesday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
Thursday: Lower body strength endurance. 3 sets per exercise then increase to 15 repetitions per set. Increase weight by 5%
Friday: Long slow distance (LSD) cycling at 65% of MHR – 40 minutes
Saturday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
Sunday: Rest/Active recovery eg foam rolling, stretching or walk 20-30 minutes
What next?
In conclusion, this example might raise more questions for you. After all, it’s just a generic starting point, and therefore may not be perfectly suited to everyone. Additionally, there are many other factors to consider when helping your body adjust to a strength and conditioning program.
- How do I foam roll properly?
- When can I work at an increased MHR when performing cardiovascular exercise?
- Why can’t I increase my weight lifted by a greater percentage straight away?
- If these exercises don’t apply to my sport then why should I do them?
We’ll address these questions in future blog posts however in the meantime, our expert physiotherapists are always available to answer your questions in more detail. Don’t hesitate to book a session with our team today!
Book your physiotherapy session with our expert team today!