Different routines can provide with you with strength, power and conditioning, and each can be tailored to your specific needs. A good routine will develop strength through improvements in skill, coordination and muscle gain. No routine will be optimally effective if you do not eat a proper diet to support it. Consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.
General Strength
A general strength training program is aimed at developing overall strength, without a fixed goal like competing in powerlifting or weightlifting. General strength programs are often whole-body routines, such as training three days a week with at least one rest day in between each session. Exercises include the barbell squat, power clean, bench press, military press, chinup and row. Perform no more than three to five sets of five to eight repetitions of each exercise. Because of the skill required to properly perform the power clean, keep the repetitions lower and perform more sets, such as five to eight sets of three to five repetitions.
Powerlifting
Powerlifting routines are strength training routines aimed at improving your total on the squat, bench and deadlift. Other lifts are performed, but they are accessory lifts and should support the three contested lifts. An example would be performing good mornings to strengthen your lower back and hamstrings to improve your squat and deadlift. Accessory work is done after the three main lifts, and each training session is usually focused on improving a single lift. An example would be deadlifting on Monday, bench pressing on Wednesday and squatting on Friday. Periodization is the most common method of cycling weights for strength increases in powerlifting. Periodization involves starting with higher repetitions and lighter weights and gradually increasing the weights while dropping the repetitions over a period of weeks, often 12 to 16.
Olympic Lifting
Olympic lifting, or weightlifting, is the oldest form of strength sport, and the program involves training to improve on the snatch and the clean and jerk. Both lifts recruit most of the muscles in your body. They are part of many strength and conditioning programs at the collegiate and professional level. Each training session focuses on one or both lifts, depending on your style of training. Training sessions can range from three to six per week, depending on your conditioning level. A high-volume weightlifting program requires extreme conditioning, but weightlifters generate more power than any other strength athlete. Despite the complexity of the lifts, weightlifting has the lowest injury rate of any strength sport.
Chosing a Routine
Your routine should meet your goals, so plan accordingly. If you are going to compete in a strength sport, your choice is predetermined. If you have no specific goals, any program is fine as long as you stick with it and make consistent progress. Both Olympic lifting and powerlifting training benefit from having a qualified coach. The skills of weightlifting take as long to master as the skills of any other sport, so if you are interested in starting, do not waste time.
References
- "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise"; Power Production by Olympic Weightlifters; J. Garhammer; Spring 1980
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Relative Safety of Weightlifting and Weight Training; B.P. Hamill, February 1994
- "Starting Strength"; Mark Rippetoe, et al.; 2007
- "The Weightlifting Encyclopedia: A Guide to World Class Performance"'; Arthur J. Drechsler: 1998
- "5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System to Increase Raw Strength"; Jim Wendler; 2009
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