Since everyone has different physiques and goals, there are no "one-size-fits-all" workout programs that address everyone's problems. Depending on your goals and physical fitness level, one type of program that benefits you may harm someone else. For example, a bodybuilding program may benefits a healthy person who needs the extra bulk for a contact sport, but may hinder the performance of a gymnast or marathon runner. The best workouts are those that you can stick to and meet your goals.
Strength Training
Most people think strength training equates to "bulking up," but this is not always the case. According to Vern Gambetta, director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems, strength training is how much force can you exert against gravity. Therefore, strength does not always equate to more muscle mass or vice versa.
There are dozens of different programs and methods for strength training for various needs. Common strength programs address stabilization strength (ability to maintain balance and center of gravity while moving), endurance strength (building anaerobic endurance), and absolute strength (one rep max near 100 percent effort).
Power Training
Power training is simply strength training with speed. This is ideal for athletes who need explosive movement to perform, whether it is sprinting, jumping, hurdling or throwing. Power training cannot be trained alone. You must have a solid foundation of strength, stability and mobility before attaining to this level.
Power training can be performed with a jump rope, kettle bells, medicine balls, sandbags, a human dummy or live body, or the body weight alone.
Circuit Training
Circuit training is a popular way of building up muscular endurance which is often used in fitness boot camps. You go through a series of exercise stations that trains a specific movement pattern or skill over a given number of repetitions or time with very little rest in between. A sample circuit would be like this:
1. Push-ups (10 seconds); jump rope (20 seconds)
2. Body-weight squat (10); jump rope (20)
3. Pull-ups (10); jump rope (20)
4. Kettle bell chops (10 each side); jump rope (20)
Corrective Exercise
Corrective exercises are used to help you improve misalignments, posture problems and any weaknesses in your body that affect your movement quality and sometimes pain. This program is used to gap between physical therapy and fitness training or as recovery exercises between training days to prevent injury.
References
- Athletic Body in Balance; Gray Cook; 2003
- Athletic Development: the art & science of functional sports conditioning; Vern Gambetta; 2006.
- Essentials of Program Design; Juan Carlos Santana; 2004.
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