Overview of the principles of exercise applied to strength training.

2. Overview
 Principles of exercise applied to strength
and conditioning
 Safety and strength training

3. Principles of Exercise
 Principle of specificity and SAID
 Overload principle
 Progression
 Reversibility
 Individualization
 Exercise order
 Muscle balance

4. Principle of Specificity
 Basically, you get what you train for
 The body adapts to exercise according
to how it is exercised (Specific
Adaptations to Imposed Demands =
SAID)

5. Hakkinen, K., et al. (1989)
 Followed a group of endurance runners (E), sprinters (S), and
weightlifters (WL), 11-13 year olds, for a year to see what kind
of gains they made from their training.
 S and WL had significant increases in vertical jump, E did not
 S and WL could produce more force in shorter periods of time
than E (WL produced most force)
Group Maximal
Oxygen Uptake
(ml/kg/min)
Leg Extensor
Isometric Force
(% increase)
Endurance 66.5 3.8%
Sprinters ~60 9.6%
Weightlifters ~60 21.4%

6. Otto, W.H., et al (2012).
 Studied 30 individuals, looked at the
effectiveness of kettlebells vs. traditional
Olympic lifting.
 Trained 2x/week for 6 weeks
 Kettlebell Group: Swings, accelerated swings,
goblet squats
 Weightlifting Group: Power cleans, high pulls,
back squats
 Over six weeks training increased in volume,
intensity remained static (58 reps to 72
reps,16kg kettlebells vs. 80% 1-RM)

7. Otto, et al (2012). Results
 Basically the group
that trained the
power clean and
back squat improved
the most on those
lifts.
KB WL
Power
Clean
4% 10%
Back
Squat
14% 4.5%
Vertical
Jump
4% <1%
Improvements in performance
measures after six weeks of
training.

8. Specificity
 This is a simple yet profound principle of
exercise.
 Specificity applies to:
 Muscles and movements
 Energy systems
 Speed of movement

9. Muscles and Movements
 Ask:
 Is the activity performed standing, sitting,
lying? On one leg or two?
 Are multiple joints working together in a
specific pattern?
 Is the activity in one plane or multiple
planes?
 Is rotation involved?
 Etc.

10. Muscles and Motions, examples
 100 meter:
 Standing
 One leg at a time
 Straight ahead
 Triple extension
 Hip flexors/extensors
 Knee
flexors/extensors
 Ankle
flexors/extensors
 Shot put
 Standing
 One leg (start - glide
& block)
 Blocking motion
 Triple extension
 Pretty much every
muscle in the body
 Rotation

11. Application
 100 meter
 Leg strength
 Olympic-style lifts
 Split variations of
Olympic-style lifts and
squats
 Shot Put
 Leg and core strength
 Explosive core
training
 Olympic-style lifts
 Split variations of
Olympic-style lifts
 Requires more
muscle mass
(weighted implement)

12. Energy Systems
 What is (are) the primary energy
system(s) contributing to the event?
 Ask:
 How long does the event last?
 How much of that time is actually spent
playing?
 How much recovery time?

13. Energy Systems, Example
 Soccer
 Match 90 minutes
 But, athletes don’t
spend the entire time
running…
Movement
Pattern
% of Game
Standing 19.7%
Walking 42.8%
Jogging 27.15%
High Intensity
Running
4.4%
Sprinting 0.78%
Backward
Running
3.9%
From Cissik (2011).

14. Energy Systems, cont.
Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Total Distance
Covered (km)
10.25 11.39 10.59
High-Intensity
Running (km)
1.65 2.38 2.12
Sprinting (km) 0.35 0.48 0.49
Another look at energy system requirements and soccer. From Cissik
(2011).

15. Application
 How to apply that information to the
sport of soccer?

16. Speed of Movement
 The gains from exercise are specific to
the velocity the exercises are performed
at (Behm and Sale, 1993).

17. Kanehisa, H. & M. Miyashita
(1983)
 On knee extensions:
 Slow group trained at 1.05 radians/second
 Fast group trained at 5.24 radians/second
Group 1.05 r/s 2.09 r/s 3.14 r/s 4.19 r/s 5.24 r/s
Slow 25.49 W 33.31 W 19.20 W 21.70 W 20.97 W
Fast -1.92 W -4.60 W 18.14 W 43.92 W 50.36 W
Gains after 6 days/week of training for 8 weeks.
3x10 for Slow
3x50 for Fast

18. Velocity Specificity
 There are holes in that study.
 What does this mean for athletics?

19. Putting it together using specificity,
examples
 2-minute sit-up test
 Bench press 1-RM

20. Overload Principle
 The body adapts to exercise. However,
training adaptations only take place if
the training stimulus is greater than the
habitual stimulus.
 Training can be (Zatsiorsky, 1995):
 Stimulating
 Retaining (principle of accommodation)
 Detraining

21. How can overload be applied?
 Increase the volume
 Increase the intensity
 Modify the rest/recovery
 Change the exercises
 OBSERVE SPECIFICITY!

22. Increasing the volume
 Volume = quantity
of work done
 Increasing the
amount of work
done will increase
the training
stimulus.
 Quickly results in
energy system
problems.
Volume
0
20
40
60
80
1 2 3 4 5 6
Session
SetsxReps
Volume

23. Increasing the Intensity
 Intensity = quality of work (weight lifted,
speed, etc.)
 Increasing intensity will increase the
training effect
 However, can be dangerous (too much
too soon)
 Becomes very difficult to do as an
athlete progresses (3-5%)

24. Rest/Recovery
 Modifying the amount of rest between
sets or between workouts will change
the training effect.
 For example:
 5 sets of bench press with 30” rest between
sets vs. 5 sets of bench press with 3’ rest
between sets

25. Modifying rest/recovery
 Rest between sets
 Supersets
 Giant sets
 Rest between sessions
 OBSERVE SPECIFICITY

26. Changing the Exercises
 Changing exercises will change the
training effect and require the body to
continue adapting.
 Many exercises do the same thing.

27. Example #1, the squat
 Variations of back
squat that can be
substituted:
 Back Squat
 Pause Squat
 Eccentric Squat
 Bench/box Squat
 All develop the
same muscle
groups and joints

28. Example #2, the power clean
 Power Clean
 Power Clean, hang (mult.
positions)
 Power Clean, box (mult.
positions)
 Power Clean, dumbbells (mult.
positions)
 Power Clean + Front Squat
 Power Clean + Jerk
 Power Clean + Front Squat +
Jerk
 Pulls + Power Clean
 Etc.

29. Violating Overload, Common
Example
Exercise 1/3 1/5 1/10 1/12 1/17 1/19 1/24 1/26
Leg Press 3x10x75 3x10x75 3x10x75 3x10x75 3x10x75 3x10x75 3x10x75 3x10x75
Leg
Extension
3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50
Leg Curl 3x12x40 3x12x40 3x12x40 3x12x40 3x12x40 3x12x40 3x12x40 3x12x40
Standing
Calf
3x8x75 3x8x75 3x8x75 3x8x75 3x8x75 3x8x75 3x8x75 3x8x75
Chest
Press
3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50 3x12x50
Shoulder
Press
3x12x30 3x12x30 3x12x30 3x12x30 3x12x30 3x12x30 3x12x30 3x12x30
Pulldown 3x10x50 3x10x50 3x10x50 3x10x50 3x10x50 3x10x50 3x10x50 3x10x50
DB Curls 3x10x5 3x10x5 3x10x5 3x10x5 3x10x5 3x10x5 3x10x5 3x10x5
Pushdowns 3x10x30 3x10x30 3x10x30 3x10x30 3x10x30 3x10x30 3x10x30 3x10x30
Crunches 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25

30. Progression
 Exercise should be viewed as a series
of steps, each successive step building
on the one preceding it.
 Many exercises require a technical and
fitness base.
 Progression: building up in terms of
technique and fitness; prevents injuries
and prevents the wasting of time

31. Applying Progression, Example
#1
 Sit-ups with a
medicine ball toss
 Requires good sit-up
technique
 Requires strong
abdominal and lower
back muscles
 Failure to develop both
can result in injuries or
such poor execution
that the exercise is
worthless
 How to progress?
 Sit-ups
 Sit-ups with
resistance on
shoulders
 Sit-ups with MB
overhead
 Eccentric sit-ups
 Sit-ups with MB toss

32. Applying Progression, Example
#2, 10-13 year olds
 Football
Conditioning Drill,
Week One
 1x200 yd (1’, 3’),
1x100 yd (30”, 3’),
1x50 yd (15”, 3’),
1x25 yd (3’), 1x100
yard shuttle
 Volume: 475 yards
 Football
Conditioning Drill,
Week Eight
 2x200 yd (3’), 2x100
yd (3’), 2x50 yd (2’),
4x25 yd (1’), 1x100
yard shuttle (3’)
 Volume: 900 yards

33. Applying Progression, Example
#3
 Depth Jump
 Requires strong lower
body to handle forces
and make exercise
effective
 Requires consistent
jumping technique
 How to progress?
 Develop lower body
strength over a period
of years
 Develop consistent
jumping technique by
mastering simpler
plyometric exercises
(jumps-in-place,
multiple jumps, jumps
over/onto boxes)

34. Principle of Reversibility
 The adaptations made from exercise are
reversible if exercise stops or is
reduced.
 This is because “extra” muscle mass,
enzymes, energy stores, etc. is
expensive to maintain.

35. Gamrin, L., et al. (1998)
 After 10 days of unloading (one leg
placed in a strap so it could not be
used):
 17% reduction in strength
 16% decrease in RNA content (I.e.
mechanism for protein synthesis)
 50% increase in branched chain amino
acids (I.e. protein catabolism)

36. Principle of Individualization
 Everyone is different and everyone
reacts to exercise differently.
 There are no “cookie cutter” programs,
with programs you must consider:
 An individual’s specific needs and goals
 Deficiencies
 Medical/exercise history
 Current training status

37. Individualization, example
Time MWF TRSa
0900-1000
1000-1030
1030-1130
1130-1230
1700-1800
1800-1830
1830-1930
1930-2000
2000-2030
Snatch
Break
Clean and Jerk
Clean Pulls
Clean and Jerk
Break
Snatch
Front Squat
Snatch Pulls
Snatch, hang
Break
Jerks, pause
Back Squat (1130-1200)
Power Clean (1200-1230)
Snatch & Clean Pulls
(1230-1330)
Furnadzhiev, V. & I. Abadzhiev. The Preparation
of Bulgarian Weightlifters for the 1980 Olympics.
1982 Weightlifting Yearbook.

38. Exercise Order
 The order of the exercises effects the
difficulty of the workout and the
effectiveness of each exercise.
 General principles:
 Those lifts that are fast, explosive, or complicated should
be performed first
 Those lifts using the largest muscle groups (i.e. total body
or legs) should be performed first
 Those lifts using smaller muscle groups should be
performed last
 Those muscles which limit performance should be trained
last

39. Exercise Order, cont.
 Breakdown the
movements to
determine what
exercises to perform
first.
 Pushing exercises
○ Chest, shoulders,
triceps
○ You always use your
triceps when pushing
(weakest link)
○ Therefore triceps get
○ worked last
○ You almost always
use your shoulders
when pushing,
therefore shoulders
are worked second-
to-last
○ You can use your
chest to push,
therefore chest gets
worked first.
 Chest Shoulders
 Triceps

40. Exercise Order, cont.
 Pulling exercises
 You always use your biceps to pull, so they
should be trained last
 You can use your upper back to pull, so it
should be trained first

41. Exercise Order, Cont.
Total body
Multi. Leg
Single Leg
Upper Back
Biceps
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps

42. Muscle Balance
 You need to do at least something for
every muscle around a joint.
 This does a number of things:
 Prevents strength imbalances
 Prevents injuries
 Prevents one from looking strange
 Strength ratios

43. Applying Principles of Exercise
 Increasing squat
 Improving 5-K time

44. Increasing Squat
 Analysis:
 Muscles
 Motions
 Energy Systems
 Speed of Movement
 Implications for a program?

45. Improving 5-K time
 Analysis:
 Muscles
 Motions
 Energy Systems
 Speed of Movement
 Implications for a program?