HELLO FRIENDS
This is a continuation of an article Series;
1) StrongFirst: Principle Based Strength.
2) Workout Organization Principles 1 : mobility, reactivity, speed, skill.
3) Strength Principles part 1 & part 2
This Post will explain the last 4 points of the StrongFirst ‘S‘ : principles of workout organization
5) Power 6) Strength 7) Conditioning 8) Relaxation/Recovery
I want to remind you have this is not THE way, this is just one of many ‘ways’.
All I am trying to do it make your life easier.
If your reading this then you more than likely care about your body, you already workout and want to know more about the health and fitness world.
Well, if you follow these 8 principles you will not have to worry about one of the most important areas of workout organization. If you order the different exercises in your workout according to the template described, based on the information at each point ( each point corresponds to a section of your workout) you will be following the body’s natural way of using and fatiguing it’s energy systems.
You will therefore be getting the most out of each workout.
Don’t you just love efficiency?
without further ado here are the last 4 points on the StrongFirst ‘S‘ : Workout Organization Principles –
5) Power
- 10-20 minutes
- rep range will increase from previous section to between 2-5reps
- weight will increase from previous section, thus shifting the focus from speed to power
- choose compound movements with 3-5 minutes rest between sets
- this section will recruit high threshold motor units and will encourage myofibrillar hypertrophy
6) Strength
- 10-20 minutes
- In the original article strength is mentioned at 3 points, this was to distinguish them from being confused with what you might think speed and power mean. In this context Strength represents a section of your workout where you stress your body out with a certain weight for a certain rep range. The meaning of Strength beyond this has been dealt with else where …
- lighter weights than previous section, due to accumulated fatigue training speed at this point would be useless, thus the focus shifts to pure strength
- choose a grinding compound movement for sets of 3-6 repetitions
- no more than 3 minutes rest
- this section may encourage some sarcoplasmic hypertrophy
7) Conditioning
- Conditioning in this template means anything more than 6 reps
- If your ‘explosive’ movements stay explosive, and your form remains strict this section can last for as long as you do.
- this section is highly goal dependent:
- if you want slow-twitch muscle hypertrophy = sets of continuous movement for 40 – 120s, equal amount of rest, specificity is key.
- if you want to burn calories = sets of full body exertion followed by weighted carries and planks, keep your heart rate high.
- (skeletal) muscular conditioning/endurance …. cardiovascular conditioning (the ability of the heart and the lungs to transfer oxygen) … each has its own considerations and ideal training methods …
- some conditioning methods may not leave you panting while some necessarily have to.
- this is why it is a good idea to find yourself a qualified strength and conditioning coach – one who doesn’t confuse strength and conditioning with conditioning and more conditioning.
8) Relaxation/Recovery
- this section should be as long as needed, some need 5 minutes, others 15. however long it is make sure you 1. breathe deeply 2. decompress your spine.
- decompression exercises include : hanging of various types, child’s pose and cobra, other various yoga moves, foam rolling etc…
- I have written elsewhere on this subject of Recovery so I will not spend too much time on it here.
- there is a 6-9 hours window post workout that if you time either your recovery procedures or sleeping cycle to correspond with this window you will enhance your recovery and your ability to train the following day.
- meditation and other mental practices will help tremendously for those athletes committed to their progress. Since mental practice takes time, and time in our current society is valued as money, unless the individual highly values their physical progress, there will not be much effort invested in mental practices – However, even 15 minutes will go along way.
WELL Well well, this concludes the article series on StrongFirst inspired workout organization and strength principles.
I hope you found the StrongFirst ‘S’ visual useful, if you are a dedicated SFG like I am I know you will appreciate its use. Besides, graphs and tables are boring.
If you have any questions ask me in the comments below or contact me on social media or email.
All the best in your health and fitness journey,
MC – your friendly neighborhood trainer 🙂