One more rep! (strength training for athletes)

A Strength Goal for Everyone

Though strength can be enhanced through a variety of training methods and equipment, scientific research has never been able to pinpoint a pre-eminent program or a significant difference in productivity between free weights and machines.

The message is plain: Since just about any type of program or equipment will yield favorable results, it is up to the coach to decide what is most practical for his athletes, based upon safety, time, space, and budget.

Every significant training module is based upon the concept of progressive resistance exercise devised by Dr. Thomas L. DeLorme. Dr. DeLorme started lifting weights at the age of 16 in 1932. Scorning the traditional principles of "weightlifting," DeLorme developed a system of progressive resistance that he went on to validate in his rehabilitation work with large numbers of wounded soldiers in Word War II.

Although the principles of progressive resistance exercise have been clearly established, many athletes are still performing the same number of repetitions with the same amount of weight over and over in workout after workout.

Obviously, anyone who does a set of leg curls for 10 reps with 110 pounds month after month isn't going to show any significant increases in strength. If, on the other hand, he begins adding extra weight and extra reps so that by the end of a few weeks he is doing 11 reps with 120 pounds, you have a pretty good situation: a 10% increase in reps that is producing 20% more weight. That's excellent progress.

PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD