Training for sport, health, or to prevent the age-related loss of muscle and maintain function requires a strength component.  Our resistance training programs introduce you to the field of strength training by starting at a comfortable introduction to the equipment, techniques and facility.  For many people, body weight, resistance bands, or dumbbells can provide a great full body workout.  Based on client preference, we will design a resistance training plan to meet your needs by improving your function, performance, body composition and overall health.

Our Success Story Steve was kind enough to share his plan as an example. Since Steve was well-trained when he came to us, his progressions are greater than most people of his age, but it is remarkable to see how fast he took to his training plan and improved over the six months.

Below is the progression over the training period, each mesocycle we changed the training focus to optimally build muscle, improve muscular endurance and power for his chosen sport of cross-country skiing.

Here we see the prescribed exercises, along with volume for each mesocycle.  Depending on the cycle, he would be performing this routine 2-3 times per week.  Starting with 2 gym days per week for the first 12 weeks, and progressing to 3 days per week.  This allowed adequate recovery time between workouts.  We included flexibility and light aerobic training adjacent to strength days to facilitate muscle recovery.

We used preliminary tests to determine a starting point for Steve and progressively tested 1RM at the end of each mesocycle (Weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20)

Before each workout, completion of a proper warm up is essential.  Cool downs prevent the onset of muscle soreness that may occur with strength training.  Be sure to follow a warm-up and cool down routine along with your training!

Each mesocycle followed a similar routine, where Steve increased the weights or reps as needed within a range set by his plan.  Here’s an example of 6 different strength workouts Steve followed.