Strength is key for just about any sport. Talk to any strength and conditioning coach, NYC personal trainer, or sports performance coach in Manhattan and they’ll tell you to respect strength. I mean who doesn’t want to be strong, it’s fun and it’s bad ass. The common problem I run into is being impatient, I get it, we live in a day where immediate gratifications are all too common. Sadly building strength isn’t one of these things, despite what you’ve read, otherwise every meathead would be squatting 4 plates like it’s nothing…
Things to Avoid
Going Maximal Too Early
*Doesn’t know how to handle heavier weights
Lift a heavy single and you’ll get strong right? It makes sense, if I lift heavy I will adapt and get stronger and be able to lift heavier. Unfortunately this doesn’t work for most people, at least in the long term. While there is a time for lifting singles, I find too many people jump into this type of cycle without the right preparation nor foundation. What I mean by foundation is muscular hypertrophy, CNS adaptation, symmetry, and positioning. The greater the foundation, the greater the benefit you’ll gain during a heavy cycle.
Not Enough Maximal Work
Now to really piss you off, I’m going to contradict myself 😉 I’ve had a few guys that LOVE doing high reps and love that feeling of a ‘pump’. But if you want to lift heavy weights, you also need to practice lifting heavy weights. Those that have attempted maximal or technical maximal lifts, know that there is a BIG difference between a set of 5’s and 1’s. So make sure to add in a cycle of technical max’s into your program too.
Bad Positioning
In my opinion, positioning is everything. While I know some guys have funky looking squat, deadlift, clean etc… forms and it works for them. But generally speaking you want to place yourself for success, and that is positioning. If you have a god awful squat and do a good morning, than you probably need to work on your squat. While you may make some gains, it WILL eventually catch up to you with limit strength or an injury.
Conclusion
You maybe thinking these are all too common, but yet over the past 10 years working as a sports performance coach and personal trainer I’m still having to explain these issues to the meatballs out there. I get it, it’s hard to take a step back and have faith that you will move back up, this is why it’s important to have a qualified coach or trainer to assess your needs.
That’s it for today, stay strong!