There are many benefits of strength training as well as an increase in strength development:
- Increased power production
- Increased bone density
- Increased speed of force development
- Stronger joints and connective tissue
- Reduced risk of injury
Training planning
Similar to the plyometric training we should follow a structured approach to strength training:
Learning the correct technique and movement mechanics, muscle endurance, hypertrophy, maximum strength and power development.
Each phase has a specific goal:
- Technology teaches us how the movement should be performed safely and which muscle areas need to be activated in order to get the maximum benefit from the exercise.
- Muscle endurance strengthens this point and at the same time increases the working capacity of the muscle.
- Hypertrophy makes it possible to increase the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the muscle, which increases both the size and the force development capacity of the muscle fiber.
- Maximum strength trains our body to send strong neuronal signals to the previously developed muscles.
- Power development focuses on the explosive recruitment of the muscles.
Morphological adaptations
Power development
| Result | Sentences/Exercise | Repetitions/exercise | Recovery (min) | Load (%1RM) |
| CSA | 4-6 | 5-8 | 2-3 | 70-80 |
| MUR | 3-5 | 1-4 | 3-5 | 80-100 |
First of all, our aim is to increase the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the muscles. This is achieved through hypertrophy-oriented training. We pursue three mechanisms to induce hypertrophy:
- Mechanical tension
- Metabolic stress
- Muscle damage
In principle, this can be achieved with any weight as long as these mechanisms are observed. However, different loads lead to different adaptations: Myofibrillar hypertrophy or Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.
In myofibrillar hypertrophy, the muscle enlarges through the formation of additional cross-bridges, which increases the muscle's ability to generate force. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, on the other hand, enlarges the muscle but does not improve its ability to develop force.
Once we have achieved the morphological changes in the muscle to increase strength, we focus on the neural adaptations we can achieve through high resistance training.
Neuronal adaptations
Recruitment of motor units:
Motor unit recruitment is the process by which different motor units are activated to produce a certain amount and type of muscle contraction.
With minimal muscle contraction (innervation), muscle strength is graded by changes in the firing rate (rate coding) of individual motor neurons.
Recruitment of the motor units follows the Sizing principle (Henneman's size principle, 1965) - a recruitment pattern based on the size of the motor neuron and the number of muscle fibers it innervates.Motor units are recruited in order of size - from the smallest (type I) to the largest (type IIb/x) - as appropriate, How much power must be generated.
For example, type I (slow, endurance) motor units are mainly used for light strength training.
When the load increases, additional Type IIa (fast-twitch, oxidative and glycolytic fibers) with the support of type I fibers.
Finally, with even higher loads, the Type IIb/x are activated in order to cope with the very high force requirements. At this stage, the type IIb/x fibers generate the greatest force - supported by type IIa and type I fibers.
About the author: Sam McStay is a sports scientist with a Master's degree in Strength and Conditioning from St Mary's University, Twickenham (2019-2022) and a Bachelor's degree in Sport and Leisure Management from Technological University Dublin (2015-2019).