Are you a powerlifter, weightlifter, strength athlete or just anyone looking to improve your strength?
What are the Ten Commandments of Strength Training?
Watch the video above for an in-depth explanation!
Improving your strength is a process which takes time and needs commitment. Too often we see athletes try and prioritize getting as strong as possible in as little time as possible. When this happens athletes forget some of the fundamentals like proper form and efficiency or turn to performance enhancement methods that might not make sense for where they are currently at in their lifting journey (e.g. PEDS).
If you are new to strength training or want to take the sport seriously it can be highly advantageous to get a coach. A good coach will help you avoid a lot of the mistakes you would make on your own. A lot of people don’t realize strength training is also a skill and you get better from practice and improving and refining your form.
Improving the big 3 – Squats, Bench and Deadlift
One of the commandments of the strength training includes specificity. If you are a powerlifter you obviously have to spend most of your time working on the big 3! Factors to assess include your program, volume, intensity and frequency you are doing the lifts. Most people know you need progressive overload in order to get stronger and improve your fitness, while also managing your fatigue levels to ensure you do not hit a wall and burn out. Managing fatigue is why you should be programming deload weeks.
Set up and form
The set-up is crucial for your compound lifts. Furthermore, a good setup will help you get into a proper position and prepare your body for the lift. When setting up you want be consistent and follow the same pattern every time! Here is a short video walking you through some helpful tips for your squat set up.
Efficiency and movement
Be proficient and efficient. As we mentioned earlier strength training is a skill. Part of the skill comes in the place of developing your form to ensure you are doing the exercises in an efficient manner.
Some questions to ask yourself include:
- Are you bracing effectively?
- Are you maintaining a good bar path in your bench, squat, deadlift
- Does your form regularly break down at the same spot
- Are you in pain from lifting (this might reveal you are doing a lift wrong or are pushing your intensities too far)
An example on related to improving your efficiency in a lift is utilizing leg drive in your bench press. Leg drive will help you produce force from your legs in order to help initiate the bench.
