Resistance Training - the next level

"…it's packed with new, evidence-based research every serious competitor should know about"

Serious athletes don't need reminding of the importance of integrating resistance training into their year-round conditioning regimes. They know there's no quicker way to significantly boost their levels of strength, speed - and even their endurance.

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What athletes do need is reliable, unbiased and up-to-date information on resistance training Best Practice - particularly the central issue of how you increase strength and power without adding unnecessary bulk, a subject on which it's rare to find independent, evidence-based advice.

After all, there's nothing more damaging for an athlete than getting their resistance training sessions wrong. Not can only it lead to a dramatic deterioration in performance, it can also make you more susceptible to injury.

That's why I'm pleased to announce the latest addition to Peak Performance's library of sports workbooks, Resistance Training - the next level. This timely guide for serious competitors is available to you today at a special online discount. The recommended retail price of this fantastic guide is $59.99, but with our special 33% discount, you pay only $39.99!

This brand new workbook dissects the major current debates in resistance training, analyses the very latest scientific findings - then spells out in plain English their significance for the serious athlete.

It's a rare opportunity to assess the latest thinking on resistance training for yourself, and decide how best to integrate it into your training and conditioning.

Read our brand new report today and here are some of the facts you'll learn:

How much rest do you need to take between individual sets, and between exercises?
Which resistance training exercises are the most appropriate for your sport?
Why does the sequencing of exercises matter so much - and how do you work out what's right for you?
How can you integrate plyometrics into your strength training regime, and thereby get the best of both worlds - more strength and more speed?
How can distance runners use strength training to enhance their performance on the road or track?
Triathletes - how can you boost your performance both in the water and on land?
What resistance training programmes are most suitable for women and young athletes?
How healthy is it for weight trainers to take creatine over a long period of time?
How do you design a weights-free resistance training programme for athletes who lack regular access to a gym?

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Getting the Basics Right - how to design a resistance training programme that delivers results

Increasingly, many athletes in search of that elusive extra edge in strength and power look to resistance training in one form or another. Often they think they need a new exercise to sharpen them up.

But what they may not realise is that considerable improvements in training outcomes can be achieved without changing the content of their routines but simply by altering the sequence of exercises and varying the rest times between exercises.

In Resistance Training - The Next Level we examine the central issue of how best to structure a core resistance training programme. We set out for discussion several different sample training sessions, each of them designed around a different set of training objectives.

All the sessions are based on just five core strength training exercises: bench press, bench throw, bench pull, the squat and the squat jump.

You'll learn how to calculate how much rest is enough - whether it's between individual sets, or between exercises. You'll learn all the secrets to sequencing - how to determine which is the optimal order in which to perform strength training exercises for the best results.

The chapter also includes two model training sessions for experienced trainers, one focused on building power, the other on strength.

Plyometric Training - how to design a programme for all-round body development

Plyometric training is now a common element of elite sports training programmes, and is increasingly used by other athletes and their coaches. But while its beneficial effects on the lower body are well documented, there are some lingering doubts over how useful it is for upper body force development.

First documented as an effective training method by Soviet coaches in the middle of the last century, the main purpose of 'plyometrics' is to increase the rate of force development, the key ingredient of power. By contrast, the main purpose of heavy weight training is to increase total force production - i.e. maximum strength.

It is logical for athletes to seek to increase the rate of force development, because most sporting movements involve fast movements for which forces must be generated quickly. The foot-to-ground contact time in the high jump, for example, is less than 100 milliseconds, yet it will take around 500 milliseconds to generate maximum force. For elite performance, an athlete's rate of force development is often more important than the maximum force he or she is able to generate.

The other advantage of plyometric training is that it comprises jumping and throwing movement patterns that involve a stretch-shortening-cycle (SSC). The muscle and tendons are first lengthened with an eccentric load - e.g. pulling back your arm to throw a ball - which may increase the subsequent concentric force production and/or allow release of elastic energy - e.g. as the arm accelerates forwards to release the ball. Since most sporting movements involve sprinting, jumping and throwing SSC movements, plyometric training can be viewed as highly sport specific.

In Resistance Training - The Next Level we tackle head-on the issue of how effective plyometrics are in helping athletes increase their upper body's rate of development. It reviews the results of a recent research study into the development of shoulder external rotator and elbow extension power in trained athletes. The study confirms that plyometric regimes can be effective - provided they are correctly integrated into an athlete's overall training regime, and the appropriate load and rest factors are in play. Crucially, the exercise regime that is followed should not exhaust the fast twitch muscle fibres that are crucial to force development.

Resistance Training - The Next Level explains how to put together an upper body plyometric training regime that meets all these criteria - and even provides you with a sample programme designed to accommodate both male and female athletes.

Resistance training will give you the edge you need!

Getting the Best of Both Worlds - how to design a programme that enhances both Speed and Power

Complex training describes a power-developing workout that combines weights and plyometric exercises. About 10 years ago, these workouts were greeted with great acclaim as research indicated that they could significantly enhance fast twitch muscle fibre power and, therefore, dynamic sports performance.

However, more recent research has highlighted a number of complications about complex training as well as some new potential benefits. We cover this important research in Resistance Training - the next level.

The key physiological vindication for these workouts is the 'potentiation' effect - i.e. the enhancing effect one training mode can have on another. Initially, research focused on the potentiation of the plyometric exercises by the weights exercises; (note that the exercises involved are 'paired' and work the same muscle groups).

Fast twitch muscle fibre holds the key to increased dynamic sports performance, since these fibres can contract 2-3 times faster than their slow twitch counterparts. Type IIb fast twitch fibres are the turbochargers of the power athlete's engine (as opposed to type IIa 'transitional' fast twitch fibres, which can be modified for either power or endurance purposes).

But these turbochargers are notoriously difficult to activate fully, since there can be as many as 1,000 of these fibres to every one motor neuron in their muscle motor unit.

However, plyometric training, which can generate huge amounts of force in a split second, is much better at hitting type IIb fibres and, therefore, at increasing speed and force production. The way plyometric and weights exercises are ordered into a power combination workout can have a significant effect on training adaptation.

In Resistance Training - the next level we discus the two basic approaches:

Complex training. This involves performing sets of weight training exercises before sets of related plyometric exercises - eg. 3 sets of 10 half squats, before 3 sets of 10 jump squats. Such combinations of sets are known as 'complexes';
Contrast training. This involves alternating sets of first weights then plyometric exercises - eg 1 set of 10 half squats followed by 1 set of 10 jump squats, repeated over 3 sets.

And we set out the key criteria you need to consider when designing such a training programme for athletes.

Boost your performance with resistance training!

Power Without Mass - a strength training programme that boosts endurance running performance

Athletes and coaches should always have an open-minded approach to tweaking and improving their training programmes.

At the same time, they should also question the benefits of any new or additional training method. Why is this kind of training good for my event? What is the exact benefit that I will gain from it? How can I successfully fit it into my routine?

For endurance runners, high volume mixed with high intensity running training is essential for success. Recovery between sessions is equally important to avoid staleness; and consequently any additional training will not necessarily be beneficial if it adds to fatigue rather than enhancing fitness. If endurance runners wish to add strength sessions to their training programmes, they need to prioritise, ensuring each exercise in the routine is beneficial. Big weight lifting sessions, involving lots of exercises taking more than an hour to complete, maybe useful for a rugby player but wont help an endurance runner.

Certainly, that's the core of our approach in Resistance Training - the next level. We set out two cardinal principles every distance runner (and his or her coach!) should bear in mind when including strength training into their programme. Then we show you how to put those two principles into practice, by creating a strength programme for two elite middle and long distance runners: one an 800m runner and the other a 5000m specialist. Both compete at an international level, and so already have the high mileage training regime as you would expect.

Each programme is split into an off-season preparation phase, a pre-competition peaking phase and a competition maintenance phase, so you can see exactly what nature and volume of training was included, and when.

Strength Training for Triathletes - how to improve your performance both in the water and on land

Triathlon is a demanding multi-discipline sport, calling for high levels of endurance in the water, on a bike and on the road. And, while triathletes spend most of their time swimming, cycling and running, they also need a supplementary resistance-based conditioning programme to enhance overall performance.

Strength training can improve performance via two main effects: first, the resultant increase in strength can enhance the skill, power or efficiency of the sporting movement; secondly, it will reduce the risk of injury. When designing a triathlon strength programme, you have to consider whether a performance and/or injury benefit is possible for each of the three disciplines. Once you have done this, you have a rational basis for choosing the best exercises.

In Resistance Training - the next level we present a programme of strength and conditioning exercises suitable for serious competitive triathletes. Its goals are as follows: target performance for running, and injury prevention for running and swimming.

For each exercise in the programme we tell you not just how to perform it, when what sequence to follow, and how many reps and sets to perform.

Female and Young Athletes - exploding the myth about the suitability of weight training

Sportswomen seem to have an adverse perception of weight training, perhaps because they link it in their minds with the image of muscle-bound, testosterone-fuelled bodybuilders. Social and cultural factors apart, many women also remain sceptical of the practical benefits of weight training for their sports.

Similarly, parents and coaches continue to express concern about the suitability of strength training for children and adolescents. Historically, these concerns stem from a perceived risk of potential damage to growth plates and consequent interference with normal growth.

In Resistance Training - the next level we examine recent sports science findings on the suitability and efficacy of weight training for women and young athletes, working across a number of sports including soccer, athletics, gymnastics, lacrosse and basketball.

Then we explain the clear advantages both groups can gain from participating in a properly designed and supervised weight training programme. The advantages go beyond enhanced sporting performance to include, for women, a reduced likelihood of osteoporosis, and for both groups a considerable reduction in the likelihood of injury owing to an increase in the strength of supporting connective tissue and passive joint stability.

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Creatine - is it really safe for long-term use?

Diets, nutrition and supplements are synonymous with resistance training and athletes looking to take their strength training to an extra level. However speculation is common among scientists, coaches and athletes alike over how best to approach this topic, and more importantly how to apply it.

Take Creatine, for instance. It's the number one choice of sports supplement for athletes at all levels - and with good reason. Unlike most products that compete for space on the shelves of 'health food stores' up and down the country, creatine does precisely what it says on the tin: namely boost the body's phosphocreatine energy system, thereby enhancing short-term, high intensity anaerobic efforts.

But, while there are few, if any, remaining concerns about short-term use, there are still no guarantees of long-term safety.

Because creatine is both manufactured in the body and naturally present in a number of foods, most researchers have quite reasonably assumed that its toxicity is low. Numerous past studies on athletes had shown that even the very high doses required to produce rapid creatine saturation in the muscles (10-20 grams per day) seem to be perfectly safe in the short term, despite the occasional anecdotal report of side effects like bloating.

Nevertheless, many researchers remained concerned about the potential longer-term health effects of prolonged creatine supplementation, particularly on the health of the kidneys. This was because each day about 2% of the body's store of creatine is broken down to a substance called creatinine, which has to be cleared from the body by the kidneys. Ingesting large doses of creatine over a long period of time could theoretically place a significant extra burden on the kidneys, possibly leading to damage for those with less than perfect kidney function.

So does long-term creatine use have a completely clean bill of health? In fact, there remain a number of unanswered questions. For example, some nutritionists have put forward the theory that the water-retaining effect of creatine supplementation could interfere with the normal transport of fluids, which in turn could impair exercise performance in very hot conditions.

Resistance Training - the next level takes a look at several recent studies into the usage of creatine by athletes, and its impact on the human body in hot conditions. We also look at the affect creatine supplementation has on the human body's natural production of creatine. Then we suggest some sensible guidelines for athletes.

Weight Training and Shoulder Injuries - some tips for both prevention and cure

Shoulders are crucial in so many sports - but unfortunately are very susceptible to injury. The throwing movement recruits many muscles and combines a large range of arm motion with high forces or speeds at the shoulder joint. All overhead athletes tend to perform many repetitions of the movement, usually with a dominant arm only, as part of their sports training.

Of course, shoulders are particularly important for strength athletes, as so many exercises rely on the use of the shoulders. So if you want to have effective sessions in the gym, you need to make sure you take proper care of them.

For the shoulder and arm to move efficiently requires coordinated movement of the scapula and humerus, known as scapulo-humeral rhythm. For example, arm abduction is accompanied by some upward rotation of the scapula, allowing the deltoid muscle to maintain a good length-tension relationship throughout the full 180° of abduction.

Scapular and humeral coordination also involves the stabilising muscles of the scapula working in concert with the rotator cuff stabilising muscles of the gleno-humeral joint. If the scapula holds its position correctly, the rotator cuff will do its job more effectively. Or, to put it another way, active stability is necessary to avoid excessive stress in the shoulder joint.

Problems tend to arise when athletes focus their training solely on the prime mover muscles, such as pectorals and deltoids, resulting in a relative weakness of the rotator cuff and scapular stabiliser muscles. It is common practice now for overhead athletes to pay extra attention to lateral rotator strengthening. And the same advice applies to all adults who do resistance training: be sure to include exercises for the rotator cuff and scapular stabilisers in order to develop balanced strength in the upper body.

In Resistance Training - the next level you'll learn how to protect your shoulders or, as the case may be, redevelop them. We identify strengthening exercises designed specifically to promote injury prevention and ensure balanced strength in your shoulders, and good posture. Each exercise is described in full, complete with illustrations and tables.

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Gym-Free Resistance Training - how to get the benefits even when you don't have the equipment

The modern gym, equipped with machines for all muscles groups and free weights, is the ideal place to develop strength. It gives coaches, athletes and sports therapists a wide choice of exercises and an easy, regulated means of progression. Resistance machines, with their numbered and graduated weight stacks, make prescriptions for a progressive programme straightforward and safe.

But what do you do when you have no ready access to a fitness facility, and you are therefore limited to bodyweight exercises for training or rehabilitation? In this case, rather than simply moving the pin on a weight-stack, it will be necessary to introduce a shift of body position or a new exercise in order to achieve progression.

Resistance Training - the next level provides you with guidelines for safe and effective home-based training and rehabilitation programmes using minimal equipment. We start out by enumerating the key principles of exercise planning, then move on to provide practical advice for exercising key mobiliser muscle groups. All exercises are explained in detail, with accompanying photographs and diagrams.

Details of your online discount offer

As a user of our Peak Performance web site, you qualify for a copy of Resistance Training - The Next Level at a special discount. Place your order today and you pay just $39.99 instead of the full price of $59.99. You save 33%.

Resistance Training - The Next Level is the latest in a series of special reports from Peak Performance, the sports science newsletter. This book is not available elsewhere.

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Resistance Training - the next level is published by Electric Word plc, publishers of the Peak Performance newsletter, Sports Injury Bulletin and Successful Coaching.