Strength Classes
The strength class got under way last night and was attended solely by the rugby lads. A few people have been asking if they can attend – especially the girls. Lets throw the old misconceptions out the window, of course the girls can attend – and I would strongly recommend that they do, building strength is just as important for females.
Someone else also asked if there will still be strength work in the GPP classes. Yes there will, strength is the foundation upon which all the other components of fitness are built. It is critical to athletic success and general well being.
So just to clarify a few things…
Why strength classes?
I wrote about strength training a while ago (in relation to Martial Artists) but it stands for all athletes and individuals seeking optimal health. I outlined my reasons for a strength emphasis in training in the article…
An increase in strength improves all other athletic endeavours. Strength can be viewed as being the foundation upon which all the other components of fitness are built upon. This is not a new departure; it has been seen and proven over and over again, when the athlete becomes stronger, meaning when they raise their absolute strength, every other physical task that requires a percentage of that strength becomes easier. In the beginner, simply increasing absolute strength will be the fastest most efficient way to increase speed and explosiveness. Not to mention it will help athletes avoid serious injury. All other things being equal, the stronger athlete will come out on top.
I think most people know that they need to get stronger but that’s usually the end of it. As with so many training methods out there, all common sense goes out the window and people rely on antiquated training methods (much like the majority of martial arts) and start doing modified versions of bastardised training programs and all that is left is a disjointed mishmash of exercises with no real aim or end result whatsoever. Reason fades away and more often than not athletes and coaches lose sight of the target, it becomes a competition to see who can incorporate the most exercises in one session. Take a step back for a minute, re-group, what we are looking at here is increasing STRENGTH.
The strength classes were set up with in-season athletes in mind, athletes involved in their own sports training and conditioning throughout the week and just looking to build on their strength specifically without over training.
It is also something our own athletes could take advantage of. Those who’s sole training is within the gym and are either looking for a change of pace or to cycle their training. For example, spending 6 weeks focusing on building strength and then 6 weeks in the GPP class, bringing their over all fitness levels up. This will be a future article but ask in the gym if you have any questions about this and cycling your training.
How will the class differ from the GPP class?
It will only be strength training. Meaning the use of heavy compound movements, such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, barbell row etc. For the most part, the movements will be performed for 3 working sets of 5 reps – Linear Progression. The goal being to add weight to the bar each week. Once progress halts, a reset will take place, meaning the weights will be taken back slightly and the process of adding weight to the bar each week recommences. This usually (and almost always in beginners) leads to further increases in strength, which is the sole aim of these classes.
There will be no conditioning portion to the sessions at all. Each class should be documented in your own journals, this is vital to track progress. Guessing what weight you should be lifting each week will severely hamper your progress.
Who can attend?
The strength classes are open to everyone that is already a member.
There are also membership rates for people who only want to attend the strength classes.
The full price list is here.
