Starting Strength Training 3

Ok, so lets look at some of the things I would put into chunks of training.
The session might be divided into:
Warm Up
Session Part1,2…etc
Warm down\ Finisher

The overall priority of each bit must be that it has a specific purpose, it can’t just be doing stuff.

Warm ups: I get athletes moving, so that it can either complement the session, or it is getting them ready to work harder.

For example, if the session is going to consist of barbell single plane lifts such as deadlift, front squat or snatch, then the warm up could either be multi directional movements that complement them, or it could be a barbell complex that consists of these lifts but with smaller weights.

I have seen many national governing body strength sessions that start with a 5 minute bike ride, some gluteal activation by lying on a foam roller and some theraband work to activate rotator cuff muscles. This might be okay as a warm down, or for some light activity at home, but it certainly does not mentally or physically prepare you for the session to follow, and it certainly does not provide any association with sport.

As the athlete develops, the warm ups can become more vigorous and more varied. At the beginning stage, they may actually be the session itself, with any other time spent on coaching some techniques. So, a typical warm up could be 100 skips plus 20 body weight exercises for 8 sets. For beginners this is a work out, so I would follow this with some technical work with dumbbells. As time progresses I would increase the loads, sets and reps of the dumbbell work to make this the work.

This is incorporated into our Get Stronger programme.