Fitness Part 2: Strength
In our last post we outlined the foundation of movement, Skill. Once we have developed our movement quality through well-practiced positions and transitions we can start to strengthen these patterns.
Strength development is applied in our training sessions through barbell and gymnastics (Also referred to as bodyweight or calisthenics) training, with progress measurable via Rep Max testing or improved movement capacity, giving us a profile that allows us to identify areas of potential improvement. Variations here come down to a number of factors, notably genetics, age, sex, and training history.
The principles are most easily outlined as they relate to barbell movements, which will be expanded upon with reference to gymnastics later in this post.
Progress in strength occurs by gradually increasing load across a broad range of Reps, with strength adaptations occurring in three categories.
Neural factors
The first set of adaptations occur in the amount, speed, and sequence of muscle firing; we develop capacity in using the muscles more effectively, recruiting more fibres to contribute to the lift allowing us to add more weight to the barbell.
Each cell in the muscle fibre has a nucleus, with groups of cells being coordinated by a myonucleus. The signals from the brain become clearer, faster, and more powerful as these pathways become trained (I genuinely never thought I'd come across the myelin sheath from GCSE biology again, but here we are).
Recent studies have highlighted the importance of muscle lengthening in strength development of the lower body, which is why we insist on squats to your deepest possible position and why each strength cycle in our Controlled barbell movements start with tempo prescriptions emphasising eccentrics (Lowering the weight) and isometrics (Holds).
The eccentric phase in particular can result in a recruitment of up to 40% more of the muscles being worked, resulting in greater returns later in the program. We can turn these characteristics of recruitment and adaptation to our advantage by treating our warmup sets as opportunities for recruiting muscle fibre rather than formalities to be dispensed with before getting to the “real” sets. Applying tempo reps with slow eccentrics and pauses are great ways to make your warmup sets more productive and provide greater power output later in the session, as well as accessing new positions and greater range of motion over time.
Tension
The second type of adaptation is triggered by applying tension to the muscle, applied in our strength work by load. These adaptations create physical changes in the muscle; fibres thicken and can withstand more load, and as the volume of the muscle increases more myonuclei develop on the fibre surface as more coordination is required to manage the newly-developed muscle mass.
These myonuclei are what is now understood to be the physiological underpinning of muscle memory, which is why it doesn’t take as long for a trained individual to regain size and strength after a period of time without training.
As force increases speed decreases, so there is a balancing act when it comes to movements that require velocity to be successful. Compare a front squat to a squat clean, the introduction of speed in the latter limits the load we can put on the bar. Prioritise speed in your Complex and Chaotic lifts, and load in your Controlled movements (Read our previous blog post on Skill for a deeper dive on this).
Volume
For the first 12-18 months of responsibly applied resistance training you can expect a fairly linear progression in all of your lifts through a combination of greater neural drive and increased muscle mass. Once this honeymoon period is over we come to the third wave of adaptation, volume management.
The initial adaptations you’ll experience will see your top-end strength gradually increase over time, with each of your rep maxes increasing every time you put your hands on a bar. For a time this is the only measure of progress you’ll need, building to the heaviest possible set of the prescribed reps.
Once these numbers stall we can look at the overall volume of the session. Let’s say the last two times you’ve performed 5 x 5 back squats (5 working sets of 5 reps) the result has been 30kg-40kg-50kg-60kg-70kg. You’ve attempted 75kg both times but been unable to complete the full set before failure or a breakdown in form. The next time you approach this session you could try to increase the overall load lifted across these working sets. The successful completion of 50kg-55kg-60kg-65kg-70kg will bring you to the same destination but along the way you'll have applied more overall stress to the system, and stress leads to adaptation. A few exposures to this additional volume could be the key to breaking that 70kg plateau.
In this way we can accumulate productive training volume at weights we know we can manage, building both physical tolerance (With its associated adaptations to muscle fibre thickness) and confidence at heavier loads (Allowing greater expression of neural drive and more weight on the bar).
To apply these principles to gymnastics strength one need only consider the load as one’s own bodyweight which can be adjusted down with the use of equipment (e.g. resistance bands) and positions (e.g. foot assisted pull-ups or knee push-ups), or up with external load (Weighted pull-ups or dips).
Eccentric loading in particular is an excellent tool for the development of gymnastics strength and shouldn’t be overlooked as a strategy for developing capacity even in advanced athletes. Three sets of five to ten pull-ups are a very different proposition if the lowering phase is extended to three seconds, while jumping or setting up with the chin over the bar and lowering as slowly as possible is an excellent bridge from zero pull-ups to your first.
The principles above will see you through many years of productive strength training; if you find yourself on a plateau with your progress review them. More often than not it will become clear which area has been neglected most recently. Therein lies your best next step.
