Strength & Conditioning

If you are new to strength training a solid movement platform is essential to develop because it will provide you with a solid foundation for strength. Movements seen in a strength and conditioning programme are typically:

SQUATS AND VARIATIONS:

One of the richest tests of strength, the squat incorporates almost all of the muscles from your core downwards. Starting with bodyweight to perfect your form, squatting is a versatile movement that can be adapted to include holding dumbbells or a kettlebell, a barbell for a back squat or front squat, and you can also test your balance and proprioception with a weighted split squat.

DEADLIFT AND VARIATIONS:

Deadlifts are one of the best exercises to develop your posterior chain. Like the squat, there are so many variations including traditional and sumo stance deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, deficit deadlifts from a small platform, and snatch grip deadlifts for an accessory exercise to improve your Olympic weightlifting skill.

BENCH PRESS AND PRESSING MOVEMENTS:

The bench press is most likely the best-known exercises for developing a killer chest, which can be adapted to suit any lifter. You can use a barbell or dumbbells, complete an incline bench press or floor bench press to give you a developed shoulder, pec and tricep area. Alongside the bench press is the push press and strict press, both of which increase power and drive maximal strength to enhance muscle development and physical performance.

ROWS AND PULLING MOVEMENTS:

Rows, and other ‘pulling’ movements, contribute to great posture and help you complete your first pull-up! Rows are particularly effective because they counteract hunched shoulders due to office work, driving and texting which set shoulders forward.  Variations include the bent over row, dumbbell row, reverse grip row and T-bar row, in addition to other pulling exercises such as the lat pull-down, all of which which work on your back strength and contribute to great posture and help you complete your first pull-up!

PLYOMETRIC MOVEMENTS:

Plyometric movements such as vertical and lateral jumps from the ground and off boxes have been scientifically proven that the more explosive power you can generate, the more successful your overall athletic performance will be, whether that is strength and conditioning for day-to-day or sports specific, or Olympic weightlifting. A jumping programme is really, really good for you because it engages your largest muscles to lift you off the ground, and then demands that you absorb two-to-three times your own body weight in force when you land. All of this means that you build muscle power much quicker than focusing on stationary exercises alone.

There are essentially two baseline ‘types’ of jump that you can do when training: vertical and lateral. The vertical jump is one of the most effective tests of full body strength and is to athletic power what accelerating from 0-60 is to car racing. Ultimately, horsepower in a car dictates acceleration, much the same as the vertical jump relies on how well you use the horsepower in your own body. Lateral jumps also strengthen your lower body but really come into their own when considering balance and coordination benefits. Lateral jumping requires lateral stabilisation from your core in order to properly execute the movement with good form. Because of this, lateral jumps are also excellent in stabilising and strengthening your hips, knees, ankles and feet.