Strength Equipment

When looking to invoke the maximum stress stimuli response from the muscle causing the greatest strength adaptations you need to first assess the purpose of the strength and ensure it is sport specific and will not hinder athletic performance. For example a power lifter requires a different type of strength to a middle-distance swimmer. Both athletes must work on their muscular strength however they need to do so in a sport specific way! Hence, once you have ascertained the reason for strength development then you can begin to answer the question which exercise is best? The fundamentals of true strength always begin with bodyweight training as the true mark of a persons actual strength is not by the weight they lift instead it is the weight they lift in comparison to the amount of body mass they are carrying. Hence bodyweight strength training on squat racks Dips bars etc are always a great place to start when looking to form the basis of a good strength training program. Compound lift movements such as the bench press, deadlift and squats are also a staple in any strength training block as they essentially see movement across three different joints/levers and therefore require the maximum number of muscle fibre recruitment to perform the movement which has a much greater effect on strength development. Other compound lifts which fall into this category are exercises like farmers walk, in fact they can be considered a hybrid form of compound lift as it is the repetitive sequence of one of the key compound lifts as you look to move a considerable amount of weight from point a to point b as fast as you can. To conclude, strength training as complex as it may seem is often the most basic form of training which requires a periodised block of training which is specifically designated to working on the weight you are able to lift within the different types of compound lifts to recruit the maximal amount of muscle fibres and add a few KG’s to your personal best!