Strength Training Articles

2022 Articles

Articles Tagged with 2022
The Importance of Calf Training

The Importance of Calf Training

One muscle group that athletes must address is the calves. The calf muscles play a tremendous role in athletics and should be a prioritized muscle group in any training program. As mentioned above, joint stabilization is critical regarding dynamic movement and power output. Without strong calves supporting the ankles and knees, an athlete is at greater risk of injury.

Mon Jul 11, 2022
Starting Conjugate: Absolute Strength Development

Starting Conjugate: Absolute Strength Development

No matter the sport you compete in, possessing high levels of brute strength is never wrong. Not only will this strength allow you to dominate physically, but it will also allow you to be a tougher, more resilient athlete. However, this is not always the focus when a strength coach prepares an athlete for sport.

Fri Jul 08, 2022
Kettlebell Warm-Ups

Kettlebell Warm-Ups

A warm-up exercise intends to target and activate muscle groups and mobilize the joints while raising the heart rate to increase blood flow. This should be a relatively short process, with a typical warm-up routine lasting between 5-15 minutes depending on your injury history, age, or schedule. 

Wed Jul 06, 2022
Primary Accessory Exercises

Primary Accessory Exercises

When you discover a weakness or an issue with a lift, it should be taken as a threat to your success. When under threat, do you address the threat or flee? You most certainly address the danger with every option you have at your disposal. Strength training is no different. 

Wed Jun 29, 2022
Max Effort Deadlift: Proper Exercise Selection and Organization for Consistent Gains

Max Effort Deadlift: Proper Exercise Selection and Organization for Consistent Gains

No matter the athlete, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to strength training. As a coach, it is vital to have the ability to manipulate the exercise selection and programming to allow an athlete to make consistent gains in strength and power without worrying about gains becoming slow or stagnant.

Mon Jun 27, 2022
Starting Conjugate: Dynamic Effort Deadlift Programming

Starting Conjugate: Dynamic Effort Deadlift Programming

When most think of dynamic effort training, they think of two exercises; the squat and the bench press. However, we also utilize the dynamic effort method to increase our ability to generate power in the deadlift, focusing on improving our force production and bar speed the same as we would with the squat or bench press.

Fri Jun 24, 2022
Using Bodyweight Exercises to Increase Fitness

Using Bodyweight Exercises to Increase Fitness

Implementing bodyweight exercises allows you to increase your strength, size, athleticism, and mobility. Movements such as pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, dips, air squats, Hindu squats, and burpees are some of the oldest exercises we have used to increase physical fitness.

Wed Jun 22, 2022
Understanding the Anderson Squat

Understanding the Anderson Squat

Like the box squat, Anderson squatting will positively impact your rate of force development. Additionally, by eliminating the stretch-shortening cycle and emphasizing the concentric phase, this exercise will greatly improve absolute strength. 

Mon Jun 20, 2022
Dynamic Effort: Building Your First DE Lower Wave

Dynamic Effort: Building Your First DE Lower Wave

At Westside, we refer to our dynamic effort squat and deadlift training as DE lower day. A typical DE lower training day will include squats and deadlifts, with squats being the primary focus and deadlifts being performed as the main accessory exercise.

Wed Jun 15, 2022
3 Recommended Sumo Deadlift Variations

3 Recommended Sumo Deadlift Variations

The sumo deadlift is an exercise that offers powerlifters and athletes various training benefits. By utilizing the sumo deadlift, you will gain strength and muscle mass that will carry over to conventional deadlifts and squats. This occurs due to the complete targeting of the hips and legs the sumo deadlift offers.

Mon Jun 13, 2022
Understanding Max Effort

Understanding Max Effort

At Westside, we perform max-effort variations of the squat, good morning, deadlift, and bench press to increase absolute strength and improve intermuscular and intramuscular coordination. We dedicate two training days per week to max effort work, max effort upper and lower. To avoid accommodation, we perform a different max effort upper and lower exercise each week. 

Fri Jun 10, 2022