Strength and Conditioning Knowledge Center

Surely, you’ve already taken a multiple-choice test or had an option in which all the previous ones were correct. That happens when we ask ourselves “how many days of rest should I have per week?” Multiple answers are valid since there is no single solution. It will depend on our level of training, the qualities …

Before you know if you should train with stiffness, what is it? Image taken from Bruce Mars (Unsplash) Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a functional muscle disorder caused by eccentric muscle contractions or unknown forms of exercise (Hotfiel et al., 2018). By performing biopsies at the muscular level, it has been proven that there …

Periodization of training in sport: what is it and where does it come from? Image taken by Joel Muniz (Unsplash) The periodization of training is the tool that coaches have for athletes to respond to the training load with beneficial adaptations for their sports performance (Medicine, 2013). If the load used is less than necessary, …

How did you plan to study for an exam? Most students focus on studying the days leading up to the test, but they know that they would do much better if they spread out those hours of study over the months. Many of us have experienced the end result firsthand: if you are lucky, you …

Differences between planning, periodization and scheduling   There are three terms that are often confused when we want to capture in a calendar the objectives of the training and the sessions that we are going to carry out to achieve it. Planning, periodization, and scheduling are often interchanged, but each term refers to different functions …

When we plan a season we put on the calendar the moments where we will need to be fresher to compete, so training sessions should not be a great stress. Based on this, we periodize an alternation of training blocks that will have a greater impact with others that will help us recover. The discharge …

Cluster method: what it consists of The traditional method for strength training consists of performing a certain number of repetitions, followed by ample rest until a new series is performed. The cluster is a strength training methodology that introduces breaks within the same series.  This technique introduces more shorter breaks within the same series,  instead …

Velocity Based Training can help you do a lot of great things in the gym to enhance your performance. However, there are probably some other things that you do not want to do. For example, VBT is not about getting fancy and making things complicated. There are some other things as well, which we are …

Strength training is a basic pillar to gain muscle mass, but we need is a second basic pillar for such muscle growth to occur. A properly designed diet will allow you to gain muscle mass, accumulating as little fat as possible. In this diet it is necessary to control the calories ingested, as well as …

What is hydrate loading?   Carbohydrates are the main source of energy during physical exercise, especially if it is of a certain intensity (Cermak & Van Loon, 2013). These carbohydrates are stored in our body in the form of glycogen (Adeva-Andany, González-Lucán, Donapetry-García, Fernández-Fernández, & Ameneiros-Rodríguez, 2016). The main glycogen stores are the liver (approximately …

High school athletes usually have a reduced ability to perform well in the field due to underdeveloped physiques, younger numerical and training age, and various other external factors. They also have to deal with daily challenges, including academic stress, family stress, travel stress, and even nutritional stress. For all these reasons, lifting is just a …

Lactate threshold refers to a person’s ability to perform aerobic exercises the fastest they can before the fatigue kicks in. Exercises performed close to this threshold lead to a sudden rise in blood lactate levels. Blood lactate is usually 1-2 mmol/L when you rest or perform low-intensity training. However, it rises to over 20mmol/L when …