Fitness PILLAR: strength training for longevity!
Exercise is not just about moving our bodies around aimlessly.
Aimless exercise is a waste of your time.
Your exercise and training routine should have intention and purpose behind it for it to be effective. It should also consider the long term. A good training program should take into account your current fitness and experience level, your needs, and the phase of life that you’re in.
A strong, posturally aligned body with good function and biomechanics is an EXCELLENT injury prevention strategy. It’s all about meeting people where they are and slowly and gradually increasing the stress placed on the body for it to adapt. This includes taking adequate periods of rest and breaks in between to recover properly.
As we age, our training should focus on strength, function, performance, and longevity—to ensure that we THRIVE while maintaining our strength and independence for as long as possible. Proper function and strength significantly impact our quality of life as we age. Think about the ability to squat down to a toilet or a chair, or even get into a position to play with our children or grandchildren. We should be able to lunge or climb stairs without our lower body joints screaming in pain or agony. Lifting weighted objects overhead safely without injuring our back, or putting away something heavy in a high cupboard or on a top shelf, is vital. Additionally, having upper body strength to brace ourselves in case of a fall or to adapt to a sudden accident is crucial. Being able to respond with strength and confidence is important.
Common Problems…
Starting a fitness journey with advanced levels of training.
Too many people are missing a STRONG & SOLID foundation (core strength + postural alignment + good biomechanics)—“skipping grades.”
Sacrificing good form and technique for less important things (load, speed, intensity)—“rep quality.”
Inadequate recovery and restorative practice.
Generalized exercise or training styles that lack personalized attention to exercises that suit your needs (this takes knowledge to address).
Too much cardio and not enough strength (especially as we age).
Doing the same things for too long (change approximately every 6-8 weeks) or for too short a period.
Too long = loses its effectiveness.
Too short = does not give the body adequate time for adaptation.
The SOLUTION…
General Training Guidelines
Exercise for your fitness level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced—based on your experience level & exercise history).
Choose exercises appropriate for your body, your limitations, and your needs (tailored exercises).
Select exercises you can execute with good form and technique (this is what exercise progressions and regressions are all about).
Periodization & Phases
Following proper periodization and phases of training will help you overcome every single common problem and ensure every training guideline mentioned is met. It’s a structured graduation process that takes you from junior kindergarten all the way to university or college level—from beginner to advanced training. You start by focusing on building a strong and solid foundation that can be gradually built upon. In the early stages of any strength training program, the key considerations for injury prevention are postural alignment, your body’s function and biomechanics, and adequate core strength and conditioning.
Periodization and phases provide the structure and essential building blocks of strength training. Periodization refers to a long-term training block of time (for example, a 1-year program). Phases of training refer to the short-term blocks of time, about 4-8 weeks, within the periodization model (for example, a 4-week power phase within a 1-year program).
What are the benefits of following proper periodization and phases of training?
Ensures a strong foundation is formed and ready to be built upon.
Cycling through different phases of training sets up a structured format, considers long- and short-term planning, and continuous change will help you avoid hitting a plateau.
Progresses strength and exercise in a safe manner.
Within the periodization model, there are five phases in total: stabilization strength, strength endurance, hypertrophy, maximal strength, and power. You would start in the stabilization strength phase and progress to the power phase. There should also be a focus on working in multiple planes of motion.
Phases of Strength Training Phase 1: Stabilization Strength Training designed to create optimal levels of stabilization strength and postural control. Focused on building muscular endurance with bodyweight and the most basic primal movements, with a primary focus on core strength and conditioning so the core and postural muscles learn how to stabilize the pelvis and spine throughout movement. Isometric and anti-rotation exercises are great choices for this phase of training. Here, we focus on how long a muscle can last rather than how much it can lift.
Increase stability.
Increase muscular endurance.
Increase neuromuscular efficiency of core musculature.
Improve intermuscular and intramuscular coordination.
Circuit-style training (or giant sets).
Phase 2: Strength Endurance Training designed to challenge stability while increasing strength and volume. This phase focuses on building muscular strength, stability, and endurance while introducing a bit of load beyond bodyweight. Gradually, we build off primal movements and introduce more complexity and other exercise variations, sometimes pairing a stability exercise with a strength exercise (stable + unstable environment) while increasing reps, load, or time.
Increase core musculature's ability to stabilize pelvis & spine (under heavier loads + more ROM).
Increase load-bearing capabilities of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints.
Increase volume of training.
Increase metabolic demand (ATP-CP & glycolysis).
Superset style format (strength + stabilization exercises).
Phase 3: Hypertrophy Training designed to maintain stability while increasing strength, volume, and/or load. This phase focuses on building muscular strength with compound (primal movements +) and isolation exercises by increasing load in a stable environment. Gradually building up the load and decreasing reps set to set challenges load-bearing capabilities, or doing burnout sets where you significantly drop the load and complete as many reps as possible.
Increase core musculature's ability to stabilize pelvis & spine (under heavier loads + more ROM).
Increase load-bearing capabilities of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints.
Increase volume of training.
Increase metabolic demand (ATP-CP & glycolysis).
Superset style format (strength exercises).
Phase 4: Maximal Strength Training designed to maintain stability while increasing strength and load. This phase focuses on building muscular strength primarily through load and more speed, using mainly compound movements. Isolation, alignment, and accessory work are still important but not the primary focus. More load, fewer reps, and very long rest periods allow the body adequate time to recover from each set. This is a very advanced level of training that is not for everyone; maintaining pelvic and spine stabilization is critically important. This phase is also very hard on the body, so it’s kept short (approximately 4 weeks).
Increase core musculature's ability to stabilize pelvis & spine (under heavier loads + more ROM).
Increase load-bearing capabilities of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints.
Recruit more motor units.
Increase rate of force production.
Increase motor unit synchronization.
Single exercise format style.
Phase 5: Power Training designed to increase the rate of force production. This phase focuses on building strength, speed, and power with bodyweight and light-loaded exercises (for more advanced groups). This phase targets a different type of muscle fiber (known as type II, fast-twitch), which is great for generating force and speed, thus increasing our reaction time in everyday life. The ability to react, absorb, stabilize, and contract in response with strength, control, and power is key. This phase often involves a lot of jumping and hopping exercises or any exercise with a speed/agility/quickness component, usually based on primal movements. Again, this phase is very hard on the body, so its timeline is kept short (4-week period).
Increase rate of force production & landing absorption.
Increase synchronicity of motor units activated.
Increase the number of motor units activated.
Increase the speed of motor units activated.
Increase speed, agility & quickness.
Superset style training (strength & power exercises).
All phases are not appropriate for everyone.
The phases of training one cycles through will depend largely on the individuals goals, abilities, limitations and needs to determine exactly what their periodization plan looks like. For example, an athlete would not cycle through these phases of training the same as your average everyday exerciser.
The main take away is, periodization and phase cycling is a structured approached to strength training safely.
Often, people are not starting out with a solid foundation, lacking a focus on body alignment, posture, and core strength and conditioning. Missing a strong foundation is likely to lead to injury and is not a good prevention strategy.
Stop wasting your time with what’s not working and invest in getting consistent and sustainable results. Working with a qualified fitness professional can ensure all the above. 😊
How to Find a Good Fitness Coach
Interview a potential coach (What are their qualifications? Do they seem knowledgeable and qualified for the job? Are they passionate about what they do? What is your first impression?).
Proper intake forms and information gathering (Are there any intake forms you must fill out? Is there a health questionnaire? Do some of the questions consider holistic health?).
Goal setting and fitness objectives (Do they ask you about your fitness dreams, goals, and desires? Is there a conversation about this? Do they provide feedback, offer suggestions, and outline a rough plan? Do they seem confident that they can provide you with a solution?).
Start with a fitness assessment and movement screen (Does the coach start out with an assessment, or do they move right into training?).
Balance your wants with your needs.
Reference & Resources
NASM Essential of Personal Fitness Training Manual (periodization & phases of training)