Hi, this is Lucas, coach and owner of this site. On this blog I will be posting content about strength training for sports (like swimming or track and field), strenght training for hypertrophy, and for older people.

Strength training is a fairly simple process. We use basic barbell exercises, do basic human movements patters with them, and we load them progressively. It’s squats, presses, and the deadlift, power cleans for those who can do them, and chins. We add a bit of weight as often as possible: at the beginning you add weight to every exercise every time you train it and as you get more advanced that takes longer (weeks or months).

If you are practising a sport, the easiest way to improve your performance in that sport is to incrrease force production. Taking your squat from 40 kgs (95 lbs.) to 140 kgs (310 lbs) will make you more explosive and resistant to injuries. After that point (the numbers vary individually) you might benefit less from a strength increase, and more from working on other physical capabilities depending on your sport. Increasing your strength is the low hanging fruit that you can grab first.

If you are older, life is your sport, meaning your quality of life depends on your ability to do simple daily tasks like mowing the yard, moving furniture, or carrying groceries. For some older people going up a flight of stares is a challenging exercise which is easier to do if you are strong. If you are strong enough to move your body up the stairs your aerobic, cardiorespiratory capacity most likely won’t be your limiting factor, but strength will. That’s why it’s a good strategy to get strong first and add the conditioning work later- it’s a few months difference.

Feel free to comment here or to get in touch for a free consultation!