Strength training or resistance training is a critical part of any athlete’s programme. And for many athletes, it is a chronically neglected one. Here are some articles I have read and found useful to understand:
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Hormonal changes caused by strength training
Hormonal responses and adaptations to resistance exercise – this big review article covers the basic changes that resistance exercise causes to testosterone, growth hormone, cortisol, insulin-like growth factors (IGF), insulin, catecholamines and sundry other hormones.
Muscular adaptations to combinations of high and low intensity resistance exercise – this short study investigates the simple premise of using a back-off set of higher reps after the main sets of low reps. It seems that this single extra higher rep set caused a significant rise in growth hormone.
Effects of heavy-resistance training on hormonal response patterns – this fascinating study compared both the acute and chronic hormone response profiles of young and old men to heavy resistance training and found some amazing results.
Associations of exercise-induced hormone profiles and gains in strength – and in this study, the researchers found that bigger changes in cortisol levels were associated with bigger gains in hypertrophy.
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Sprinting
Strength and power characteristics of sprinters – it has always been controversial whether Olympic athletes are better jumpers than the track and field athletes themselves. Find out whether it is really true in this bold Australian study.
Strength and power characteristics of sports speed - this study looks at the correlations between squats, jump squats and vertical jumps and short sprints, with some surprising conclusions…
Laboratory and field tests in the evaluation of anaerobic power in elite hurdlers – what tests are suitable for establishing how fit an athlete is for their chosen event? Traditionally, the Wingate test has been used, and perhaps abused, for many different events. However, this research suggests other tests might be both easier and better at predicting performance.
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Jumping
A comparison of plyometric techniques for improving vertical jump ability – the researchers studied a number of different plyometrics techniques and compared them over a period of time. Depth jumps were found to be most effective.
Muscle fibre characteristics after a period of plyometric training – researchers were surprised to discover that an 8-week period of plyometrics improved vertical jump ability by causing hypertrophy.
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Throwing
Maximum strength-power relationships in collegiate throwers – the one and only Michael Hartman investigates peak force, peak rate of force development and how they relate to throwing ability.
New concepts in power building for the shot put - Stanley Lampert was one of the first athletes to use overweight implements and barbell training to develop strength and power specifically for his sport. In this article, find out just how he put a programme together.
Management of the training process in qualified female hammer throwers – Eugene Wrublevsky explains how the throwing season breaks down and how overweight implements and underweight implements are used throughout the year
Advances in the understanding of throwing injuries of the shoulder – not all strength training is about gaining muscle or power. Sometimes, strength training is about preventing imbalances. Throwers can be some of the most imbalanced athletes and this research shows how to take better care of them
Current concepts in the rehabilitation of the overhead athlete – and as science moves on, so we must continue to understand what it says and apply it to training our athletes
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Cycling
Maximal strength improves cycling economy - many amateur cyclists look upon weight training as unnecessary and harmful to their goals but Norwegian scientists have shown that adding a squat session into your training three times a week can markedly improve the power output of a racing cyclist for the same VO2-max
Strength training improves all-out 5 minute cycling performance - and other tests done on racing cyclists showed that in a simulated race situation, where cyclists rode for 3 hours at a steady pace and then sprinted for 5 minutes, strength training significantly improved performance
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Swimming
Assisted and resisted sprint training in swimming – swimmers often think that long, slow aerobic training is the best and only way to get the results they want. However, this study shows that both resisted and assisted sprint training with elastic is more effective than conventional training for building fast swimmers.
Muscle power predicts freestyle performance – why do assisted and resisted swimming training techniques work so well? Because it is actually muscular power that is the best predictor of freestyle performance, whether the distance is 50m or 400m.
Effect of dry-land versus assisted and resisted sprint training in swimming – because many swimmers do not have access to assisted or resisted training techniques, studies have been done to see whether gym work can replicate the same results. The good news is that gym work is equally effective.
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Endurance running
Factors affecting running economy in distance runners – surprisingly, running economy is one of the most important factors in predicting running performance, even more than cardiovascular capacity (VO2-max).
Interrelationships between muscle structure, muscle strength and running economy – and running economy is related to muscle fibre type and the types of contractile proteins in the muscle fibres
Core stability measures as risk factor for lower extremity injury in athletes – this study demonstrates that runners should do glute-specific work to help protect their ankles, knees and hips from injury
Core strength influences 5,000m running performance – and this study shows that adding core strength training into a runner’s routine will have significantly beneficial effects
Running-related injury prevention through barefoot adaptations – millions are spent on developing running shoes with “better” shock absorption every year. However, this study suggests that the more padding you apply to the shoe, the less well the foot uses its own internal shock absorbing capabilities.
Endurance running and the evolution of homo – did the human physique as we know it today evolve partly because of its tendency to perform persistence hunting? Find out in this thought-provoking review paper.
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Other sports
Physiological predictors of Olympic and traditional rowing performance – traditional and Olympic rowing are different sports in many respects. Find out what physiological attributes lend themselves alternately to either Olympic performance or traditional, fixed-seat, sea rowing.
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