Strength training is a general term used by amateur weightlifters and bodybuilders alike. It is a blanket term used to describe anything from a 20-minute HIIT workout to a 2+ hour Olympian style training session. Needless to say, there are many different definitions and variations of strength training. The one thing we know for sure is strength training helps keep your body strong and healthy. Below you’ll find seven different styles of strength training along with ways you can utilize each style.
1.) Agility
Agile strength is the ability to change course of direction quickly and powerfully. Quick changes in speed, direction, and velocity are what characterize a person as agile. Being agile is beneficial because it helps your body move easily and fluidly in any direction, which improves your coordination and balance while preventing injuries at the same time.
Whether you realize it or not, you’re working on your agility on a regular basis. Every time you pick up a heavy bag of groceries or piece of furniture and maneuver around an area you’re honing your agility. Other great ways to enhance your agility are medicine ball exercises, such as medicine ball shuffles, and directional sprints.
2.) Endurance
Endurance strength is all about how long you can last. It requires your body to use both aerobic and anaerobic pathways to stay in motion. Increasing your endurance can benefit you by improving the aerobic capacity of your muscles.
When it comes to building your endurance, start with bodyweight workouts, and then add weight to your movements. Another way to build up your endurance is by finding and sticking to a cardio plan. For example, start out on the treadmill for 30 minutes and work your way to 45, 60, or even 90 minutes.
3.) Explosive
Explosive strength enables you to move yourself along with another object quickly and with a lot of force. Think of exercises like powerlifting. Explosive strength helps make you stronger by quickening your motor skills, enhancing your intramuscular coordination, reducing reaction time, and improving the resiliency of your muscle and connective tissue. Excellent explosive workouts to try are things, such as box jumps, snatches, and cleans.
4.) Maximum
Your maximum strength is characterized by the maximum amount of force you can control. Think of your maximum strength as the weight you can comfortably and correctly perform one repetition with. Maximum strength training improves your health and well-being by developing the fast-twitch muscle fibers, increasing the levels of muscle-building hormones, and increasing your bone density and strength. Maximum strength workouts are especially beneficial for the aging body.
Heavy weights with low repetitions are the name of the game. Exercises, such as heavy weight squats, hip thrusts, deadlifts, bench press, and powerlifting are key if you want to maximize your strength.
5.) Speed
When it comes to speed, it all comes down to how fast you can travel. Speed equips your muscles with better flexibility and balance. The simplest way to build your speed is through sprints.
6.) Beginning
Starting strength is defined by your ability to push through a movement without any momentum. Diligently improving your starting strength can benefit you by improving your muscles’ and connective tissues’ ability to increase their rate of force production, improving your ability to accelerate in any movement, and enhancing your ability to transition from seated to standing position.
Any exercise that requires you to go from zero to 60 immediately is good for building your starting strength. These exercises are things, such as dead-start kettlebell swings, sprinter jumps, and sit-down squats.
7.) Relative
Unlike the other types of strength on this list, relative strength takes your body makeup into consideration. In essence, relative strength is how strong you are compared to your size. It’s based on your personal abilities, size, and gains over time.
The best way to determine your relative strength is by writing down the maximum number of repetitions you can perform on a specific bodyweight exercise and divide it by your weight. Over time, you should see that number increase as you get stronger.
There aren’t any specific exercises to focus on when it comes to relative strength. Instead, focus on other modalities.
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Well + Good
Zoe Weiner
July 20, 2020
Health, Wellness, & Restoration 