Muscle Strength Management

In sports, where training is divided into different phases, there are various types of strength. The most significant are: general strength, special strength, speed-strength, maximal strength, strength endurance, absolute strength, and relative strength. For most sports, strength is not an end in itself, but only a determining factor in the quality of the activities performed. It affects the development of target motor skills and abilities. Therefore, maximum strength in these disciplines is an indirect goal. However, in weightlifting or strength training, the achieved maximum level of strength is a priority. Its value determines success and achievement. Regardless of how diverse the contribution of maximum strength from athletes may be, they all strive for its development and must know methods of determining its value.

For athletes in strength disciplines, the maximum strength level can serve as a starting point for training programming and be checked before a training macro cycle. In other disciplines, it may be a prerequisite for the level of training. For all, it is important to determine the training weight. Based on this information, the weight loads for subsequent strength training exercises are determined. The maximum strength level should be checked before the next training macro cycle and be the starting point for a training program, especially in periods when development of this level is desired. The intensity of the load in a strength exercise is usually expressed as a percentage of the maximum weight that an athlete can move in an exercise. The maximum weight is the one that an athlete can lift and press only once. It is denoted as CM (maximum weight). Any weight less than this will represent a certain percentage of CM and can be a measure of the intensity of the exercise. As the training aimed at improving maximum strength progresses, the strength value will increase. Suppose the initial value of CM for a certain exercise was 100 kilograms, and the athlete used training means with an intensity of 80% CM (i.e., performed repetitions, series of lifts with 80 kg weight). In that case, the value of the effective stimulus will also change to 80% CM when the CM value increases, e.g., to 110 kilograms. This will no longer be 80 kilograms but 88 kilograms. Thanks to such calculations and monitoring of the current maximum strength level, the athlete can avoid using, e.g., loads with too low intensity, leading to stagnation, or even a decrease in the maximum strength level. Monitoring maximum strength also makes it possible to verify the applied training methods and means and, in cases of unintended stabilization of the maximum strength level, take action (change methods, means) that will allow for further improvement of the ability.

Maximum weight can be determined by at least several methods. The gold standard in assessing muscle strength is the single load test. The largest possible weight is chosen, which can only be lifted once. However, this test is not suitable for beginners, as it requires experience and a high level of technical preparation. Such a test cannot be carried out immediately, as it requires a specific warm-up and a gradual increase in load. The person must undergo appropriate practice and achieve a certain degree of progress in order to carry out the test safely and avoid injury. In this test, the highest intensity of training and maximum load is decisive – 100% CM. To be able to lift such weights, one must train systematically and progressively increase the load. The test for the maximum weight (100% CM) provides the most accurate information in the case of global exercises involving large muscle groups. However, it should not be used for isolating exercises. Another method of determining maximum weight is multiple attempts, which aim to estimate the maximum weight that an athlete can lift. In this method, the athlete lifts multiple times, up to the last possible repetition, a weight less than the maximum. On the basis of the weight and the number of repetitions of the lift, 100% CM is estimated. CM is determined using special tables, in which it is established that if an athlete can lift a certain weight maximally 10 times, this weight constitutes 75% CM. With these data and with the help of a mathematical equation, the sought weight 100% CM can be determined. Other repetition values correspond to other percentage values of the maximum weight (CM). This method of determining the maximum weight is recommended for less advanced individuals. It is safer as the athlete does not lift the maximum weight, but only the weight determined by the examined person as the one that can be lifted 3-15 times. The fewer repetitions the test person performs, the greater the correlation of the results with the maximum strength.