The document discusses resistance training program design. It outlines 5 steps: 1) needs analysis including evaluating sport requirements and assessing the athlete, 2) exercise selection based on factors like sport specificity, 3) training frequency determined by training status and load, 4) arranging exercises in a logical order, and 5) determining training load and repetitions using methods like 1RM testing and assigning loads based on training goals. The document provides details on how to implement each step of resistance training program design.

1. Resistance Training
Thomas R. Baechle, EdD; CSCS,*D; NSCA-CPT,*D
Roger W. Earle, MA; CSCS,*D; NSCA-CPT,*D
Dan Wathen, MS; ATC; CSCS,*D; NSCA-CPT,*D; FNSCA
chapter
15 Resistance
Training

2. Chapter Objectives
• Evaluate sport requirements and assess an
athlete.
• Select exercises based on type, sport speci-
ficity, technique experience, equipment
availability, and time availability.
• Determine training frequency based on
training status, sport season, load, exercise
type, and other concurrent exercise.
• Arrange exercises in a training session.
(continued)

3. Chapter Objectives (continued)
• Determine 1-repetition maximum (1RM),
predicted 1RM from a multiple RM, and RM
loads.
• Assign load and repetitions based on the
training goal.
• Determine how to increase exercise load.
• Assign training volumes according to the
athlete’s training status and training goal.
• Determine rest period lengths based on the
training goal.

4. Resistance Training
• Resistance Training Program Design
Variables
– Needs analysis
– Exercise selection
– Training frequency
– Exercise order
– Training load and repetitions
– Volume
– Rest periods

5. Section Outline
• Step 1: Needs Analysis
– Evaluation of the Sport
– Assessment of the Athlete
• Training Status
• Physical Testing and Evaluation
• Primary Resistance Training Goal

6. Step 1: Needs Analysis
• Needs analysis is a two-stage process that
includes an evaluation of the requirements
and characteristics of the sport and an
assessment of the athlete.

7. Step 1: Needs Analysis
• Evaluation of the Sport
– movement analysis: Body and limb movement
patterns and muscular involvement.
– physiological analysis: Strength, power, hypertrophy,
and muscular endurance priorities.
– injury analysis: Common sites for joint and muscle
injury and causative factors.

8. Step 1: Needs Analysis
• Assessment of the Athlete
– Training Status
• Type of training program
• Length of recent regular participation in previous training
program(s)
• Level of intensity involved in previous training program(s)
• Degree of exercise technique experience

9. Table 15.1

10. Step 1: Needs Analysis
• Assessment of the Athlete
– Physical Testing and Evaluation
• Tests should relate to the athlete’s sport.
• Use the results of the movement analysis to select tests.
• After testing, compare results with normative or descriptive
data to determine the athlete’s strengths and weaknesses.
– Primary Resistance Training Goal
• Typically to improve strength, power, hypertrophy, or
muscular endurance.
• Concentrate on one training outcome per season.

11. Table 15.2

12. Section Outline
• Step 2: Exercise Selection
– Exercise Type
• Core and Assistance Exercises
• Structural and Power Exercises
– Movement Analysis of the Sport
• Sport-Specific Exercises
• Muscle Balance
– Exercise Technique Experience
– Availability of Resistance Training Equipment
– Available Training Time per Session

13. Step 2: Exercise Selection
• Step 2 involves choosing exercises for a
resistance training program.

14. Step 2: Exercise Selection
• Exercise Type
– Core and Assistance Exercises
• Core exercises recruit one or more large muscle areas,
involve two or more primary joints, and receive priority
when one is selecting exercises because of their direct
application to the sport.
• Assistance exercises usually recruit smaller muscle areas,
involve only one primary joint, and are considered less
important to improving sport performance.

15. Step 2: Exercise Selection
• Exercise Type
– Structural and Power Exercises
• Structural exercises emphasize loading the spine directly
or indirectly.
• Power exercises are structural exercises that are
performed very quickly or explosively.

16. Step 2: Exercise Selection
• Movement Analysis of the Sport
– Sport-Specific Exercises
• The more similar the training activity is to the actual sport
movement, the greater the likelihood that there will be a
positive transfer to that sport.
• This concept is called training specificity or the specific
adaptation to imposed demands (SAID).

17. Table 15.3

18. Step 2: Exercise Selection
• Movement Analysis of the Sport
– Muscle Balance
• agonist: The muscle or muscle group actively causing the
movement.
• antagonist: The sometimes passive muscle or muscle
group located on the opposite side of the limb.

19. Step 2: Exercise Selection
• Exercise Technique Experience
– Do not assume that an athlete will perform an
exercise correctly.
– If there is any doubt, have the athlete demonstrate
the exercise, and provide instruction as needed.
• Availability of Resistance Training
Equipment
• Available Training Time per Session
– Prioritize time-efficient exercises when time is
limited.

20. Section Outline
• Step 3: Training Frequency
– Training Status
– Sport Season
– Training Load and Exercise Type
– Other Training

21. Step 3: Training Frequency
• Training frequency is the number of training
sessions completed in a given time period.
• For a resistance training program, a common
time period is one week.

22. Step 3: Training Frequency
• Training Status
– Training status affects the number of rest days
needed between sessions.
– Three workouts per week are recommended for
many athletes to allow sufficient recovery between
sessions.

23. Key Point
• The general guideline is to schedule train-
ing sessions so that there is at least one
rest or recovery day—but not more than
three—between sessions that stress the
same muscle groups.

24. Table 15.4

25. Key Point
• More highly resistance-trained (intermediate
or advanced) athletes can augment their
training by using a split routine in which
different muscle groups are trained on
different days.

26. Table 15.5

27. Step 3: Training Frequency
• Sport Season
– Seasonal demands of the sport may limit the time
available for resistance training.

28. Table 15.6

29. Step 3: Training Frequency
• Training Load and Exercise Type
– Athletes who train with maximal or near-maximal
loads require more recovery time prior to their next
training session.

30. Step 3: Training Frequency
• Other Training
– Training frequency is influenced by the overall
amount of physical stress.
– Consider the effects of
• other aerobic or anaerobic training,
• sport skill practice, and
• physically demanding occupations.

31. Section Outline
• Step 4: Exercise Order
– Power, Other Core, Then Assistance Exercises
– Upper and Lower Body Exercises (Alternated)
– “Push” and “Pull” Exercises (Alternated)
– Supersets and Compound Sets

32. Step 4: Exercise Order
• Exercise order is the sequence of resist-
ance exercises performed during one
training session.

33. Step 4: Exercise Order
• Power, Other Core, Then Assistance
Exercises
– Power exercises such as the snatch, hang clean,
power clean, and push jerk should be performed
first in a training session, followed by other
nonpower core exercises and then assistance
exercises.

34. Key Term
• preexhaustion: “Reverse” exercise arrange-
ment where the athlete purposely fatigues a
large muscle group as a result of performance
of a single-joint exercise prior to a multijoint
exercise involving the same muscle.

35. Step 4: Exercise Order
• Upper and Lower Body Exercises
(Alternated)
– One method of providing the opportunity for athletes
to recover more fully between exercises is to
alternate upper body exercises with lower body
exercises.
– If the exercises are performed with minimal rest
periods, this method is also referred to as circuit
training.

36. Step 4: Exercise Order
• “Push” and “Pull” Exercises (Alternated)
– Another method of improving recovery and
recruitment between exercises is to alternate
pushing exercises (e.g., bench press, shoulder
press, and triceps extension) with pulling exercises
(e.g., lat pulldown, bent-over row, biceps curl).

37. Step 4: Exercise Order
• Supersets and Compound Sets
– A superset involves two sequentially performed
exercises that stress two opposing muscles or
muscle areas (i.e., an agonist and its antagonist).
– A compound set involves sequentially performing
two different exercises for the same muscle group.

38. Section Outline
• Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
– Terminology Used to Quantify and Qualify
Mechanical Work
– Relationship Between Load and Repetitions
– 1RM and Multiple-RM Testing Options
• Testing the 1RM
• Estimating a 1RM
– Using a 1RM Table
– Using Prediction Equations
• Multiple-RM Testing Based on Goal Repetitions
(continued)

39. Section Outline (continued)
• Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
– Assigning Load and Repetitions Based on the
Training Goal
• Repetition Maximum Continuum
• Percentage of the 1RM
– How to Calculate a Training Load
– Assigning Percentages for Power Training
– Variation of the Training Load
– Progression of the Training Load
• Timing Load Increases
• Quantity of Load Increases

40. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• Terminology Used to Quantify and Qualify
Mechanical Work
– Mechanical work = force × displacement
– Load-volume is a practical measure for the quantity
of work performed in resistance training.
– Load-volume = weight units × repetitions
– Arrangement of repetitions and sets affects the
intensity value, a measure of the quality of work
performed.

41. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• Relationship Between Load and Repetitions
– The heavier the load, the lower the number of
repetitions that can be performed.
– Load is commonly described as a percentage of a
1-repetition maximum (1RM) or as a repetition
maximum (RM).

42. Key Terms
• load: Most simplistically referred to as the
amount of weight assigned to an exercise set;
often characterized as the most critical aspect
of a resistance training program.
• 1-repetition maximum (1RM): Greatest
amount of weight that can be lifted with proper
technique for only one repetition.
• repetition maximum (RM): Most weight lifted
for a specified number of repetitions.

43. Table 15.7

44. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• 1RM and Multiple-RM Testing Options
– Testing the 1RM
• 1RM testing requires adequate training status (intermediate
or advanced) and experience with the exercises being
tested.
• Choose core exercises for 1RM testing.
• Choose exercises that can accurately and consistently
assess muscular strength and that allow the athlete to
maintain correct body position throughout the testing.

45. Figure 15.1
Reprinted, by permission, from Earle, 2006.

46. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• 1RM and Multiple-RM Testing Options
– Estimating a 1RM
• Using a 1RM Table
– To estimate the athlete’s 1RM, consult table 15.8 (pp. 397-
398 in Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Third
Edition).
– In the “Max reps (RM) = 10” (%1RM = 75) column, first find
the tested 10RM load; then read across the row to the left to
discover the athlete’s projected 1RM.

47. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• 1RM and Multiple-RM Testing Options
– Estimating a 1RM
• Using Prediction Equations
– Equations are available to predict the 1RM from multiple-RM
loads.
– They are most accurate when based on low (≤10) multiple-
RM testing.
– Multiple-RM Testing Based on Goal Repetitions
• A third option for determining training loads requires the
strength and conditioning professional to first decide the
number of repetitions (i.e., the goal repetitions) the athlete
will perform in the actual program for the exercise being
tested.

48. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• Assigning Load and Repetitions Based on
the Training Goal
– Once decided on, the training goal can be applied to
determine specific load and repetition assignments
via the RM continuum, a percentage of the 1RM, or
the results of multiple-RM testing.

49. Assigning Training Loads
and Repetitions
• Figure 15.2 (next slide)
– Summary of testing and assigning training loads and
repetitions

50. Figure 15.2
Reprinted, by permission, from Earle, 2006.

51. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• Assigning Load and Repetitions Based on
the Training Goal
– Repetition Maximum Continuum
• Use relatively heavy loads if the goal is strength or power.
• Use moderate loads for hypertrophy.
• Use light loads for muscular endurance.
• A certain RM emphasizes a certain outcome (indicated by
the larger font sizes), but training benefits are blended at
any given RM.

52. Repetition Maximum Continuum
• Figure 15.3 (next slide)
– The repetition ranges shown for power in this figure
are not consistent with the %1RM–repetition
relationship.
– On average, loads equaling about 80% of the 1RM
apply to the two- to five-repetition range.

53. Figure 15.3

54. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• Assigning Load and Repetitions Based on
the Training Goal
– Percentage of the 1RM
• The relationship between the percentage of the 1RM and
the estimated number of repetitions that can be performed
at that load allows the strength and conditioning profes-
sional to assign a specific resistance to be used for an
exercise in a training session.
• The training goal is attained when the athlete lifts a load of
a certain percentage of the 1RM for the goal number of
repetitions.

55. Table 15.9

56. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• Assigning Load and Repetitions Based on
the Training Goal
– Percentage of the 1RM
• How to Calculate a Training Load
• Assigning Percentages for Power Training
– To promote program specificity, particular load and repetition
assignments are indicated for athletes training for single-effort
power events (e.g., shot put, high jump, weightlifting) and for
multiple-effort power events (e.g., basketball, volleyball).

57. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• Variation of the Training Load
– “Heavy day” loads are designed to be full repetition
maximums, the greatest resistance that can be
successfully lifted for the goal number of repetitions.
– The loads for the other training days are reduced
(intentionally) to provide recovery after the heavy
day while still maintaining sufficient training fre-
quency and volume.

58. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• Progression of the Training Load
– Timing Load Increases
• As the athlete adapts to the training stimulus, loads must
be increased so that improvements will continue over time.
• Monitoring each athlete’s training and response helps the
strength and conditioning professional know when and to
what extent loads should be increased.

59. Key Term
• 2-for-2 rule: A conservative method that can
be used to increase an athlete’s training loads;
if the athlete can perform two or more repeti-
tions over his or her assigned repetition goal in
the last set in two consecutive workouts for a
given exercise, weight should be added to that
exercise for the next training session.

60. Step 5: Training Load and Repetitions
• Progression of the Training Load
– Quantity of Load Increases
• Table 15.10 provides general recommendations.
• Variations in training status, load-volumes, and exercises
greatly influence appropriate load increases.
• Relative load increases of 2.5% to 10% can be used in
place of the absolute values in table 15.10.

61. Table 15.10

62. Section Outline
• Step 6: Volume
– Multiple Versus Single Sets
– Training Status
– Primary Resistance Training Goal
• Strength and Power
• Hypertrophy
• Muscular Endurance

63. Key Terms
• volume: The total amount of weight lifted in a
training session.
• set: A group of repetitions sequentially per-
formed before the athlete stops to rest.
• repetition-volume: The total number of repeti-
tions performed during a workout session.
• load-volume: The total number of sets multi-
plied by the number of repetitions per set then
multiplied by the weight lifted per rep.

64. Step 6: Volume
• Multiple Versus Single Sets
– Single-set training may be appropriate for untrained
individuals or during the first several months of
training, but many studies indicate that higher
volumes are necessary to promote further gains in
strength, especially for intermediate and advanced
resistance-trained athletes.

65. Step 6: Volume
• Training Status
– It is appropriate for an athlete to perform only one or
two sets as a beginner and to add sets as he or she
becomes better trained.

66. Step 6: Volume
• Primary Resistance Training Goal
– Training volume is directly based on the resistance
training goal.
– Table 15.11 summarizes guidelines for number of
repetitions and sets for strength, power, hyper-
trophy, and muscular endurance.

67. Table 15.11

68. Step 6: Volume
• Primary Resistance Training Goal
– Strength and Power
• Volume assignments for power training are typically lower
than those for strength training in order to maximize the
quality of exercise.

69. Step 6: Volume
• Primary Resistance Training Goal
– Hypertrophy
• Increases in muscular size are associated with higher
training volumes and performing three or more exercises
per muscle group.
– Muscular Endurance
• Programs for muscular endurance involve many repetitions
(12 or more) per set, lighter loads, and fewer sets.

70. Section Outline
• Step 7: Rest Periods
– Strength and Power
– Hypertrophy
– Muscular Endurance

71. Step 7: Rest Periods
• The time dedicated to recovery between
sets and exercises is called the rest period
or interset rest.
• The length of the rest period between sets
and exercises is highly dependent on the
goal of training, the relative load lifted, and
the athlete’s training status.

72. Table 15.12

73. Step 7: Rest Periods
• Strength and Power
– Maximal or near-maximal loads require longer rest periods.
– Guidelines range from 2 to 5 minutes.
• Hypertrophy
– Short to moderate rest periods are required.
– Typical strategies range from 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes.
• Muscular Endurance
– Very short rest periods of 30 seconds or less are required.