Is max strength important

Are there times of the training year (off season, GPP) where you don’t have so much speed, throw and jump work?

I just came over here right now to get away from a discussion of pretty much the exact same thing on a rowing board.

The general consensus over there was that crews that do more mileage pull away at the end. Of course, you can tell they did more mileage because they pulled away at the end. And big people are only a little faster than little people, so strength doesn’t matter. And world class athletes are genetic freaks, so you have to leave them out of the discussion. This board is so much more logical and scientific than that one that it’s ridiculous.

Sorry. I had to vent a little.

Carry on.

Not really, I compete from Jan-Aug and from sept to dec speed is still number 1. This year I decided to use a buffer setup for example 3x5x90% of 5rm or 5x5x80% of 5rm etc. I use 89% for 5 rep max and 99 for 3 rep max, I think the 3 rep is was heavy and probably should be in the 93% range.

Powerlifters for many decades have loved 5x5 (increasing the weight once you can get all sets and reps) and I do not know of anybody that can do 5x5 with >80% unless they are taking very long rests between sets. I don’t see the need for a sprinter to really lift more intense than that, which is already on the upper end of what I would do for the majority of the year.

If you look at the 5x5 % chart weeks 3 and 4 are very heavy over 85%.

Maybe over 85% of their old 1RM, not of their current status. I don’t know many people who can even do a 5RM @ 85% of their REAL 1RM, let alone 5 sets of it.

Not sure if they gonna see a huge increase in 2-3 weeks.

Athlete A: squat max 455.
wk 1: 300
wk 2: 335
wk 3: 375
wk 4: 395

Weeks 3 and 4 look too tough and this is problem I have with the 5x5 workouts.

It depends. Like I said, I’ve never seen someone able to do 5x5 @ 85% of their real 1RM. If they put in something that is a bit easier than their true 1RM (perhaps what their max that they could do on any given day or a gym max or something like that), then it is possible. The other thing is that a lot of people might simply get better at the lift. A lot of people just switch their lifts and add “5%” (or more) of strength onto the lift, mostly just because they haven’t done the lift much before and become more skilled with it.

I think there is more carry over to track when you train the muscles, not movements.

I have always been strong in the weightroom with singles and triples, but anything but the right muscles for speed lifted those weights (with me anyway)
Feel much better with MUSCLE training at higher reps, 6-10.

Question:
Since it’s going OK, why not stick to general 6-8 rep stuff in SPP and push the speed ? Do I have to go heavy ?
I can save the heavy stuff for peaking periods … ?

If you’re continuously getting better, why change anything? That might be the better question IMO. Plus, you don’t have to necessarily go heavy with lighter weights. 80% isn’t light by any means (5 reps @ 80% of true 1RM will be work for anyone, even if there are a couple left in the tank) so you could do that for sets of 2-4 if you wanted to change things slightly.

On my charts 80% is an 8RM. Most of the lifters I know could do 5 x 5 at 80% with 3-5 minutes rest.

Not after a track workout.

  • Remember the original topic???

He said

“5x5 with >80%”

Guess what “>” means.
Hint: It doesn’t mean “=”

I’m a pretty good level long jumper (7.85m +) and i think it’s vital to lift in the 1-3 rep range at 85-95%. Think about the demands of the LJ and to me it’s easy to figure out why it’s so important.

For a sprinter however, i think it’s still important but slightly less important as power has to be transfered over a long time period…Still should always be in the program though.

Your work capacity must be low. 5x5 @80% after a track workout is not that much. I’ve known many good athletes who do much more than that in one session and even more when they do 2 sessions in a day.

It was >80% so 5x5x85%+… My speed workouts are at times 1000 meters, 20-50 hurdle hops then off to the weight room for cleans then squats. It’s not about getting through the workout but is it ideal?

Well 1000m of speed is much higher than what i do and also you do more hurdle hops than i ever do as well so i can imagine now why you’d be tired for the weights.

If you don’t know how to use it then why bother. I know a 70 year old male that has done 3 x leg press at 400kg (4 spotters under age 30), he takes 15 seconds to run 100m. Great start no finish, who cares who is in front 1/2 way to the finish.

tamfb, are you talking about strength in general, or something like a 1RM vs 10RM?

For the former, it is kind of obvious, so I’m guessing that is not what you are asking.

The later will be more individual. I don’t think it matters too much what you are striving for repetition-wise as long as you are progressing. If I was forced to pick a repetition range of 1-3 or 8-10, I would pick 8-10 because ultimately I will make more progress training that way. Ultimately I will really have more max strength even though I’m not technically training for max strength according to the modern definition.

Then it isn’t their max or they’re taking 10+ minutes rest. I’ve seen plenty of powerlifters and elite athletes (read people who competed in the Olympics and made it past the first round) who couldn’t do 3x5 @ 80% with ~3mins rest, let alone 5x5.