First of all, strength is awesome. From bone density to improved basal metabolic rate, to staving off decrepitude or an application of force, there isn’t a lot of downside to being stronger. Our mainstay program at Cfdc has always been “strength & conditioning” not just “conditioning”. We believe that as you have to have strength to support certain positions and develop stamina to maintain those positions, it makes the overall “work” you can perform across different activities and different time frames that much better and that much easier*.
So if it’s so important, how do we get better at it and what are the different ways to train?
Group class - consistent and varied strength movements sprinkled in that hit general rep ranges of 1-7 repetitions per set. Over a long-term time span, this group will hit all the movements, such as squat, presses overhead, olympic lifts, and pulling from the ground.
Anti-bodybuilding bodybuilding club (ABBC) - Its a cute way of saying “we are totally going to be bodybuilding, we just don’t want to be called the typical bodybuilder”. This club will focus primarily on training that reshapes our physique and improves our body composition (aka more muscle and less fat). This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but you’ll see longer time under tension (aka tempo) as well as rep ranges around 6-12 with movements that lend itself well to that type of training (lots of pressing, pulling, carrying and squatting). Because the class is specifically geared toward this type of training, you will for sure see more frequency of similar movements.
Barbell club (BBC) - our longest standing club at cfdc is getting a facelift and fresh life pumped to it with programming that focuses on POWER. Power Training, also referred to as high-speed strength, can take many forms but the goal is to move a load at a high velocity. Power is often associated with the olympic lifts, however power training encompasses many other forms such as jumps, medicine ball throws, and exercises that focus on speed of the weight being lifted rather than the load. In this club, you’ll see a lot of dynamic lifting in the clean, jerk, and snatch, but think of this club as a compliment to pure strength training and a focus on the athleticism of lifting.
So what should you do?
Well, like we like to say, it always depends on what you want!
The good news is that you’ll get strong in all three but,
For the group class, your strength will be balanced with your conditioning across broad times and all the different movements. Your progress with pure strength will be a little slower, but you’ll be fitter overall
For ABBC, you’ll get stronger for sure but there will be a target or bias in overall physique as well as hypertrophy
For BBC, you’ll get stronger too, but your focus will be on being as fast and as powerful of an athlete as you can.
