Fighters Only

Issue 062

May 2010

It was my own father that brought the situation to my attention. “You do realize that you write like crap, don’t you? Do they pay you for this?”

He said this after I proudly showed him some of my Fighters Only articles. The next thing he said was more interesting, and admittedly less hurtful. “What the hell is a ‘Rate of Force Development’ anyway, and why should your readers give a...?”

I realized that I had been littering these well-written and informative articles (screw you, dad) with a range of technical terms that many of you may not have a handle on. First up, this issue we will tackle maximal strength.

A Definition of Maximal Strength

I have mentioned many times the importance of developing maximal strength with regards to athletic development. So what is it? For a good definition, let us quote Mel Siff: “Maximal Strength is the ability of a particular group of muscles to produce a maximal voluntary contraction in response to optimal motivation against an external load.” If that is too wordy a description, think of it as your one-rep maximum weight for a particular lift.

Why Develop Maximal Strength?

By improving maximal strength the athlete will be simultaneously improving a whole host of physical qualities. Power, muscular endurance and agility can all be limited by insufficient strength.

If you were to double your numbers in the squat, a set of 20 bodyweight squats would feel much easier. If your deadlift went from 100kg to 200kg, picking guys up with double legs would be a lot less tiring. All repeated athletic movements are just a series of sub-maximal efforts. By setting the bar for maximal strength high, you ensure that your ability to perform sub-maximal efforts is improved.

Training for Maximal Strength

At this point I should throw in a note of caution. Before I outline the parameters for maximal strength development, I should point out that this form of training is not really suitable for those new to strength training. The risk of injury is higher when playing with maximal and near-maximal loads. For the novice lifter, I would recommend developing outstanding exercise technique at higher rep ranges before jumping into maximal strength work.

Maximal strength training parameters bring about the largest recruitment of high-threshold motor units (HTMUs). These are your big guns with regards to improving athletic performance as they have the potential to produce the highest force and power. The HTMUs only really wake up and are trained when moving a near-maximal load, or when a sub-maximal load is moved rapidly. By training at this near maximal level (85% of 1 rep max and above) you can improve your ability to access HTMUs.

Improving maximal strength is the domain of the nervous system, as opposed to the muscles themselves. This is great news for guys sitting at the top end of their weight classes, as maximal strength training has a smaller potential to increase muscle size.

Loading Parameters for Maximal Strength

Number of sets 3–10 sets

Number of repetitions 1–5

Number of exercises per target muscle group 1

Intensity 85% of 1 rep max and above

Speed of movement Slow (by necessity of the heavy load)

Rest between sets 2–5 minutes

Regularly training with maximal loads is demanding and fatigue is a major issue. That is one of the reasons why I place this sort of work into the off-season (no fights, no competitions, taking a break from hard sparring). As with all training, listen to your body and if you consistently feel horrible, take some time off.

How Strong Should I Be?

This depends on what sort of competitor you are and where your weaknesses lie. If you can squat a small town but struggle pushing yourself off the floor, your squat does not need more attention.

If you are primarily a wrestler or jiu-jitsu specialist, being really freaking strong will always help. If you are already strong and have an affinity for keeping at range and punching people’s heads off, a high rate of force development (see next issue) might be more important to you.

The guidelines below are a good place to gauge your maximal strength – aim to work toward these numbers. If you are hitting these numbers it might be time to start addressing the other physical qualities.

Example weight for 70kg athlete 87.5–105kg

Bench Press

Load compared to bodyweight x 1.25–1.5

Example weight for 70kg athlete 87.5–105kg

Front Squat

Load compared to bodyweight x 1.5–1.75

Example weight for 70kg athlete 105–122.5kg

Pull-up

Load compared to bodyweight x 0.5

Example weight for 70kg athlete 35kg

Deadlift

Load compared to bodyweight x 2.0