5 Tips to Build Strength

Strength training is a fantastic complementary exercise for any athlete. Whether you’re a total novice or a professional player, strength training helps you develop stronger muscles, prevent injury, and boost performance.

Another reason why you may decide to pursue strength training is to prevent muscle cramps. Many athletes are affected by painful cramps that get in the way of their activity. Strength training makes your muscles more capable of keeping up with you — and a lot less likely to seize up without warning.

5 Tips for Building Strength

1. Start With M.A.T. Goals

You can use M.A.T. goals to create a strength training programme that works for you.

1. Measurable. Your goals have a definitive start and end date. This could mean measuring your strength training success from one month to 3 months from when you begin. You can also consider the start of each session a goal in itself.
2. Actionable. Make sure that you can actually attain the goals you set for yourself. Be realistic and recognise that focusing on what you can achieve will make actually reaching your goal much more enjoyable along the way.
3. Timed. Develop a schedule that works for you, and stick with it. Start dates, deadlines, and a routine help you stay consistent.

2. Always Warm Up

Warm-ups are crucial to your success and health. Warm-ups prevent muscle cramps and sports injury while delivering oxygen-rich blood to your body’s most vital organs. Warm-ups work by raising your body’s temperature, increasing circulation, and giving you the extra energy and mobility you’ll need to safely strength train.

3. Get the Technique Right

“Quality over quantity” is a motto to live by in strength training. It’s important to make sure you know exactly how each exercise works, what muscles it affects, and how to properly engage your muscles without causing injury.

Consider working with a fitness coach the first few sessions. They can not only show you how to train properly, but they can also help you build a custom programme based on your goals and level.

4. Expect Setbacks

If you notice that you’re not making as much progress as you were, it’s a good time to reassess. Remember that strength training will have a much more noticeable impact the first one to three months. After your muscles grow, and your body is accustomed to training, it will take longer to see more substantial improvements.

5. Slow Your Movements

Slower lifts can lead to greater body awareness and muscle activation. Slow down as you lift and lower to extend the exercise by several seconds. You’ll be much more aware of how it impacts your body, and it will become easier to improve your form.

Stay in the Moment

Training in the present moment makes you feel more accomplished in the long run. When you think of each session as a chance to achieve something, you become less intimidated and overwhelmed by long-term goals.

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