Strength Training Goals

I have been teaching a weight lifting class and thought some people might be interested in a little program design theory. Here is a lesson plan I used to teach my class about designing their own strength training program to meet one of several goals they may have set for themselves. I hope you get something out of it.

 

Specific Training Goals

Goal	Number of sets	%1 Rep max	Number of repetitions	Rest between sets (minutes)
Increased Strength	2-6	>85%	≤ 6	2-5
Power-single attempt	3-5	80%-90%	1-2	2-5
Power-multiple attempts	3-5	75%-85%	3-5	2-5
Muscle Hypertrophy	3-6	67%-85%	8-12	0.5-1.5
Local muscle endurance	2-3	≤65%	≥12	≤ 0.5

Relationship Between Load (%1RM) and Repetitions-The number of times a certain weight can be lifted (repetitions) is inversely related to the amount of weight (load) lifted. A heavier load allows fewer repetitions. Make sure you reach fatigue.

Determining Load-Based on the chart above; choose your goal (strength, power, hypertrophy, or local endurance). Find the number of repetitions associated with that goal and estimate the load (weight) that will allow you to perform that many repetitions. Perform the exercise to fatigue and make a note of whether you need to use more or less weight next time to achieve the selected number of repetitions.

Progression-How will you know when it’s time to increase the load? By performing every set to fatigue. If you always do as many repetitions as you can, you will know when to increase the weight lifted by using the “2-for-2 rule” which is, “If you can perform two or more repetitions over your assigned repetition goal for a given exercise in the last set in two consecutive workouts, weight should be added to that exercise for the next training session.” The amount added should be between 2.5% to 10%.

Homemade Almond Milk

Whether you like cow's milk or not, you will love this almond milk! It is so good with granola, breakfast cereal, in a smoothie, or with oats that you soak overnight. If you didn't try the granola yet, you should. It gets rave reviews from everyone who tries it! Anyway, we love this almond milk. You don't have to be lactose intolerant or vegan to enjoy it.

Almond Milk

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw whole almonds
• 3 cups water

Soak the almonds in the water overnight or all day. (I have soaked it up to two full days because I didn't have enough time to make it when I planned. If this happens, just rinse and drain the almonds and put them in fresh water until the next day).The milk is best chilled, so it works well to soak all day and make the milk before bed.

• 4 cups water
• 1 T coconut oil, melted
• 1 T liquid sweetener, I like agave nectar because it blends really well into cold liquids
• 1 tsp non-alcoholic vanilla
• salt (optional)

Directions: 

1. Put 4 cups water in blender; add soaked, drained, and rinsed almonds.
2. Blend. For a Blendtec, blend on "whole juice" setting. I'm not sure what to say for other blenders, but blend for about a minute.
3. Strain milk through a nut milk bag or several layers of cheesecloth. You will want to squeeze it a little to extract as much milk as possible, but not so much that you squeeze out a lot of the ground almonds.
4. Return strained milk to blender and add coconut oil, sweetener, vanilla, and a pinch of salt if desired.
5. Blend for another 30 seconds; store in a glass pitcher in the refrigerator up to 4 days (ours has yet to last that long before being consumed).

I know there are things you can do with the almond pulp, but I have yet to try any of them....

Turkey Enchiladas

This recipe has been a regular at our dinner table for many years. I don't even know where the original recipe came from, but it was an instant hit. This recipe makes enough sauce and filling for 2 meals. I put half the sauce into a freezer bag, and half of the filling into another freezer bag. Then you have a very easy meal for another time. I also layer everything lasagna style instead of rolling them enchilada style. It's just quicker.

Turkey Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 2 T olive oil
• 4 T flour
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2-15oz cans, plus 1-8 oz can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• l large onion, diced
• 16 oz ground turkey
• 1 T dried cilantro (fresh works, too)
• 3 cups frozen corn
• 4-15 oz cans of black or pinto beans (I use a combination of the two), rinsed and drained
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• Fresh ground pepper
• 12 corn tortillas (You will need another 12 when you make the other half later.)
• 1.5 cups shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese

Directions:

1. Mix together flour, coriander, chili powder, and cumin. Preheat oven to 350. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour mixture with a whisk; add tomato sauce, water, and 1/2 tsp salt. Continue stirring with the whisk until smooth, make sure to scrape any flour mixture away from the edges of the pot. Turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. Put half of the sauce into the freezer for another day.
2. Heat a bit of oil in a large skillet; add onion and turkey. Cook, stirring until browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro, corn, beans, tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. Divide the filling in half and put 1/2 into the freezer for another meal.
3. Spread 1/2 cup sauce into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Lay 6 tortillas on top of the sauce. Top with remaining filling, another 1/2 cup sauce, and half of the cheese. Lay the remaining 6 tortillas on top. Cover with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake until heated through, about 20-30 minutes.

Training for Stronger Bones

When my girls were all little, they would frequently ask me how old I was. I thought it was fun to tell them a different (usually ridiculous) age every time. Now, the joke seems to be on me. My youngest daughter loves to tell people that I am much older than I really am. Usually the number is in the hundreds. I always make a point to remind her that she is getting older, too. Since Wendy and I aren't the only ones getting older, I can make a good case that we should all be thinking about our bones when we plan our workouts. It is important both for those who are still young enough to be working toward their peak bone density (which is usually reached in early adulthood) as well as for those of us who have passed that milestone but don't want to develop osteoporosis in our older age-I think this should cover just about everyone.

Because of the way bones are stimulated to grow, training for improved bone density has some very specific guidelines. There is a term called, "minimal essential strain (MES)" that refers to the lowest stimulus necessary to initiate bone growth. Only when we exceed this strain will growth be stimulated. Bone cells are regulated so that the activities done on a regular basis do not exceed the MES. Therefore, it is necessary to continually be progressing in order to regularly exceed the MES for continued bone growth. As soon as bone growth has occurred, the same force that generated the growth will no longer exceed the MES. Bone density improvements follow increased muscle strength. As muscles get stronger and lift heavier weights, the bone increases its mass and strength to provide proper support. How long have you been using the same hand weights every time you do your resistance training? While those 12 pound dumbbells might have been enough to stimulate bone (and muscle) growth when you first started using them, your body has likely adapted to the weight and it now falls below the MES. This is good news! It means you are stronger and ready to move up to heavier weights. Don't get stagnant.

Another important principle in bone growth is that the region of the skeleton receiving the strain (by impact or weight) is the area that will receive the stimulus for bone growth. So, in other words, the area of desired bone growth has to be directly loaded. Running is a good way to load the hips (by impact), but not necessarily the spine. Exercises such as the back squat (squatting with a barbell resting across the back of the shoulders) or a shoulder press are examples of exercises that would load the spine. In general, any exercise that requires movement of more than one joint, is weight-bearing, or involves impact (assuming your health allows it) is recommended. Some examples are running, walking, squats, deadlifts, power clean, and shoulder press.

If you are already exercising on a regular basis, make sure you are progressively increasing the amount lifted, and try to include more multi-joint exercises that directly load the hips and spine. If you are not exercising regularly, There's no better time than the present to start! Your bones will thank you.

The Best Almond Granola

I love granola, but over the years, I found myself repeatedly buying granola that just wasn't exactly right. So naturally, I decided I could make it better and healthier by myself. This is the recipe I came up with after some trial and error. I have been making it regularly for a couple of years. While I have worked on variations, this is the staple that everyone loves:

Granola

Ingredients:

• 8 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups puffed brown rice cereal
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup coarsely chopped raw almonds
• ½ cup raw pecan or cashew pieces
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• ½ cup honey
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Coconut oil, melted (a little less than 1/2 cup)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Stir together all dry ingredients in a very large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, stir together maple syrup, honey, and vanilla.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Add a few tablespoons of melted coconut oil until the mixture is all slightly damp.
6. Pour into a single layer on two large cookie sheets coated with cooking spray.
7. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir contents, arrange in single layer again and continue baking until it just starts to turn tan, stirring every 10 minutes. Mine usually bakes for a total of about 30 minutes. Granola becomes crunchy as it cools. After cooling, you can stir in dried fruit if you want.

I find that it stays fresher if stored in a glass container.

Sausage and Pepper Risotto

This is a staple at our house. It is tried and true and enjoyed by all. It serves my family of 7 with enough leftovers for 1-2 lunches. While it takes a bit of time to make, you don't have to stir constantly while the liquid is being added, so you can load/unload the dishwasher or do other kitchen tasks while it cooks. It can also be made with frozen vegetables. I always freeze enough shredded zucchini from my garden to last a whole year. When I find bell peppers on sale, I stock up and slice and freeze them for later. When using frozen vegetables, the vegetable mixture will be a little watery. I simply drain the extra liquid into the small pot of simmering water/stock before I transfer the vegetables to the food processor. 

Ingredients:

• 32 oz. vegetable (or chicken) broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 3 small bell peppers (red, yellow, orange, or any combination), seeded and coarsely chopped
• 2 cups zucchini, sliced
• 8 oz. Italian sausage, browned and drained
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat broth and water over low heat. Let simmer.
2. In a large saucepan (I use a wok), heat half of the oil over medium heat. Add onion and peppers to pan, cook about 5 minutes, stirring. Stir in zucchini, garlic, and oregano. Cook 4 minutes.
3. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a food processor and pulse until finely diced. Set aside.
4. Add remaining olive oil to pan and heat briefly. Stir rice into the pan and cook 1-2 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Add warm broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon and waiting until liquid is absorbed before add another 1/2 cup. Continue this until rice is tender (you might have to add more water, or you might not use all of the heated liquid). This will take 20-30 minutes.
5. Once the rice is tender, stir in the sausage and the vegetable mixture and parmesan cheese. Cook to warm through and serve immediately.