General Strength

At the risk
of bucking the tide and being heretical is general strength everything it is
made out to be? What I see called general strength in so many speed and power
programs is often just STUFF. A bunch of exercises thrown together with goofy
names does not necessarily mean it is productive training. I do believe that
properly designed general strength work is important at certain times in a training
cycle and in a career. For the young developing athlete it is key element in
development, for the older more mature athlete it is a reset button. In other
words at different stages of an athlete’s career it should have different
emphasis. General strength takes many forms; it is not just body weight
exercises. Properly designed general strength work takes into account order of
exercises, sequence and timing in order to be optimally effective. Use it, but
use it wisely – don’t drink the kool aid. Be discriminating and see where it
fits in the whole program.