What should an upper body strength program for athletes look like?

Regardless of the type of sport we play, we can see in all areas of sport how athletic modern sport has become. Of course, characteristics such as good sprinting ability or endurance are of primary interest. However, if we look deeper into the basics of high performance, we come across physical constitution and general basic strength and stability. In order for the athlete to develop positively in these areas, it is essential to develop a program tailored to the sport and the athlete. In addition to leg strength training, an upper body strength program should be an absolute must for every athlete!

Once you have decided to start a program, the question usually arises: What do I train? Therefore, you should first formulate a personal goal: do I want to build up as much muscle mass as possible, do I want to promote sport-specific strength development or do I generally want a better body image?

If your goal is to build muscle mass in general, a general training plan with the fundamental upper body movement patterns of pushing, pulling and heavy lifting is best. Master these patterns with around 6-12 repetitions in 2-4 sets per exercise and you will inevitably build more muscle mass!

RIGOROUS EXERCISE FOR THE UPPER BODY

Basic exercises for pressing include push-ups, bench presses and overhead presses. Classic pulling exercises include all rowing variations and the pull-up! Exercises for heavy lifting are carries in different variations, which can be supplemented by other core exercises such as support variations. Take 2-3 exercises from each category so that you have 8 exercises with a maximum of 4 sets each. This program should take no longer than 45 minutes.

Would you like to work on your sport-specific strength development? Then it is essential to define sport-specific requirements. A handball player needs high explosive strength in their upper extremities and good stability in their shoulder girdle. Combine heavy strength exercises with fast-twitch exercises (bench press with medicine ball throws). The repetitions per set are low (2-5 reps) so that you can perform each repetition with maximum intensity!

Maximum muscle mass is not your goal, but you want to complete accompanying strength training. Structure a circuit of 5 exercises with two push-ups, two pull-ups and one core exercise. In order to provoke a high activation of the core, we perform each exercise with one arm! Do 8 repetitions on each side for 3-4 rounds. Alternate between pushing and pulling exercises. This allows you to train almost without a break. The advantage of this is that your pulse is permanently slightly elevated and you use more energy! Das hat zum Vorteil hat, dass dein Puls permanent leicht erhöht ist und du so mehr Energie umsetzt!

Resources:

• Keferstein, G. (2018). Eishockey Performance.

  
  

• Staley, C. (2005). Muscle Logic: Escalating Density Training Changes The Rules For Maximum-Impact Weight Training.

  
  

• Joyce, D., & Lewindon, D. (2014). High-performance training for sports. Champaign, IL, Human Kinetics.