For many athletes, becoming master weightlifters is a natural extension of their sporting career. This continuous involvement reflects the necessity to stay embarked in an active life style. You treasure the camaraderie of others with the same goals and look forward to share the most memorable moments for the past and present. Your mind still needs the challenge and excitement of the competition and now you take a frequent look at the masters' records, which are offered in different age groups.
Physical and Technical
Qualities
A Master weightlifter is advised to select proper competitions from the
events calendar and practice to achieve peak performance. This preparatory
period should be 10 to 16 weeks in duration. The first part of the program
includes the training phase with higher volume and low intensity, followed
by medium volume and medium to high intensity. This periodization model
should ensure progressive development and peaking at the designated competition.
The most important qualities to watch at the master stage are flexibility, strength, power and coordination. To develop these qualities, the program employs a wide variety of exercises organized into proper training methods.
Training Guidelines
Practice should be conducted 3 times per week. The length of each session
will vary depending upon the training objective, but on the average this
should be 60 - 90 minutes in length.
Before each training session, the athlete should be engaged in a general
body warm-up, consisting of exercises such as jogging, cycling, power
waking, and stretching.
Before each new exercise a specific warm-up should be performed. This
type of warm-up will consists of movements that are similar to that specific
exercise. Once completed, resistance will be gradually increased corresponding
with the training session's objective.
The cool-down period after each training session should consist of low
intensity exercises, abdominal exercises, and stretching.
The amount of weight should be administered to the athlete on an individual
basis, depending on their ability level. For this reason, the following
system is used for each athlete to determine the amount of weight lifted:
50 % or very light
weight
60 % or light weight
70 % or medium weight
80 % or heavy weight
90 % or very heavy weight
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Exercises should be
performed over a full range of motion using strict form at all times,
without undue strain.
The rest between exercises should be approximately 5 minutes.
The rest between sets in an exercise will vary depending on the number
of repetitions, complexity of the exercise and the intensity. On average,
this should be anywhere from 1-3 minutes between sets per exercise.
Proper breathing is also very important, and it should be stressed that
extended breath holding can be very dangerous.
There might be a need to slightly modify the program based on the individual
circumstances. It must be kept in mind however, that such modifications
would not result in a dramatic change of the program structure. Rather,
a change in smaller variables such as shifting a workout or two, reducing
or increasing sets or repetitions, would be target.
When engaged in regular training, an athlete should also pay special attention
to adequate rest, nutrition, and personal hygiene.
