The specific needs of competitive athletes are vastly different from those of

recreationally trained individuals: it is logical that by extension the optimal

training for athletes will likewise be different. On this basis, elite
performers
should be treated as a special population (Cronin et al. 2001b). Maximal
strength gains are demonstrated in untrained individuals training at an
average intensity of 60 per cent 1-RM (repetition maximum), whereas
individuals experienced with strength training exhibit maximum gains with
80 per cent 1-RM resistance; competitive athletes appear to exist further
still
along this continuum. From what data are available, some suggestions for
training prescription applicable to team sports players can be made: a mean
training intensity of 85 per cent 1-RM has been found to have greatest
effect
in competitive athletes from the majority of relevant studies (Peterson et al.
2004). This equates to an average intensity of 6-RM (that is, the greatest
weight that can be lifted for six repetitions with proper form).
This is in general agreement with the finding that loads greater than 80 per
cent 1-RM were necessary to maintain or improve strength throughout the
playing season in college American football players (Hoffman and Kang
2003).
Observation of elite weightlifters likewise noted a significant decrease in
EMG
recorded during the phase of the training year when training intensity
dropped below 80 per cent 1-RM, which recovered once training intensity
was
increased above 80 per cent in the subsequent training period (Hakkinen et
al.
1987). This requirement for greater average intensity appears to be a
common
theme for athletes as a special population. Of all training variables, training
intensity was the only significant predictor of strength changes during an
inseason period in college American football players (Hoffman and Kang
2003).
Training studies featuring protocols in which the athlete subject group
lifted
to failure report greater average strength gains (Peterson et al. 2004).
Therefore, it appears there is a need for strength training regimes to
stipulate
the athlete must exert maximal effort at the specified load, as training at
lesser
intensities appears to elicit minimal improvements in competitive athletes
(Hoffman and Kang 2003).