In Part I of this series I discussed a few ways by which you can decide how to find a qualified person to assist you with your training. I also provided a few key concepts to keep in mind whenever you are designing a training program. Whether or not you take my advice is up to you — but either way, the next step in your training protocol will be to design the strength training portion of the program.

The first thing we need to determine is: What exactly is strength training? Strength training is just that: a training program that is designed to cause an increase in either one or a combination of the following: muscular strength, muscular power, muscular size (hypertrophy) and/or muscular endurance. Muscular strength is defined as the maximum amount of weight you can lift one time whereas muscular power is defined as how fast you can move the weight. Muscular hypertrophy is an increase in muscle size and muscular endurance is defined as the ability to continue activity for a prolonged period of time.

Whether or not you choose to believe that a weight training protocol can be specifically designed to increase strength and not hypertrophy is up to you; however, research has now shown that this is indeed possible. In fact, a strength training program can be specifically designed to target any one — or a combination of — muscular strength, power, hypertrophy and/or endurance. Even though every strength training program involves muscle contractions using some form of resistance (weights, cables, bungee cords, rubber bands) it is the number of sets per exercise, the number of repetitions per set and the amount of rest in between the sets that actually determines whether the eventual outcome is focused towards gains in muscular strength, power, hypertrophy and/or endurance.

Specific to racquetball, a strength training program needs to focus primarily on maximizing muscular power and secondly on developing muscular endurance. Increasing muscular power will help increase racquet swing velocity and thus increase hitting power. Development of muscular endurance will help maintain consistency throughout your match and the tournament. Most racquetball players do not need to concern themselves with muscular strength since an average racquetball weighs less than two ounces and since we are not trying to hit the ball through the front wall (would that be considered a court hinder?) most of us have enough strength to hit a ball 40 feet. However, some (albeit only a few) racquetball players do have great interest in showing off their bulging muscles while they skip — oops I mean, hit the perfect kill shot — it is only these few specific players that need to concern themselves with developing muscular hypertrophy. In fact, large increases in muscular hypertrophy may be counter productive to success in the racquetball court.

So how do we train for power? Developing muscular power is one of the most difficult things to do. The types of lifts necessary are challenging and difficult to learn — yet far from impossible! Exercises designed for muscular power need to be explosive, high intensity and performed with excellent technique and thus supervision is almost a necessity. (Trust me ... you will have 99% of the people in the gym staring at you as you go through your workout. Training for muscular power is a relatively new concept; thus many people are not familiar with it and anything new and different is looked at with a discriminating eye.) It would be nearly impossible for me to detail how to perform many of the specific exercises that concentrate on developing muscular power; however, here are a few examples of exercises you can try: squat jumps, power cleans, hang cleans, snatch, hang snatch, push press, medicine ball chest pass, medicine ball overhead pass, medicine ball one arm pass, medicine ball underhand toss, and the medicine ball backward underhand pass. If you feel creative there is nothing from preventing you from making your own medicine ball from an old basketball or a cheap recreational ball (simply fill it with some water using an air needle) and then come up with your own arm motions that mimic the types of arm motions utilized during a match (forehands, backhands, overheads, etc). Training of this sort with a friend can be fun and used to alleviate boredom from performing the same old tired routine in the gym.

When developing a strength training program designed specifically for a racquetball player, there are a few basics to keep in mind. 1) Any training program needs to focus on the body areas specific to the sport of racquetball. The easiest way to determine which specific muscle groups are involved are to notice which muscles are sore the night of, or the day following, a strenuous match. A more scientific approach would be to consult with a personal trainer who will be able to break down the movements of the sport and determine which muscle groups are involved.

2) It is necessary to arrange the exercises in a specific order. The large muscle groups need to be worked first followed by the smaller muscle groups (i.e. chest before deltoids and triceps). It might also be advantageous to alternate upper and lower body exercises or alternate chest, deltoid and triceps (pushing) exercises with back and biceps (pulling) exercises. However, depending upon the specific goal of the program this will vary.

3) Lastly, yet highly important, it is vital that any and all strength training programs are periodized. Periodizing is varying the amount and intensity of the training around the racquetball season (pre-season, in-season and off-season). An advanced program would periodize the entire strength training program within each week of the whole training program. This is very complex and would require the assistance of a highly trained and experienced strength and conditioning professional.

The following are very general guidelines for the number of repetitions and rest time between sets for developing: strength 3-5 reps / 5-10 minutes; power 7-9 reps / 2-5 minutes; hypertrophy 10-12 reps / 1 minute; and endurance 15-20 reps / 1 minute.

Finally, remember that rest is extremely important! Why? Rest provides time for the muscles to heal. Strength training tears the muscle fibers down and rest provides time for the damaged muscle fibers to heal and subsequently the muscles become stronger after they recover from the muscle damage induced during the training session. Thus when beginning a training program start slow (do not overdo in the first week) and be sure to progress the intensity (amount of weight being lifted) so that you are always able to complete no more than the desired number of repetitions (reps) with each set.

Some days you might have to decrease the weight (as we all have off days and are not as strong). For example: if you are lifting for power, aim for 7-9 repetitions per set. If you can complete 10 reps then increase the weight so that you can complete at least 7 but no more than 9 reps. If you cannot perform 7 good clean complete reps then decrease the weight so that you can complete at least 7 but no more than 9 reps.

Sample guideline to follow when starting to design a strength training program:

Even though weight training can be done on your own, it’s a good idea to train with a partner for safety, and so that you can push each other. However, strength training under the guidance of a qualified personal trainer or fitness consultant is a good idea, especially for beginners and intermediate lifters who want assistance with designing a specific strength training program. Here are a couple of excellent books on the topic: Designing Resistance Training Programs. Authors: Fleck & Kraemer, Human Kinetics Publishers or Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. Authors: Baechle & Hoffman, Human Kinetics Publishers.

No matter if you decide to strength train on your own, with a training partner or with a professional above all else remember: training should be fun. Otherwise… why are you doing it?