Strength Benchmarks

Last night I set my pre-season strength benchmarks. I made a little chart showing where I am, where I'd like to get by the end of the base phase, and roughly where Friel says I should be. On the Friel numbers, I'm making the assumption here that target load is cut in half for the 1-leg variations, which makes sense I think.


So, my goals are to improve my lower body numbers to 120lb (I talked about this calculation last year). This works out to be about 20%. I think this is definitely doable over 3 months. For the upper body, I'd like to achieve a strength balance around my shoulder joint (note that the exercises break down to horizontal/vertical push/pull). There are some bigger percentages to go after here, so I don't know how feasible this is. I also want to be careful with the overhead pressing.

The other interesting part is that my benchmark numbers are already in the ranges that Friel recommends. So, I guess I'm thinking that the Friel numbers are too low, at least for the lower body. I think that building more strength in my lower body would help me go faster, even if it means adding a little weight. As for the upper body, my strength probably is good enough for racing. It's been a long time since my upper body has gotten fatigued during a race.

My throat has been pretty sore this morning. I haven't decided if/how I'll let this affect my workout plans for tonight.