Developing a Strength Training Course Within a Physical Education Curriculum‪.‬

Why do people lift weights? Do all strength programs create the same results? How do I get bigger and stronger? Will strength training make me slower and stiffer? These are just some of the questions that I have attempted to answer in my Weight Training II (Theory and Design) course at VMI. When I attended college we did not have classes that examined the design and theory of strength training. Luckily now those classes exist and I am fortunate to be a professor who is teaching these exciting courses. Strength and Conditioning classes have become very popular for students at the High School and Collegiate level and they are commonplace among many Physical Education programs throughout the nation. Many people value the importance of resistance training as a means to improve upon one's physical performance, appearance, reduction of injury, and their psychological well being (Faigenbaum and Polakowski, 1999, p. 73).