By David C. Simmons III
So, why strength train ?
Being able to lift the heaviest weight you can lift once with
good form is often referred to as maximal strength. Lifting a lighter weight as many times
as you can
with good form is often referred to as endurance strength.
Good form is important because if you lift
a weight without good form, chances are you are relying on muscles other than the one intended This can
cause problems including injury !
This link shows information about good form and good
Technique.
Good form means that your body is aligned properly and naturally.
This link shows an example of proper alignment when being seated , like when your doing
bicep curls sitting down.
Strength training is not bodybuilding .
This is an interesting consideration.
Here is a good quick link on
the distinction.
Here is a link that explains a bit about
light weight lifting and heavy weight lifting (sorry, it has a couple of silly popups)
And finally, this link describes
bodybuilding vs. FUCTIONAL strength
training.
Muscles
Every move we make involves a muscle. From the tiny muscles that
open and close your eyelids to the muscles that move your thighs. There are 650 muscles
in the human body. When you strength train, here are the connective tissues
that also receive a benefit:
Tendon strength - Tendons attach muscle to bone.
Ligament strength - Ligaments attach bone to bone.
Muscle Fiber Size - We do not grow new
muscle fiber, we only increase the size of the
muscle fiber we have.
Basic Muscle strength - Gives more power to muscle contractions.
This link has information about strength training and the effects on bone (and balance)
in the elderly. imagine what it does for those who are younger !
This link says that when we strength train, it stimulates the bone building
cells.
Strength training
gives us many obvious advantages and some not so obvious. Our metabolism increases as we grow muscle fiber. Our muscles are responsible for
25% or more of the calories used during sleep. As we age and don’t strength
train, we could experience a 5% reduction in our metabolic rate every decade. The
more muscle we have, the higher our metabolic rate, the less muscle we have, the
lower our metabolic rate. A decrease in metabolism can have a lot to do with an increase
in body fat. When muscle mass decreases, the calories that where used to feed the
lost muscle could be turned into fat.
Men and woman of all ages can increase muscle size and strength. Even though
strength gain is greater between the ages of 10 to 20.
One reason it is hard to compare strength between individuals is because
people is because of something called limb strength. A person with shorter limbs can hold more weight at
certain angles because of better leverage. This is one reason where heredity makes
a difference. Also, some people have long muscles and others have shorter muscles.
The ones with longer muscles have more of an advantage in developing size and strength.
Males and females have the same quality of muscle, but females have less
quantity. this is due in part to testosterone. But, pound for pound men and
woman have similar strength performance.
There are basically two types of muscle fiber,
fast twitch and slow twitch. Slow twitch fibers are smaller and use aerobic energy
better, but produce a lower level of force for long periods of time. Fast twitch
muscle fibers are larger and allow high levels of force for shorter periods of time.
Most people have an equal mix of fast twitch muscle fiber and slow twitch muscle fiber. But some people have more of one than another (by the way, this mix could
also be more in the legs or the arms or other muscle groups).
So, an Olympic long distance runner might have a predominance of slow twitch muscle.
Even though both fiber types can benefit from strength training, the fast twitch fiber group
seem to be able to see more of an increase in strength and size.
Here are a few strength training tidbits .
Sometimes it is best to do several exercises for the same muscle because
using a muscle from one angle may use only some of that muscles fibers.
Knowing
where your muscles are located will help you to know where you should
feel tension when you are performing a strength training exercise. In some cases
you can adjust your exercise to get the tension in the right place.
A machine, free weight or other exercise geared toward a certain muscle,
may not always be the most effective one to use. You
could even think you are exercising one muscle and could really be exercising another.
Machines give more support and are great for new comers, rehabilitation and
for concentrating on a specific muscle without having to use certain other muscles
for support.
Free weights allow you to be creative with your exercises. You can take a
dumbbell and lift it in many directions, targeting a muscle from many angles. You can
also injure yourself a lot easier than with machines. Many exercises done with free
weights require the support of other muscles, so good form and using the proper
weight is of utmost importance. Not only for making sure you are exercising a muscle
correctly, but to avoid injury caused by loosing your balance as an example. Good form keeps your
body alignment correct. Improper body alignment can cause immediate and on going
problems like pulled muscles and connective tissue injuries. Also, correct usage
and handling can help avoid other injuries liked mashing fingers
or even breaking a bone.
There are other pieces of equipment that can be used for strength training,
among them, exercise balls, bands and tubes, even your own body weight
can be used for strength training.
This link gives a lot of good information about strength training, its benefits,
types of training, and more !
Rest and recovery.
Rest is too important not to mention here.
How much sleep? What kind of sleep? What happens to our muscles when we sleep?
Here is a great link explaining why you need rest to
build muscle and why !
Another decent link on sleep and muscle recovery.
Protein
Muscle is 75-80% water and 20% protein. Muscle
does not grow from taking protein supplements. Only working your muscles with progressive
weight training. Without a strength training program of some sort, you could loose
more than a pound of muscle each year starting around your mid twenties.
One estimate of the amount of protein the body needs
on a daily basis without strength training is about 1 gram of protein for every 2.2
lbs of body weight. So, if you weigh 100 pounds you should have about 50 grams of
protein a day. Sometimes (and sometimes is emphasized) extra protein is used when
one is strength training. It is said that the average amount needed depends on the
intensity of your strength training program. I have heard recommendations
of 1.5 -2 grams per 2.2 lbs of body weight for intense strength training (not body
building mind you, but, strength training).
This link has some decent averaging of daily protein requirements.
This link has a interesting protein calculator.
And finally, here is a link about the dangers of too much protein.
Pay attention to the hemorrhiod mention ...... trust me.
Strength Training - Building
muscle, strength and toning.
A Body Science -
We will help you plan how your body can gain muscle and strength.
Common questions like "How much
do I lift ?", "How
often ?" or "For what muscles ?" are obviously very important.
We will keep you aware of the following:
- Are you strength training or rehabilitating:
-
- Identify weak muscles that need strength
- Are you trying to make a muscle bigger or stronger ?
- Do you need strength training or flexibility training
for a muscle
- What type of strength training do you need:
-
- General health and fitness
- Muscle growth and/or endurance
- Athletic training
- Core training
- What will your strength training program look like:
-
- How many sets and reps and why
- How much resistance and why
- What type of exercise and why (body weight, free weights machines, exercise ball, circuit training,
etc ? Or a little of all or some of them
)
- Include flexibility training vs. just stretching after
exercise
- Planning progression, frequency and rest:
-
- Number of times per day or week for exercise
- Order of exercises and when to change up
- Planning variations in frequency and rest
- The difference between soreness and injury
- Nutrition - I am not a nutritionist, but I can point out nutrition
facts that affect
exercise:
-
- Dailey requirements for your body science
- Information about supplements
- Your medical and exercise history:
-
- Medications that could affect exercise
- Injuries past and present
- Problems sticking to exercise
- Show you how to exercise safely:
-
- Warm up and cool down
- Proper exercise form and technique
- How and when to stretch
- Handling soreness and avoiding injury
- How to stay motivated:
-
- What factors cause people to stop exercise
- Planning breaks in your routine
- Changing exercise to avoid boredom and burnout
- And More !!
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More research on Strength Training will be available soon !
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