Strength Training

Strength Training How can Strength Training help me? Strength Training can have many positive impacts on your body and your health. It helps you strengthen your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. It can increase your flexibility and increase your ability to move your joints. Most people know that Strength Training can help you build muscle mass, but it can also help you to reduce your body fat. It can also have a positive impact on high cholesterol and high blood pressure, as well as improve glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Older adults might not feel that they are good candidates for strength training, but it can help increase their strength and balance, as well as help increase their functionality. A Note on Safety: As with any fitness program you should talk to your physician before you start. If you have any of the following risk factors; you will want to discuss them with your doctor before you begin a Strength Training Program: Asthma Any caRDIovascular disease including chest pains at rest or exertion Family history of heart disease before the age of 55 High cholesterol Abnormal ECG, or caRDIac arrhythmias Smoking Chronic hypertension Years of inactivity Extreme obesity Chronic muscle or joint problems If you are pregnant Recent surgery Arthritis Diabetes Some Advice Before You Begin: Don’t forget to warm-up; warming up sends blood throughout your body which helps to warm up the muscles and lubricate the joints. Stretch - Improves and preserves muscle flexibility. When you are just starting out, focus on developing proper form and body mechanics. This will help you work up to heavier weights. In order to develop good form and body mechanics: go through the complete range of motion, move slowly and maintain control, remember to breathe, and keep a neutral spine. Never sacrifice form to add more weight or repetitions. The force of your workout depends on a variety of factors, including the number of sets and repetitions, the overall weight lifted, and the amount of time that you rest between sets. Your activity level and fitness goals should determine the intensity of your workout. Pay attention to your body. Heart rate is not a good way to measure your intensity when Strength Training; you’ll need to pay attention to how much effort you are having to put into your workout and how tired, sore you feel. Eight to twelve repetitions of eight to ten exercises, at a moderate intensity, two days a week is the minimum amount of time spent Strength Training, accoRDIng to the American College of Sports Medicine. You will get better results if you do more, but you’ll need to pay attention to your body to decide how much is best for you. It’s recommended that Strength Training sessions are kept to an hour or less. Remember to let your muscles rest one to two days before being exercised further. Your body needs to have time to let the tired muscles rebuild. We’ve all heard the cliché "No pain, no gain", but this message is false and can be very dangerous to your body. If you push it too far, you can do serious damage to your body. Use a slow, but steady pace, and as your muscles get stronger soreness will decrease. Principles of Strength Training: Overload: In order to see improvement in strength, you will need to work the muscle more than it’s used to. Progression: The active muscle must continue to work against a gradually increasing resistance in order to meet overload. Specificity: Gains you receive are dependent on the muscle group used, and movement pattern performed. (See Specific Strength Training Programs) Strength (maximal force): If you are interested in strength gains you want to train with higher weights and closer to your 1 RM. Endurance (submaximal force that is repeated): If you are interested in gains in endurance, you should concentrate on lifting lower weights and higher repetitions. Arrangement: Warm-up - the warm-up should be "sport specific". In other words, if you are performing the bench press, begin your warm-up with a light intensity and perform 8-10 reps. Stretch - it is important to stretch to promote increased blood flow to the muscles, and to increase flexibility, range of motion and decrease the risk of injury. Workout - work larger muscle groups first, then smaller muscle groups. Cool-down - keeps the body active and prevents pooling of blood in the extremities. The cool-down is done at a lower intensity. Breathing - When lifting weight or working muscles against resistance, exhale through the mouth as you are performing the work. Caution: Failure to breathe correctly during heavy weight lifting may cause drastic increases in blood pressure that may be harmful. A Basic Strength Training Program: The American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand (1990) on "The Recommended Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining CaRDIo-respiratory and Muscular Fitness in Healthy Adults" outlines several basic guidelines for strength training programs. "Strength training of a moderate intensity, sufficient to develop and maintain fat-free weight, should be an integral part of an adult fitness program. One set of 8-12 repetitions of eight to ten exercises that condition the major muscle groups at least 2 days a week is the recommended minimum." The following are example exercises for a basic strength training program: Bench Press Lat Pull-down Overhead Press Bicep Curl Tricep Pull-down Squat Leg Extension Leg Curl Abdominal Crunch Additional Exercises: Chest: Dumbbell Fly, Butterfly's, Incline/Decline Press, Pushup, Wall Pushup Back: Seated Row, One Arm Dumbbell Row, Pull-ups Shoulder: Lateral Dumbbell Raise, Front Dumbbell Raise, Upright Row, Bent-over Flys Biceps: Hammer Curls, Pull-ups Triceps: Tricep Extensions (Kickbacks), Dips Quadriceps: Lunges, Leg Press Hamstrings: Straight Leg Dead Lift Calves: Calf Raise Legs: Hip Abduction, Hip Adduction Specific Strength Training Programs: Circuit Training Hypertrophy Training Maintenance Training Maximum Strength Training