Muscular Fitness

1. Muscular Fitness • Developed by the overload principle • increase resistance to movement • increase frequency or duration of activity to levels above those normally experienced.

2. Muscular Strength • Best developed by using weights that develop maximal or nearly maximal muscle tension with relatively few repetitions

3. Muscular Endurance • Best developed by using lighter weights with a greater number of repetitions.

4. Guidelines • The following resistance training guidelines are recommended for the apparently healthy adult:

5. Guidelines • A primary goal of the program should be to develop total body strength and endurance in a relatively time-efficient manner.

6. Guidelines • Programs lasting longer than 1 hour per session are associated with higher dropout rates.

7. Guidelines • While more frequent training and additional sets or combinations of sets and repetitions elicit larger strength gains, the additional improvement is relatively small.

8. Guidelines • Adhere as closely as possible to the specific techniques for performing a given exercise.

9. Guidelines • Perform every exercise through a full range of motion.

10. Guidelines • Perform both the lifting (concentric phase) and lowering (eccentric phase) portion of the resistance exercises in a controlled manner.

11. Guidelines • Maintain a normal breathing pattern, since breath-holding can induce excessive increases in blood pressure.

12. Guidelines • If possible, exercise with a training partner who can provide feedback, assistance, and motivation.

13. Improvement • Muscle strength and endurance gains will be determined by: • Training • Nutrition • Genetics • Hormone secretion

14. Specificity • The development of muscular fitness is specific to the muscle group that is exercised, the type of contraction, and the training intensity.

15. Specificity • Strength and endurance gains are also specific to the speed and range of motion used during training.

16. Overload • To promote strength and endurance gains, the muscle group must be exercised at work loads that are greater than normal for the client.

17. Overload • The exercise intensity should be at least 60% of maximum to stimulate the development of strength.

18. Overload • More rapid strength gains may be achieved, however, by exercising the muscle at or near maximum (80 to 100%) resistance.

19. Overload • To stimulate endurance gains, intensities as low as 30% of maximum may be used; however, at low intensities the muscle group should be exercised to the point of fatigue.

20. Progression • You must periodically increase the training volume.

21. Progression • Progression needs to be gradually, because doing too much too soon may cause musculoskeletal injuries and excessive muscle soreness.

22. Progression • The number of repetitions a client is able to perform will indicate when the resistance needs to be increased throughout the training program.

23. Progression • The rate of improvement slows, and eventually plateaus, as clients progress through the program and move closer to their genetic ceiling.

24. Methods • Static (isometric) • Dynamic (concentric and eccentric, isotonic) • Isokinetic

25. Static • A major disadvantage is that strength gains are specific to the joint angle used during training.

26. Dynamic • Dynamic resistance training involves concentric and eccentric contractions of the muscle group performed against a constant or variable resistance.

27. Muscular Fitness • The intensity of resistance training can be manipulated by varying the weight, the number of repetitions, the length of the rest interval between exercises, or the number of sets of exercises completed.

28. Intensity • Intensity is expressed either as a percentage of the individual’s 1-RM or as the maximum weight that can be lifted for a given number of repetitions of an exercise (e.g., 8-RM equals the maximum weight that can be lifted for 8 repetitions).

29. Intensity • Intensity is inversely related to the number of repetitions.

30. Intensity • A set consists of a given number of consecutive repetitions of the exercise.

31. Intensity • Training volume is the total amount of weight lifted during the workout and is calculated by summing the products of the weight lifted, repetitions, and sets for each exercise.

32. Intensity • The optimal training stimulus for strength development is high intensity - low repetitions; whereas, low intensity - high repetitions optimize muscular endurance gains.

33. Intensity • To optimize strength gains, the intensity should be set at 80 to 85% 1-RM.

34. Intensity • At this intensity, most individuals are able to perform 6 to 8 repetitions (6 to 8 RM) of the exercise.

35. Intensity • However, when your client’s primary goal is to develop muscular endurance, prescribe an intensity of < 60% 1-RM (15 to 20 RM).

36. Intensity • For advanced strength training and hypertrophy programs, large training volumes are achieved by increasing the number of sets, performing multiple exercise for each muscle group, and increasing the frequency of training.

37. SETS • Although improvements in muscular fitness may result from performing only one set of a given exercise, research suggests that multiple sets (3 or more) are more beneficial for optimal gains in muscular fitness.

38. Frequency • Improvements in muscular fitness may result from exercising just one day per week, especially for clients with below-average muscular fitness.

39. Frequency • However, research suggests that exercising 3 times per week improves both the rate and amount of strength gain.

40. Frequency • For advanced resistance training programs, a frequency of 5 to 6 days per week will provide the high training volume necessary to stimulate further gains in muscle strength and size.

41. ACSM Recommendations • The ACSM recommends one set of 8-10 exercises that condition the major muscle groups 2-3 days per week. (1998).

42. ACSM Recommendations • Multiple-set regimens may provide greater benefits if time allows.

43. ACSM Recommendations • Most persons should complete 8-12 repetitions of each exercise; however, for older and more frail persons (approximately 50-60 years of age and above), 10-15 repetitions may be more appropriate.

44. Order of Exercises • Order the exercises so that your client first executes multi-joint exercises -- such as the seated leg press, bench press and lat pull-down -- that involve larger muscles and more muscle groups.

45. Order of Exercises • The have your client progress to single-joint exercises for smaller muscle groups.

46. Order of Exercises • To avoid muscle fatigue in novice weightlifters, arrange the exercises so that successive exercises do not involve the same muscle group.

47. Order of Exercises • This allows time for the muscle to recover.

48. Order of Exercises • When you prescribe two or more exercises for a specific muscle group, instruct the average individual to alternate muscle groups so that the muscle can rest and recover between exercises.

49. Order of Exercises • In contrast, most advanced weightlifters prefer to do compound-sets or tri-sets in order to completely fatigue a targeted muscle group.

50. Order of Exercises • To use this system, the client performs 2 (compound sets) or 3 (tri-sets) exercises consecutively for the same muscle group, with little or no rest between the exercises.