Viva questions:

Q1: What are the benefits of fitness components in day to day life?
Ans: Physical fitness is the ability of your body systems to work efficiently. If a person is not
physically fit then he/she cannot perform his day to activities efficiently eg: dance, walking,
climbing stairs, household work, work at office, sports, etc.

Now there are 6 components which should be kept in mind to plan a well rounded
exercise program:
1) Cardiovascular endurance: proper cardiovascular and respiratory health will help
you transport oxygenated blood to working skeletal muscles so that you can perform
for longer duration without fatigue.

It includes many things such as running, walking, swimming, dancing, circuit training,
etc. it eases the physical challenges of everyday life.

2) Muscular endurance: It’s the ability of skeletal muscle or a group of skeletal muscle
to contract continuously at sub maximal levels for a longer duration without fatigue.

Eg: long distance cyclists have to pedal a bike over long distance, often up steep
inclines, so they have to develop fatigue – resistant muscles in their legs and glutes.
Also it helps in day to day activities such as to climb several fights of stairs or to lift
and carry heavy groceries from your car to your house.

3) Musculoskeletal strength: it’s the ability of skeletal muscles or a group of skeletal

muscles to perform maximally against load or resistance in a given time zone. It is
the combined strength of muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments. It is nothing but
the muscular power.

Eg: you should be strong enough to lift a heavy box and stand up from a chair. Still
many houses use gas cylinders which needs to be shifted from one place to another.
We require enough muscular strength here. Also we have overhead cupboards in
india. So to place anything heavy in such cupboards needs muscular strength.

4) Flexibility: It’s the ability of body to move joints or group of joints effectively
through a complete range of motion. It is achieved by doing stretches.

Flexibility is required in all your daily activities such as bending lifting walking, etc.
Being flexible allows your muscles to remain mobile.

5) Agility: It’s the ability of the body to move and change direction and position of the
body quickly and effectively under control. It requires quick reflexes, coordination,
balance, speed and correct response to the changing situation.

Agility is useful in everyday activities such as changing directions to avoid stepping in

a puddle. It can also be very handy with children in keeping them away from danger
such as a hot kettle or just playing games with them in the yard.
 6) Ideal body composition: it’s the ability of body to maintain ideal ratio of adipose
tissue to lean mass. It’s nothing but the percentage of fat, bone, water and muscle in
human bodies. Ideal body composition upper limit for male is 15% and for females it
is 20%.

Q2: What is the role of BMR and EPOC in fat loss?

Ans: the most important benefit of weight training is “Excess Post Exercise oxygen
consumption (EPOC)”. Also called as after burn effect. After intense weight training our
body works on bringing the body back to the state of homeostasis. It works on bringing the
body temperature back to normal, rebalancing the hormones, replenishing the fuel stores
and stabilizing the heart rate. All these activities require a good amount of oxygen and so
the consumption of oxygen increases which in turn increases the BMR. It uses fatty acids as
a source of energy to bring the body in a state of homeostasis. This helps your body burn
calories even when you are at rest.
Weight training breaks down the muscles at a micro traumatic level which needs to be
repaired. So more EPOC, afterburn and hypertrophy. This helps us in getting fat loss

Q3: What are the types of joints present in human body?

Ans: There are many types of joints including
FIBROUS joint which are immovable eg: skull and pelvis.
CARTILAGINOUS joint which are slightly movable eg: spine and ribs
SYNOVIAL joint which are much more moveable than cartilaginous joints. Eg: knees
shoulders, elbows, etc

6 types of SYNOVIAL joints present in human body

1) Hinge joint: A hinge joint allows only Flexion and Extension of an appendage. It
allows bending of knees, elbows, fingers and toes.
2) Ball and Socket joint: it allows radial movement in almost any direction that is
forward, backward, side ways and rotating movements. Eg: hips and shoulder joints
3) Gliding/Plane/Planar joints: Gliding joint bones slide past each other. Gliding joints
occur between the surfaces of two flat bones that are held together by ligaments.
Mid tarsal and mid carpal joints are gliding joints.
4) Saddle/sellar joint: This type of joint occurs when the touching surfaces of two
bones have both concave and convex regions with the shapes of the two bones
complementing one another and allowing a wide range of movement. eg: Thumb,
shoulder and inner ear.
These are said to be biaxial joints allowing movement in the sagittal and frontal
plane.
5) Condyloid : This joint occurs when one bone forms a concave surface and another
forms a convex surface. And also provides biaxial movement in the joint. i.e. allowing
movement in the sagittal and frontal planes (forward and backward or from side to
side but no rotation) eg: radiocarpal joint at the wrist, metacarpophalangeal joint at
the base of the fingers.
 6) Pivot joint: this occurs when one bone is fixed and another rotates around it and
provides circular movements.
Eg: between the radius and the ulna that rotates your forearm, Pivot joint in your
neck that allows your head to rotate. Pivot joint in your neck is the joint between the
atlas (C1) and axis (C2)

Joints can also be categorized by the number of directions about which movement can
occur.
Uniaxial joints: such as elbows and knees, operate as hinges, essentially rotating about one
axis.
Biaxial joints: such as the ankle and wrist, allows movements about two perpendicular axes
(sagittal and frontal)

Multiaxial joints: including the shoulder and hip and ball and socket joints allow movement
about all three perpendicular axis (sagittal, frontal and transverse)

Q4: What are the types of muscles in human body?

Ans: There are three types of muscles in human body:
1. Smooth muscles:
• smooth muscles are found in the walls of the internal organs eg: stomach
(mostly in the walls of hollow visceral organs other than heart).
• They have spindled shaped nonstriated uninucleated fibers.
• They are involuntary muscles found in ureters, bronchi of lungs, alimentary
canal wall, blood vessels etc.
• The spindled shaped fibers are arranged in the form of sheets.
2. Cardiac muscles:
• As the name suggests cardiac muscles occur in the wall of our heart.
• They are straited branched uninucleated fibers.
• They are involuntary muscles found in walls of heart.
• The straited branched fibers are arranged in the form of network.
3. Skeletal muscles:
• These are usually attached to the skeleton.
• They have straited tubular multinucleated fibers.
• These muscles are voluntary.

Q5: Explain types of stretches?

Ans: there are mainly 6 types of stretches:
1. Dynamic stretching:
• Dynamic stretching is different than Ballistic stretching. There are no
bounces. Just slow controlled movements through the full range of motion.
Eg: slow, controlled leg swing, arm swing, lunges, side bends or torso twists.
Its quite useful as a part of your warm-up for an active or aerobic workout.

2. Ballistic stretching :
• ballistic stretching involves continuous bouncing movements at the end ROM
where the muscle is at maximal length. Eg: bouncing down to touch your toes
 and bouncing back the stretched muscles as a spring that pulls you out of the
stretched position
• it does not allow your muscles to adjust to and relax in the stretched
position.

3. Static active stretching:

• an active stretch is one where you assume a position and then hold it with no
assistance other than using the strength of your agonist (one which supports)
muscles. Eg: bringing your leg up high and then holding it there without
anything to keep the leg in that extended position.

4. Static passive stretching :

• it is where you assume a position and hold it with some other part of your
body, or with the assistance of a partner or some other apparatus.
• Its very useful for cooling down after a workout.
• Eg: bringing your leg up high and then holding it there with your hand or
splits (the floor is the apparatus)

5. Isometric stretching :
• isometric stretching is not recommended for children and adolescents whose
bones are still growing. Isometric stretching is performed by taking the
position of a passive stretch for the desired muscle. After that tense and
stretch muscles for 7-15 sec (resisting against some force that will not move,
like the floor or a partner). Finally relax the muscle for atleast 20 secs.

6. PNF (Propioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) stretching:

• It’s a combination of passive stretching and isometric stretching in order to
achieve maximum static flexibility.
• PNF is not recommended for anyone under the age of 18 years.
• Leave 48 hours between PNF stretching routines.
• PNF stretching is performed as a separate exercise session, a thorough warm
up consisting of 5-10 mins of light aerobic exercise and some dynamic
stretches must precede it.
• The most common PNF stretching techniques are:
- The hold – relax (20 sec)
- The hold – relax – contract (7-15 sec)
- 3-5 repetitions (resting 20 secs between each repetition)

Q6: Explain what is the meaning of uni- articulated, bi- articulated and tri- articulated
muscles?
Ans:
Uniarticular muscle:
It crosses and acts directly only on the joint that they cross. It crosses only one joint. Eg:
brachialis, deltoid, triceps, gluteals, soleus, vastus group, etc.

Biarticular muscles:
It crosses and acts on two different joints. Depending on certain factors, it may contract and
cause motion at either one or both of its joints Eg: bicep brachii, hamstring (hip and knee
joint), rectus femoris, gastrocnemius.

Multiarticular muscles:
It crosses and acts on more than two different joints. Eg: flexor digitorum superficialis
muscle crosses the elbow, wrist, metacarpophalangeal joints and interphalangeal joints and
acts to flex all those joints

Q7: Explain different types of muscle fibers and muscle contraction?

Ans: Depending on the movement muscles do and on the energy system they use, muscles
are divided into three types:
a) Slow twitching (red) fibers/Type 1/ Slow oxidative: [USEFUL IN ENDURANCE AND
AEROBIC ACTIVITIES]
• Slow fibers are also called red fibers because they contain a high
concentration of myoglobin, the reddish pigment used by muscle cell to
store oxygen.
• The Myosins in type 1 fibers have a tendency to react at a very slow rate.
They use the ATPs very slowly.
• Too many mitochondria are present in Type 1 fibers. So they make a lot of
ATPs. But although there are many ATPs myosin works slowly. So they work
at sub maximal level.
• These Type 1 fibers are more useful in endurance and aerobic activities. Eg:
marathon runners, cyclists, etc. because in these activities the work is
happening at a sub maximal level.
• The slow Non-fatiguing characteristics (due to too many ATPs) of slow fibers
make them especially well suited to the sustained contractions exhibited by
postural muscles.
• Postural muscles containing a high proportion of slow fibers can hold the
skeleton upright for long periods without fatigue.

b) Fast twitching/ Type 2(b) fibers/Fast twitching Glycolytic (FG): [BEST SUITED FOR
QUICK MOVEMENTS, WEIGHT TRAINING AND REFLEX ACTIONS]
• They are best suited for quick movements, weight training and reflex actions.
• They are also called white fibers because they contain very little myoglobin.
So there is no stored O2.
• Myosin bonds with actin really fast with the help of ATPs because they
quickly deliver Ca+ to the sarcoplasm (These fibers contract fast because
their system of T tubules and Sarcoplasmic Reticulum (SR) is more efficient at
quickly delivering Ca+ to the sarcoplasm.)
• They have high concentration of glycogen but have very few mitochondria
so they primarily rely on anaerobic respiration to regenerate ATP.
• They cannot sustain for long durations although they can generate force
very quickly. This is due to small amounts of ATPs.
• It supports movements done in less than 10 secs. So reflexes are done by
fast twitching fibers.
 c) Intermediate fibers/ Type 2(a) fibers Fast twitch Oxidative: [USED TO TRANSFORM
FROM TYPE 1 TO TYPE 2b]
• They have characteristics of slow and fast twitching fibers both. They fatigue
faster than slow twitching because they have mitochondria in moderate
amount and they fatigue slower than fast twitching.
• They have more ATPs than fast twitching but less than slow twitching.
• Sedentary person always uses type 1 and 2 a. eg: if your are sedentary then
type 1 is being used and suddenly you lift a cylinder or something heavy then
you use type 2 a.
• Type 2 a is used to transform from type 1 to type 2 b. eg: in brisk walking
you use type 1 then when you start jogging then you use type 2a and then
when you start sprinting then you use type 2b
• Eg of intermediate fibers is soleus or calf muscles. Soleus provides the
postural support but it is occasionally used to generate rapid powerful
contractions. Eg: walking running and jumping.

Now there are two types of muscle contractions:

a) Isotonic contraction:
• It means same tension or Dynamic tension(because muscle moves in an
isotonic contraction). The tone or tension within the muscle remains the
same as the length of the muscle changes.
• When the muscle is moving against its resistance in an isotonic contraction,
the energy of contraction is used to pull the thin myofilaments and thus the
length of sarcomeres changes. In short myosin wins over myofilaments and is
able to pull them.
• Isotonic contraction further has two sub types:
 Concentric concentrations: whenever there is shortening of muscles
and the weight is travelling against the gravity.
 Eccentric concentration: when you release the weight in favour of
gravity which releases the tension in your muscles is called Eccentric
contraction.
b) Isometric contraction:
• It means same length contraction. Eg: how long we can hold a db in front,
parallel to the ground or how long you can hold a plank position.
• Myosin and actin has a draw situation according to the tug-of-war analogy.
They both bond and stop at a point. No movements.
• TUT exercises refer to the amount of time a muscle is held under tension or
strain. This is a type of isometric contraction.

In nutshell lets see all three contractions together with the help of an example: Lets say
during a loaded bb squat exercise the first part of the exercise is the eccentric phase which
occurs as you lower the weights. Any pause before pushing the weight back up is called the
Isometric phase of the exercise. Finally, the concentric phase occurs as you push the bb
back up to the starting position.
Q8: Explain different types of deadlifts?
Ans: by Bhagwat sir
In Romanian deadlift we start from the above and didn't deload the weight. The stance here
is same as conventional deadlift. Here we target the erector spine muscles but here stretch
reflex's helps to lift the weight up that's why we can use this deadlift for beginners to set the
proprioception for the deadlift exercise.

In conventional deadlift stance between legs is shoulder width or slightly wider than
shoulder width depending on the person's comfort, and the grip is wider than shoulder
width here, same as Romanian deadlift. But the advantage of this exercise is that we deload
the weight every time that's why stretch reflex's doesn't help to lift the weight. Muscles
targeted here are same as Romanian deadlift

In sumo deadlift, only difference is that we change the stance between legs and hands. Here
stance between legs is wider than shoulder and grip is shoulder width. Also here we used
lower body's muscles more as compared to conventional deadlift and hence prefer this
exercise for the people has longer limbs or for powerlifting competitions

Stiff legged deadlift: it works more on hamstring flexibility. The lack of knee flexion at the
onset and throughout the stiff leg deadlift increased the loading placed upon the lower back
(erectors) and hamstrings.

Q9: What is the benefit of step up over lunges?

Ans: (by Bhagwat sir)
• In lunges quadriceps are the dominant muscle and in step up gluteal group is the
dominant muscle in which gluteus maximus is working for hip extension and gluteus
medius and minimus is challenge for a pelvic stabilization throughout the range of
motion but in case of lunges the pelvic stabilization is for very less time as compare
to step and we have other exercises for challenging quadriceps muscles like leg
extension machine that’s why we have only one exercise where we can challenge
gluteal group completely and hence step up has more benefits than lunges.

Q10: Explain unilateral, bilateral and isolateral movements?

Ans:
• Unilateral means one side at one time is trained. Examples of unilateral movements
are single arm row, single arm triceps, step up, Bulgarian lunge, single hand
overhead press, pistol squats,etc.
• Bilateral movements is when both limbs are working together depending on each
other and providing a single axis then it is bilateral exercise. Symmetrical
development of muscles is compromised but best for strength and power. Eg: pull
ups, lat pull down, push ups, bb squats, bb shoulder press, etc.
• Isolateral movements: when both limbs are working together but independent of
each other, providing dual axis then it is isolateral exercise. Eg: bench press with db,
overhead press with db, cable chest press(because dual axis provided by two weight
stacks), etc. It promotes symmetrical development of muscles. Isolateral movements
 are used to strengthen the weaker side because isolateral exercises prevents the
stronger side from helping the weaker side.

Q11: What is the meaning of power, compound and isolation exercises? Explain?
Ans: Isolation movements are Uni – joint that means they takes place in single joint. These
are movements that target a specific muscle group and make use of only one joint like the
biceps in a bicep curl, leg extension, tricep extension, lateral raises, etc. Isolation exercises
do precisely what their name suggests—they isolate. By placing the attention on one muscle
group only, these exercises can achieve significant muscle gains in specific parts of the body.
In short benefits of Isolation exercises include….
- Targeting specific muscles without stressing any others.
- Helping with injury recovery because you can target one muscle without getting
the injured ones involved.
- Strengthening an area you feel is weaker than the rest of the body.

Compound exercise means they takes place in two or more than two joints. Eg: Squats
primarily target the quadriceps, but they also require you to engage your core, hamstrings,
glutes and calves to perform the movement. Squats are a multi functional exercise and so
they are an excellent addition to your workouts. Other examples are lunges, deadlifts,
bench presses, bent over rows, etc. Compound exercises are efficient and more time saving.
You can lift heavier as compared to isolation exercises because of the multiple movements
that takes place during a compound exercise. Now as your body utilizes more muscles, you
get more EPOC and Afterburn which will raise your BMR and resultantly shall give you good
muscle hypertrophy and fat loss.
In nutshell, compound exercises can…..
- Save time
- Burn more calories
- Make you stronger
- Help improve coordination.

There are two types of compound movements (exercises):

A) Supported compound:
These are non core based means less core involvement Eg: leg press, lat pull down,
bench press, etc.
B) Unsupported compound:
These are core based means maximum core involvement. It needs to maintain
stability and more of CNS involvement. Eg: Squats, lunges, bent over rows, etc.

Structural movements (exercises):

These gives load on axial skeleton (skull, trunk, vertebrate). Nothing but having full body
load. Eg: squats, lunges, overhead press, deadlift, etc.

Power Movements (exercises):

These are nothing but structural movements but having quick and explosive movements. Eg:
clean and jerk, snatch, etc. Power training typically involves exercises which apply the
maximum amount of force as fast as possible, on the basis that strength + speed = power.
We can also turn strength into power movements by changing the tempo. Instead of using
smooth slow movements throughout the lifts, make the concentric contraction fast and
powerful, but preserve the slow steady pace on the eccentric contraction. Eg: you can do
this in squats, lunges, overhead presses, biceps curls, dips, overhead tricep extensions, push
ups, bend presses and many more.

Q12: What is the meaning of hypertrophy and hyperplasia? Explain?

Ans:
Hypertrophy:
Hypertrophy means increase in the size of the muscle cells. It doesn’t increase the number
of muscle cells.
Hypertrophy occurs on the basis of 3 components. Also called hypertrophy tripod. These 3
components are equally important. If one is absent, other two cannot stand up and it will
lead to negligible growth in lean tissues.

1. Progressive overload (training): your muscles get stronger and adapt themselves to
a particular weight and rep range. So if you want to break them further in order to
get them hypertrophied, then you need to challenge your body with the workload
that it is not used to. This will force the muscles to improve themselves to adapt to
the heavier load. This progression is called progressive overload.

2. Rest & recovery: now after breaking down the muscles with progressive overload,
we need to give them time to recover. If you keep on breaking a particular muscle
everyday then it will breakdown at a faster rate than the rate of recovery. To repair
them, recovery time is very important. Adequate sleep is very important for
recovery.

3. Nutrition: you cannot expect your muscles to grow without proper nutrition.
Proteins are very important to grow muscles. Nutrition keeps your body in the
anabolic state.

If any of these legs are shortened, the tripod drops, the whole process of building your gains
will fail or slowdown. And this is the reason despite of all the efforts and hard work you do
in gym, people don’t get expected results.

Hyperplasia:
Hyperplasia is increase in the rate of reproduction of the cells i.e. increasing the number of
muscle cells. This is mostly seen in children as they are into their growing stage and their
muscles cells keep on increasing in number. The chances of hyperplasia are negligible in
adults.
Q13: Which type of machine is best to train hamstring muscles and why?
a) Flat leg curl
b) Angled leg curl
c) Seated leg curl
Ans:

Q14: What is the ideal angle for incline and decline bench press and why?
Ans: by Bhagwat sir
The ideal angle for incline bench press is +30 degree as we are targeting the clavicular fibers
specifically of the pectoralis major. Anything higher than 30 degree mainly works the
anterior deltoids.

While performing the decline bench press the angle is -15 degree because we are
specifically targeting the sternocostal fibers of the pectoralis major.

At +30 and -15 degree we recruit the maximum muscle fibers from both the heads as
compared to any other angles.

Q15: Why should we choose leg curl exercise after calf raises exercise?
Ans: