Chapter 9 – the principles of exercise training

Muscular strength
 strength  maximal force that a muscle can generate
 Static strength
 Dynamic strength (varies by speed and joint angle)
 1RM
 Start with proper warm-up  after this they can execute several repitions
 Add weight until only 1 repetition can be performed

Muscular power
 rate of performing work
 Explosive aspect of strength
 Power = force x (distance/time)
 power more NB than strength for many activities
 field tests no specific to power
 typically measured with electronic devices

Endurance
 number of repitions at given % 1RM
 increases through
 Gains in muscle strength
 Changes in local metabolic, cardiovascular function
 push up test  count the number of reps

Types of field tests:

Grip strength test  if weak in an older individual it can indicate the risk or potential cardiac
disease prevalence in the individual
Vertical jump test  not an accurate test but is an easy test

Biokinetics
 biodex and cybex isokinetic dynamometer measuring strength and power
 measures the force production using a multitude of isokinetic variables in
conjunction with different eccentric
 person is tightly strapped into the chair to not use the body
 set the piece of equipment to do eccentric and concentric contractions
 video  upper leg is fixed
 save patients data on the system

Aerobic power  rate of energy relates by oxygen-dependant metabolic processes

Anaerobic power  mean or peak power output in exercise last 30s or less
 maximal accumulated O2 deficit test
 critical power test  speed at which power/speed vs time graph reaches a plateau
 Wingate anaerobic test
Principles of training
 principle of individuality
 not all athletes are created equal
 genetics affects performance
 variations in cell growth rates, metabolism, and cardiorespiratory and
neuroendocrine regulation
 explains high versus low responders

 principle of specificity
 Training effect is specific to the muscle fibres involved
 Type of exercise
 Training program must stress most relevant physiological systems for given support
 Training adaptions highly specific to type of activity, training volume and intensity

 principle of reversibility
 Use it or lose it
 Training  improved strength and endurance
 Detraining reverses gains
 Gains are lost when overload is removed

 principle of progressive overload

 Must increases demand son body to make further improvements
 Muscle overload  muscles must be loaded beyond normal loading for
improvement
 Progressive training  as strength increases, resistance/repetitions must increases
to further increase strength
 Training effect occurs when a system is exercised at a level beyond which it is
normally accustomed

 principle of variation
  Also called principle periodization
 Systematically changes one or more variables to keep training challenging
o Intensity, volume and/or mode
o Increase volume, decrease intensity
o Decreases volume, increases intensity
 Macrocycles versus mesocycles

Resistance training programmes  strength, hypertrophy and power

 should involve concentric, eccentric and isometric contractions
 CON strength maximised by ECC
 ECC benefits action-specific movements
 exercise order
 Large muscle groups before small, multijoint before small joint, high intensity before
low intensity
 rest periods based on experience
 Novice, intermediate lifters  2-3 min between sets
 Advanced lifters  1-2 min between sets

 static-contraction resistance
 Muscle force without muscle shortening
 Also called isometric training
 Early evidence showed great promise
o Later evidence did not support early findings
o Isometric training nonetheless still popular
 Ideal for immobilized rehab situations

 Free weights vs machines

 Free weights (constant resistance) – traditional resistance training modality that used
only barbells, dumbbells, and so on to provide resistance
 Tax muscles extremes but not midrange
 Recruit and stabilizing muscles
 Better for advanced weight lifters
 machines - may involve variable resistance
 Safer, easier and more stable  good for beginners
 Limit recruitment to targeted muscle groups

 dynamic eccentric training

 Emphasizes ECC phase of contraction
o In this phase, muscle’s ability to resist force greater than with CON training
o Theoretically produces increases strength gains vs CON
 Early ECC vs CON research equivocal
 More support from recent studies
o ECC + CON workouts maximize strength gains
 o ECC important for muscle hypertrophy

 variable resistance training

 Resistance decreases in weakest ranges of motion and increases in stronger ranges
 Muscle works against higher % of its capacity at each point range of motion
 Basis for several popular machines

 isokinetic training
 Movements at a constant speed
o Angular velocity can range from 0° /s to 300° /s
o Strong force opposed by more resistance
o Weak force opposed by less resistance
 Resistance from electronics, air, or hydraulics
 Theoretically allows maximal contraction at all points in range of motion

 plyometrics
 Also known as stretch-shortening cycle exercise
o Uses stretch reflex to recruit motor units
o Stores energy during ECC, releases during CON
o E.g.  deep squat to jump to deep squat
 Proposed to bridge gap between speed and strength training

 electrical stimulation
 pass current across muscle or motor nerve
 Ideal for recovery from injury and surgery
 Reduces strength loss during
immobilization
 Restores strength and size during
rehab
 It eliminates the brain  which plays
a huge role in neuromuscular
adaptations
o It will not may you stronger
and doesn’t affect co-ord that
is

 EMS training
 Isometric muscle contractions: not functional; do not cause improvement in dynamic
muscle strength, speed and power
 Focus on specific muscles: more muscle soreness and muscle damage
 Trains muscle only superficially – not as effective as real exercise
 The brain is not involved: no improvement in balance, posture and coordination

 Core training
  Core  trunk muscles around spine and viscera
o Abdominal muscles
o Gluteal muscles, hip girdle
o Paraspinal, other accessory muscles
 Yoga, Pilates, tai chi, physioball
 Proximal stability aids distal mobility
 May decrease likelihood of injury
 Increases muscle spindle sensitivity
o Permits greater state of readiness for joint loading
o Protects body from injury
 Core musculature mostly type I fibers, responds well to multiple sets and high reps

 power training
 Train sport-specific metabolic systems
 Programs designed along a continuum from short sprints to long distances
o Sprints: ATP-PCr (anaerobic)
o Long sprint/middle distance: glycolytic (anaerobic)
o Long distance: oxidative system (aerobic)

 HIIT training
 Train sport-specific metabolic systems
 Programs designed along a continuum from short sprints to long distances
o Sprints: ATP-PCr (anaerobic)
o Long sprint/middle distance: glycolytic (anaerobic)
o Long distance: oxidative system (aerobic)
 Repeated bouts of high/moderate intensity interspersed with rest/reduced intensity
o More total exercise performed by breaking into bouts
o Same vocabulary as resistance training: sets, repetitions, time, distance,
frequency, interval, rest
 E.g
o Set 1: 6 x 400 m at 75 s (90 s slow jog)
o Set 2: 6 x 800 m at 180 s (200 s jog-walk)
 Appropriate for all sports and activities
 For given sport, first choose mode, then adjust
o Rate of exercise interval
o Distance of exercise interval
o Number of repetitions and sets per training session
o Duration of rest/active recovery
o Type of activity during active recovery
o Frequency of training per week
 Exercise interval intensity
 Determined by duration/distance or % HRmax
 Duration and distance more practical
o One method: use best time at a set distance, adjust duration by desired
intensity
o Intensity depends on fitness, number sets/reps, etc.
o ATP-PCr system training ~90 to 98% intensity
o Anaerobic glycolytic training ~80 to 95% intensity
o Aerobic oxidative training ~75 to 85% intensity

Repetitions and sets per session

 largely sport specific
 short, intense intervals  more reps and sets
 longer intervals  fewer reps and sets

Duration of rest intervals

 Depends on how rapidly athlete recovers
 Based on HR recovery (fitness and age dependent)
 <30 years: HR should drop to 130 to 150 beats/min
 >30 years: subtract 1 beat for every year over 30
 For active recovery between sets, HR <120 beats/min
 Exercise intensity   recovery intensity 
 With better fitness,  intensity or  rest duration
 Land training: slow or rapid walk or jog
 Swimming: slow swimming or total rest