CHAPTER
5 Improving Muscular Strength and Muscular Endurance
Chapter 5 - Improving Muscular Strength and Muscular Endurance _________________________________________________________________________________________
Did You Know That…
Lifting weights can help prevent varicose veins. There is no such thing as being muscle-bound. Females can engage in vigorous exercise or competitive sports during any phase of the menstrual cycle. Women have one-third less muscle fiber than men. Generally, women do not have the natural, physiological or structural capacity to develop the strength and muscular capacity of men.
After reading this chapter you should be able to answer the following questions What is muscular strength? What is muscular endurance? What is reversibility? Is weight training dangerous? Do women have the same capacity as men for developing muscular strength? What is required to make fitness gains? How do you measure muscular strength and endurance?
Key Terms Physical fitness Isotonics Isometrics Cardiovascular fitness Muscular endurance Muscular strength Powerlifting Bodybuilding Isometrics Concentric Eccentric Anaerobic Aerobics Training effect Overload principle Progressive resistance Longevity Isokinetics Berger method Delorme method Sticking point Specificity 1-RM Overload principle Weight training Physiologists Longevity Progressive resistance exercise Ergogenic aids Absolute strength Relative strength Absolute endurance Relative endurance Light heavy method
Negatives Partials Vascularization Supersetting Circuit training Blitz method
Chapter 5 - Improving Muscular Strength and Muscular Endurance _________________________________________________________________________________________
Progressive Resistance Training ______________________________________________________________________________________
There are two types of people in this world…those who lift weights and those who don‟t. No, that‟s not right. It‟s true, but it‟s not right. Let‟s start over. How about this…if you want a good grade here you better learn how to lift weights even if you don‟t intend to lift them. Weight training consists of using weights during progressive resistance exercises. All powerlifters, olympic lifters and bodybuilders train with weights, but so do millions of other people who do not compete in these sports. Weight training can be used to develop muscular strength, muscular endurance and cardiovascular endurance. Weight training can also be used for rehabilitation and body sculpting. Weight training can literally re-sculpture your body, increase your muscle tone, decrease your body fat, strengthen your ligaments and tendons, increase your lean muscle mass and seriously limit your chances of ever winning the Pudding Belly Olympics. This chapter discusses the principles and techniques employed in muscular strength and muscular endurance training programs.
When to Start Training ____________________________________________________________________
The sooner an individual begins a systematic and appropriate exercise program, the better. However, the general rule is that children under the age of twelve should not engage in heavy resistance exercise because the long bones are not completely ossified prior to this age. Heavy resistance exercise by children may cause premature ossification of the long bones and thus stunt normal growth. Medical research has also revealed that curvature of the long bones can occur from engaging in heavy resistance exercise at a young age. Of course, this is not to say that young children should avoid physical activities, it is maximum stress exercise that can be dangerous for young children, not physical exercise in general. Now, we know what you are thinking…we always know what you are thinking… “Is a person ever too old to start exercising?” No! It‟s never too late to begin an exercise program. Actually, as long as the individual is in good health, it does not matter at what age he or she begins to exercise. Indeed, according to DeVries, the potential for trainability in the older organism and the capacity for improvement are probably not much different from that of the young. However, since an elderly individual is starting at a lower level and is further along in the aging process, his maximum potential may be somewhat limited. In this chapter we will deal with two of the components of physical fitness: muscular endurance and muscular strength. From the start though, there are some things you need to know about weightlifters like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Haney, Cory Everson and Linda Murray. They did not develop their bodies by doing Jane Fonda‟s cardiovascular aerobic workouts. Richard Simmons developed his body that way. The rest of the above mentioned individuals developed their bodies through weight training. The kind of weight training that develops muscular endurance and strength. Through such training they were able to sculpture their bodies into real works of art...the kind of art that Vincent Van Gogh would be proud of. With a little hard work and know how you will be able to do the same. In fact, we guarantee that if you apply the principles in this chapter, you can develop the finest foxiest
Chapter 5 - Improving Muscular Strength and Muscular Endurance _________________________________________________________________________________________
body this side of muscle beach. In other words, you can become a “Brick House.” There is more good news too. We are also going to show you how to develop your cardiovascular fitness so that not only will you be built like a “Brick House,” you will also live to be a thousand years old, give or take a few years. So let‟s get started.
Weightlifting and Women _____________________________________________________________________________________
If you took a survey, you would probably find that most women are a little apprehensive about getting into weight training. Somehow, they have gotten the idea that if they go to the gym and workout with weights for an hour or so, they‟ll wake up the next morning looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending upon how you look at it, it doesn‟t work that way. As a matter of fact, forget about Schwarzenegger. Ninety-nine percent of the women in the world could spend a lifetime in the gym and not develop the muscular strength and size of an average male lifter. Generally, women do not have the natural physiological or structural capacity to develop the strength and muscular bulk of men. Although there are widespread individual differences within and between the sexes, in terms of averages, women have about one-third fewer muscle fibers and considerably less testosterone (a strength promoting hormone) than men of comparable size. Consequently, men are usually stronger and larger than women. Women who take anabolic steroids (testosterone derivatives) have been shown to increase their strength and muscle mass significantly. However, even with anabolic steroids, females seldom exhibit the strength and muscle size of males. This is not to say that the quality of female muscle tissue is inferior. Indeed, its contractile properties and ability to exert force are the same as in the male. Actually, there is no physical or structural reason why men and women should train differently. Except for the influence of testosterone, there is no difference between men and women in the composition of muscle fiber.
Danger of Weightlifting _____________________________________________________________________
Weightlifting can kill you, dead even...NOT! Actually, weight training is one of the safest athletic activities. Most of the injuries that occur from weight training are generally minor muscle pulls, strains and sprains. Many of these injuries could be prevented if proper safety precautions and training procedures were used. Although hernias and hemorrhoids can result from weight training, their occurrence is rare. Moreover, there is a higher incidence of hernias and hemorrhoids in the non-weight training population. Many physiologists believe that these conditions can be prevented by developing the individual‟s musculature. As far as the mortality rate is concerned, less than 10 deaths have been attributed to weight training. Fatalities have occurred in the bench press when the weight accidentally fell on the individual. Ouch! Here are a few quick tips to help you avoid serious injuries: 1. Warm-up before you start working out. 2. Increase your workload and intensity gradually. Remember, you are trying to get a “pump” here not a hernia. 3. Make sure you have good form in your exercises before using heavy resistance. 4. In the profound words of Hee-Haw‟s Dr. Archie Campbell, “If you do something and it hurts, don‟t do it.” Pain is a warning signal that something is wrong. If you have pain, stop training and don‟t start again until your doctor tells you to do so. 5. Stretch out before and after each exercise. This will not only increase your development, but it will also decrease your chance for injury. Note that the most common cause of injury is lack of flexibility. 6. Always use spotters.
Chapter 5 - Improving Muscular Strength and Muscular Endurance _________________________________________________________________________________________
7.
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Donâ€&#x;t overtrain! Keep in mind, Rome wasnâ€&#x;t built in a day neither was Arnold Schwarzenegger or Cory Everson. Take your time. This is supposed to be a life long activity, not a life threatening one. Oh yeah! When coming to the gym look both ways before crossing the street.
OUCH! A primary rule of lifting is that you are not allowed to kill yourself. Obviously not everyone follows the rules. This is one rule you do want to follow other wise you can kill yourself dead even. Actually, weight training is one of the safest athletic activities. Photo Mike Lambert.