Strength Training: Principles and Guidelines - Part 2
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Almost
any form of exercise will stimulate some degree of strength and muscle
development. Unfortunately, misconceptions, myths, and misunderstandings
plague the fitness industry, especially in regard to strength training
There
is a huge attrition rate among those starting a strength training program
primarily because most people are not taught the principles essential for
a safe and effective program.
This
article is part two of a five part series discussing the very important
principles and guidelines of a safe and effective strength training
program. This article discusses the importance of forcing blood to your
muscles and proper lifting speed. The previous article, part one of this
five part series, explained the proper methods of warming-up, stretching,
and cooling-down for a safe and effective strength training program. The
following exercise guidelines are extremely important for your safety and
the effectiveness of your strength training program.
Importance
of Blood Supply to your Muscles It is important to understand the value
and purpose of targeting or forcing blood to the muscles you are training.
Many of the principles we teach have the sole purpose of forcing blood
into your muscles. When you use proper lifting technique, you will notice
blood racing to the specific muscle you are training. And this is exactly
what you want to happen.
When
blood is forced into your muscles during your weightlifting program it
potentiates the "microtrauma" or tiny little tears in your
muscles that we mentioned earlier. When this happens, your muscle tissues
repair and rebuild themselves bigger and stronger than they were--if you
allow ample resting time. This is why you never train the same muscle
group two days in a row; if you do, you cut off the rebuilding process.
You
will know that you are using proper form when you feel a warmth, some
fatigue, and a "burning" feeling at the end of each set for each
muscle group. If you do not get this feeling, you probably need to review
the proper form for your exercise. This may be an indication that you are
making other common mistakes in your routine that do not allow blood to be
fully targeted to the your muscles.
One
of the most common mistakes people make is not training their muscle
groups in an organized, systematic fashion. Always do every set and every
exercise for specific muscle groups together. For example, if your chest
routine consists of three sets of bench press, do all three sets,
separated by resting periods, and then go on to the next muscle group. Or,
if your chest routine consists of two or three different chest exercises,
do all of those chest exercises together. Do the Bench Press, then Incline
Bench Press, then Flys, for example--until your chest routine is complete.
Then you can move on to the next muscle group.
Many
people make the mistake of doing a set of Bench Press for their chest,
then a set of Biceps Curls, then another set of Bench Press, and then on
to another muscle group, and so on. This does not fully target blood into
any one muscle group. You are just teasing your chest muscles and then
moving on to tease another muscle group without ever targeting enough
blood into any muscle group to cause much stimulation for improvement.
Another
common mistake is eating right before your training program or eating too
soon after your program. This can cause your heart and digestive system to
work too hard and compromise the oxygen and nutrient delivery to the
working muscles. Eating just before or too soon after your workout will
not allow you to get enough blood into the muscles you are training.
Think
about this: Digestion takes a lot of blood to work effectively. The more
blood your body sends to digest your food the less blood is available to
go to your muscles, to rebuild and increase strength. You should wait at
least 60 minutes after eating before you start your exercise program.
Similarly,
do not eat too soon after ending your workout because you want the blood
that you just targeted into each specific muscle to remain there as long
as possible. If you eat food too soon after your workout, the blood will
be forced out of your muscles and into your digestive system. So wait at
least 60 minutes after your program before you eat a meal.
Of
course you should not go to your workouts hungry; you definitely want
nutrients in your system for performance enhancement and energy, but try
to eat an hour or more before workouts, and make sure your meal includes
foods that are rich in complex carbohydrates and protein and low in fat,
sugar, and cholesterol.
Lifting
Speed
One
of the most important elements in weightlifting--one that has a big effect
on how much blood is targeted to your muscles--is lifting speed. Speed
plays a major role in the incidence of injury as well as strength and
muscle development. Fast lifting creates momentum and doesn't promote
blood flow to the muscle. Slow movement creates less momentum and less
internal muscle friction. Not only does slow lifting require a more even
application of muscle power throughout the movement range, it actually
promotes rapid blood flow into the specific muscle you are training.
In
every strength training exercise for every muscle there are two different
parts to each repetition of the exercise set performed. One, the
concentric contraction--called the "positive" phase of the
repetition—is the part where the muscle is actually doing the work, such
as the lifting motion of the bicep curl--from the beginning where your
arms are hanging straight down to the point where the weight is lifted up.
The second part is the eccentric contraction--called the "negative"
phase of the repetition--is the part with resistance, because you are
returning the weight from the end of the positive phase back to the
beginning. In the bicep curl, this is where you let the weight come back
slowly to the beginning position, with your arms extended straight down
again.
It
is more important to let the weight come back slowly on the "negative"
phase than on the "positive" phase. Coming back slowly with
resistance on every exercise is very, very important because this is the
phase that promotes blood flow to your muscles and thus causes
microtrauma, building your muscles even stronger during your day of rest.
We recommend one to two seconds for each lifting movement (the positive
phase), and three to four seconds for each lowering movement (the negative
phase). Whatever your actual lifting speed, remember to always come back
slower with resistance (the negative phase) for each and every
weightlifting exercise. If you find that the weight is so heavy that you
cannot come back slowly in full control of the movement, you should
lighten the weight until you can. Many people pay far too much attention
to the quantity or weight of the lift and not the quality of the movement
performed. Your muscles cannot know how much weight is on the bar or
machine, but they will respond very well when you are using good,
controlled form and come back slowly with resistance.
Please
check back for Part three, where I'll discuss the importance of proper
lifting technique, exercising through the full range of motion, proper
exercise sequence, and the correct number of sets for what you're trying
to achieve. Until then, remember to use slow lifting speeds and try to get
as much blood into the specific muscle you are training as possible. Good
luck, and enjoy all the wonderful benefits of strength training.
Chad Tackett is
President of Global Health & Fitness. Learn how you can have
your own personal online trainer, dietician and motivator at http://www.global-fitness.com
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