Strength Training Principles and Guidelines : Part 2
By Chad Tackett
Part : 1
3
4
5
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--isthe 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.
This article was provided by GHF.
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