Muscular fitness can be an enigma to both beginners and seasoned practitioners alike. The main purpose of physical training is to build strength and endurance, but the beginner is bombarded by promises of an elusive "perfect" body, while the bodybuilder or weightlifter may not understand why he has reached a standstill in his development. Effective muscle fitness training requires an understanding of the effects of exercise and exercise equipment on the human body.
Background
Repetitive movements in sports build strength. Traditional Chinese martial arts utilized weight training devices that were described in training manuals as early as 1934. The beginner should try multiple approaches (home weightlifting, gym workouts and personal trainers) to find the most suitable one for personal development.
How the Body Builds Muscle
There are two types of fibers that constitute each muscle: fast- or slow-twitch fibers. Slow-twitch fibers are applied in endurance exercises, fast-twitch in exercises using speed, such as running. Weightlifting actually causes muscles to tear on a microscopic level, resulting in muscle soreness. When the tears heal, the result is a larger muscle.
Exercises to Build Muscle
Two types of exercises build muscle: the use of muscle building equipment or the repetitive practice of a sport. Any sport where a muscle is repeatedly worked to its limit will cause that muscle to build. However, sports build only the muscles idiosyncratic to that sport and many people seek to develop other muscles with weights or improve their sports performance with weight training.
Exercise Frequency
Based on the principles of exercise physiology expert Per-Olof Astrand, MD, beginners should lift weights based on isometric strength. Isometric strength occurs when both ends of the muscle group being exercised are fixed and there is no joint movement. The amount of weight lifted should be about 50 to 70 percent of maximum isometric strength. More advanced students should gear their training toward maximal loads. A maximal load is the maximum amount of weight a muscle group can lift a single time (also referred to as one maximum repetition; 1RM). Therefore 10RM refers to a load that can be raised against gravity no more than 10 times. A typical workout session may involve several sets of 10 repetitions for each major muscle group. If the 10RM for a typical 155 pound male is 40 pounds (40 pounds lifted 10 consecutive times); then a workout may consist of 10 repetitions of 20 pounds, then 10 repetitions of 30 pounds, then 10 repetitions of 40 pounds.
Exercises for Specific Body Parts
Free weights (barbells and dumbbells) and weight machines are the tools most frequently used for building muscle. According to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the most common exercise for the arms (biceps or midarm) is the standing barbell curl (triceps-upper-arm), cable press-downs (on a gym machine); for the chest; barbell flat bench presses; for the legs, squats, and for the abdomen, incline board sit-ups. Gym trainers or shopkeepers that sell weights can guide you through the correct movement for each exercise.
Diet
Exercise research has never demonstrated the need for a special diet to improve muscular development. Three well-balanced meals per day of fresh foods with minimal cooking provide all the nutrition and vitamins needed. After intense workout sessions, a small amount of additional lean protein, such as fish or chicken, may be beneficial to the training process.
Warning
Weight lifting is an easy sport when done with light weight or machines. When using a weightlifting bench it is critical to have an assistant as a "spotter" to ensure that if you pass your limit you do not drop the barbell on yourself and risk serious injury.
References
- Per-Olof Astrand MD. Textbook of Work Physiology. 1977.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger. Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. 1987.
- Brian Kennedy, Brian and Elizabeth Guo. Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey. 2005.
Member Comments