The Theory of Muscle Training (Intro)

The Theory of

Muscle Training

The four basic physical qualities are:

1. Strength

2. Endurance

3. Flexibility

4. Speed

            The first three of these qualities have a direct effect on health. To simplify Speed is important for sports but less

so in everyday life. Flexibility helps prevent injuries and muscular imbalances. Endurance or stamina is the key

to cardio-respiratory health and reducing flab. Training for strength is vital for the health of our musculo-skeletal

system.

            Let us now consider some key features of muscle training, as well as basic guidelines and tips, from a cause and

effect standpoint. What is the right way to train?

HOW TO MOVE, HOW TO TRAIN AND SOME MISTAKES TO AVOID

           First, it is essential to warm up. Stretching is highly recommended, as is a balanced intelligent diet and rest.

There are, of course, numerous different warm-up techniques, but the one described here is simple and effective

for our purposes (the times given are for reference):

         1. Begin with gentle to moderate cardiovascular exercise, not only to activate your heart and breathing but also to

ready yourself mentally for the training session (“psychological warm-up”). 5 to 10 minutes.

          2. Warm up your joints around the area you intend to work out without using weights. 2 or 3 minutes.

         3. Start with a couple of sets of the basic exercise you intend to do first, using only half the usual weight. It is also

advisable to warm up the synergetic and fixing muscles involved in the exercises you plan to do. These are

almost always the abdominal and lower back muscles (lumbar region). 5 or 6 minutes.

         4. Briefly stretch the muscles concerned in the planned exercises. 2 or 3 minutes.

         5. Begin the training session, making the first set lighter than the rest.

Some people will say they have no time to warm up, but it is worth remembering that if you are injured you cannot

train at all.

Unless you are training for a specific sport or activity involving special needs, do your exercises at a slow or

moderate speed, avoiding rapid movements. Doing exercises too fast has the following adverse effects:

- It ruins your technique.

- The impetus (inertia) required prevents constant work on the muscle.

- It puts extra strain on your joints, which can be dangerous.

- You will probably be using less weight than is necessary to stimulate your muscles (see “intensity” below). 

         The explanation lies in the “velocity curve theory,” the basic conclusion of which is that the faster the movement, the

lower resistance must be.

         People may exercise too fast because of time constraints but sometimes this defect is more a matter of ego or

the wish to project an image. Obviously, if you keep the same weight but slow down, you will not manage the same

number of repeats in a set.

         Performing exercises too quickly is usually safe enough to avoid injury and it does produce some gains in terms of

strength. If the movement is too slow, meanwhile, the weight used will also have to be much less than the specific

muscles concerned could manage, and they will also tire sooner than necessary. Some bodybuilders achieve good

results using a training rhythm of around 2 seconds in the positive phase and 6 or 7 seconds in the negative phase.

Nevertheless, postures are uncomfortable and ineffective at such a slow pace (in the eccentric phase), and it can

be more difficult to control your breathing. Furthermore, many people make good progress at a moderate pace. In

this regard, the right approach is to perform the concentric or positive phase explosively but with control (i.e., not

too fast) and the eccentric or negative phase a little more slowly. Another option is to apply a wave or “pumping”

motion that maintains a similar rhythm cadence and is, above all, controlled (i.e., in permanent tension).

         Certain studies point to the advantages of “eccentric only” training, but this research is still at a very early stage.

Unfortunately, this technique is difficult in practice using free weights (as a lot of help is required), and existing

machines are not usually designed for training in this way. More research is needed in this area, given the

numerous questions that remain.

           A frequent mistake is to lock or block the joints at the ascent point of some movements (i.e., the point of maximum

extension). The most obvious example here is the dangerous habit of locking the knees when the legs are fully

extended on a “press” machine. The main, but not the only, risk is that this can leave the ligaments and bone

structures to support the full weight without the help of the main muscle. There is a widespread belief among

bodybuilders that taking movements to these limits “works out all of the fibers,” but this is in fact quite untrue.

Furthermore, the margin between what is safe and the absolute limit does not involve any workout loss or impair

the growth of the muscle. In addition, the chance of sustaining injuries such as dislocation, torn ligaments, damage

to the joints, torn muscles and so forth is much greater “at the limits,” especially when under strain. This does not

mean performing only a partial movement; on the contrary, it is necessary to attain a good, long trajectory in the

majority of exercises, although the danger of injury means that a somewhat shorter movement is better in some

cases (“squats” or “barbell preacher-bench curl,” for example). In other cases, however, the movement can be

taken to the limit without danger (e.g., trapezius “shoulder shrug”). 

Each individual should consider the level of risk to musculo-skeletal health that he or she is willing to accept.

Breathing

         We can draw an initial distinction here between breathing for light and heavy loads:

- Light loads: keep your breathing natural and avoid forcing it while doing exercises that use little weight effort for your personal capacity and for the muscle involved. This style should also be used when you are working on very small muscles that put little demand on the cardio-respiratory system, such as the forearm.

- Heavy loads: proper technique requires that you inhale through your nose and mouth at the same time (or only through the mouth for short, quick breaths) during the first half or during the first third of the movement, and exhale through your mouth in the last half or the last third. The rest of the time you should hold your breath. In

certain heavy exercises (e.g., squats or bench press) you can begin as you take the strain just before starting the movement, although this requires some practice. If you breathe in through the nose only, as you would do at rest, you will not produce sufficient air flow for the effort involved in weightlifting exercises.

             Another reason for this rather unnatural breathing is that the body’s own levers function better when supported by a firm trunk. Inhalation should be moderate, neither very deep nor very shallow.

             Do not eat, drink or chew gum when you are doing the exercise set, as this hinders normal breathing.

HOW LONG SHOULD I REST BETWEEN SERIES AND EXERCISES?

            This depends on several factors, including your objectives, the specific exercise concerned, individual fitness, and the muscles involved.

            In general terms, you should restart the exercise and do your next set when your breathing slows to normal from

the panting caused by the effort, or when you feel the local muscular congestion caused by the exercise go down.

As these variables are not constant and depend on the individual and the muscles involved in the workout, the best advice is to wait until you can do another a series like the preceding one (same weight and number of repeats), but without lingering until you get “cold.” Large muscle groups need more rest. The feeling of muscle burn is not

always a good benchmark, as very heavy exercises do not produce much accumulation of lactic acid, but they do cause neuro-muscular fatigue and depletion of anaerobic energy reserves. This is a common error even among veteran weight trainers, who see the burning feeling as the only sign of an exercise well done and hang onto it to decide the number of repeats (see”Lactic acid”).

The average rest period should be between 1 and 3 minutes.

Credit: Encyclopedia of Muscle

Exercises

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