Table of Contents

 

Part I: The Muscles of the Body

Part II: The Basics of the Muscular System

Part III: Fitness Concepts

Part IV: Flexibility Concepts

Part V: Warming Up & Cooling Down

Part VII: Rest & Recovery

Part VIII: Applying the Concepts

Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part I: The Muscles of the Body

 

1)      Pectoralis Major

*   Common Name: “Pecs” or “Chest”

*   Movement: Adduction & Extension of the shoulder joint.

*   Exercises: ______________________________

 


2)      Latissimus Dorsi

*   Common Name: “Back” or “Lats”

*   Movement: Adduction & Extension of the shoulder joint.

*   Exercises: _____________________________

 


3)      Deltoids

*   Common Name: “Shoulders” or “Delts”

*   Movement: Abduction & Flexion of the shoulder joint.

*   Exercises: ___________________________

4)      Quadriceps

*   Common Name: “Quads” or “Thighs”

*   Movement: Extension of the knee & Flexion of the hip.

*   Exercises: ___________________________

 

 

5)      Hamstrings

*   Common Name: “Hammy” & “Thigh”

*   Movement: Flexion of the knee & extension of the hip.

*   Exercises: _______________________

 

6)      Gluteus Maximus

*   Common Name: “Glut” & “Butt”

*   Movement: Extension & Adduction of the hip.

*   Exercises: _____________________

 

7)      Abdominals

*   Common Name: “Abs” & “Stomach”

*   Movement: Flexion of the spine.

*   Exercises: ____________________

 


8)      Biceps

*   Common Name: “Arms” & “Bi’s”

*   Movement: Elbow flexion & wrist supination.

*   Exercises: _____________________

 

 

 

Part II: The Basics of the Muscular System

1)      Anatomical Directions & Joint Motions

*   Anterior & Posterior: Anterior “in front of” and posterior “in back of”.

*   Medial & Lateral: Medial refers to the middle of the body and lateral refers to away from the mid- line of the body.

*   Flexion: Bending of a joint. Ex of exercise involving flexion:______________

*   Extension: Straightening of a joint. Ex of exercise involving extension:______________

*   Adduction: Toward the body. Ex of exercise involving adduction:______________

*   Abduction: Away from the body. Ex of exercise involving abduction:______________

2)      Muscle Types

*   Skeletal: attached to the bones by connective tissue called “tendons”. This type causes voluntary contractions and is the target muscle type of strength training.          

*   Smooth: produces movement in your internal organs.

*   Cardiac: heart muscle causes the rythmucal contractions of the heart.

*   Fast Twitch Muscle Fiber: skeletal muscle, white muscle fibers, contract quickly, easy to fatigue, and are responsible for the explosive muscle contractions. These fibers are used for anaerobic activities.

*   Slow Twitch Muscle Fiber: skeletal muscle, red muscle fiber, contract slowly, does not fatigue easily, & has a large blood supply. These allow us to do endurance, or aerobic, activity.

List Sports & Activities That Utilize Each Type

Fast Twitch                                                      Slow Twitch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3)      Muscular Contraction Types

*   Concentric Muscle Contraction: Muscle action in which the muscle is shortening under its own power. This action is commonly called "positive" work, or, redundantly, "concentric contraction."

*   Eccentric Muscular Contraction: Muscle action in which the muscle resists while it is forced to lengthen. This action is commonly called "negative" work, or "eccentric contraction," but, since the muscle is lengthening, the word "contraction" is misapplied.

*   Isometric Muscular Contraction: Muscle action in which the muscle attempts to contract against a fixed limit. This is also sometimes called "isometric contraction," although there is not appreciable shortening of the muscle.

Identify The Type Of Contraction (C, E, or I)

*   Slow controlled lowering of the bar to the chest during bench press. _____

*   Sitting against the wall in a half squat position for 2 minutes. ______

*   The pulling of the bar down to the chest on the lat pulldown. _______

4)      Agonist & Antagonist

*   Agonist: the prime mover in a given exercise.

The agonist when doing a leg curl is the ____________ muscle.

*   Antagonist: The muscle that makes the opposite movement from the prime mover. Asissts in joint stabilization and break of momentum at the end of a fast motion.

The antagonist when doing a bicep curl is the __________ muscle.

5)      Atrophy & Hypertrophy

*   Atrophy: decrease in size of the muscle. A muscle will atrophy when demands on the muscle are decreased, or ceased all together. The less work the smaller the muscle.

*   Hypertrophy: increase in size of the muscle. Hypertrophy results from enlargement of muscle fibers. Hypertrophy will occur when a sufficient overload is placed upon the muscle to force it to work harder than normal and grow, or adapt. (Increased muscle mass will result in your body burning more calories because muscles use calroies for fuel 24 hours a day.)

6)      Muscular Soreness

*   Acute Muscle Soreness: the pain one experiences during or immediately after exercise. This caused by a build up of lactic acid in the muscle tissue or shifts in fluid balance in the muscle cells.

*   DOMS: (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) pain experienced one to days after exercise. This type of soreness is most likely caused by microscopic tears in the muscle itself.

 

 

Part III: Fitness Concepts

1) Principle of Progression/Over Load

The principle of overload states that a greater than normal stress or load on the body is required for training adaptation to take place. The body will adapt to this stimulus. Once the body has adapted to the stress, then a different stimulus is required to continue the change. In order for a muscle (including the heart) to increase strength, it must be gradually stressed by working against a load greater than what it has adapted.

List an example of overload.

 

2) Principle of Specificity

The principle that the body adapts very specifically to the training stimuli it is required to deal with. The body will perform best at the specific speed, type of contraction, muscle-group usage and energy source usage it has become accustomed to in training.  In order to improve your strength, endurance and fitness, you have to progressively increase the frequency, intensity and time of your workouts. The Specificity Principle simply states that for these reasons, training must go from highly general training to highly specific training.  For example, if you are a sprinter, you may start out with easy running and general strength training before moving on to explosive training in the way of plyometrics or sprinting out of the blocks. If you try to do explosive, high intensity training too soon, you will run the risk of such training being ineffective and possibly resulting in injury. The principle of Specificity also implies that to become better at a particular exercise or skill, you must perform that exercise or skill.  Your strength training exercises should try to emulate the same movements that you intend to perform during competition/sport/activity.

Name a sport & choose an exercise that is specifcally related to that sport & why it can help.

 

 

 

3) Variation in Exercise

Variation in your exercise routine is very important to keep you moving towards your fitness goal, to keep you from hitting a fitness plateau. Because your body adapts quickly to the stress that is applied to your body, you need to change your workout routine every 4 to 6 weeks.  Variation in your workout can occur in several ways:

    1. Change the intensity level of your workout.
    2. Change the repetitions along with the intensity level of your workout.
      Note: When the intensity level goes up the repetitions should go down,
      when the intensity level goes down the repetitions should go up.
    3. Change the length of the workout.
    4. Change the exercises used during the workout.
    5. Change the sequence of exercises.

List 4 variations of the bench press done in class.

4) Multiple Joint Vs Single Joint Exercises

Multi- joint exercises employ the use of more than one joint for a given exercise, therefore employing the use of more than one muscle group. Multi- joint exercises work more muscle groups than single- joint & should be completed first in the workout.

Single joint exercises tend to stress the smaller muscle groups. These should be worked last so they do not hinder the smaller muscles ability to work with larger groups during multi- joint lifts. This will result in a lowered incidence of injury.

List examples of multi- joint lifts

 

List examples of single joint lifts

 

5) F.I.T. Concept

Frequency: How often do you exercise per week? (exercise sessions per week)
Aerobic activities must be performed at least three times per week to reach an adequate level of cardiovascular fitness. Strength training must be performed a minimum of 2-3 times a week to build up adequate strength levels.

Intensity: How hard is your exercise session? (Level of intensity)
To obtain the greatest cardiovascular benefit, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that the intensity of your training be sufficient to increase your heart rate to a range of 60% to 90% of your maximum heart rate.  This is your target heart rate zone.  To find your target heart rate zone:
220 - (minus your age) x .90 = Upper limit of your target heart rate zone
220 - (minus your age) x .60 = Lower limit of your target heart rate zone.

For strength training one needs to exercise at 50- 95% of their 1 repitition max in order to receive benefits. However, in order to maximize these gains one should begin with high reps and a low intensity. You should gradually decrease the amount of reps you perform and increase the intensity. This is called periodization. Periods, or cycles, should last between 8- 12 weeks in length.

Time: How long do you exercise?  (Duration of the exercise session)
To achieve all the values of cardiovasculur training, you must maintain the target heart rate (60% - 90%) for a minimum of 20 minutes.  As you become more fit, you should increase the your time in the target heart rate zone to gain a higher level of fitness.  However the intensity level may need to be reduced or lowered, in order for your body to accommodate or handle the stress from the increase in time.

For strength training workout sessions should last no more than 1 ½ hours. Any longer than this and overtraining may occur.

 

 

Part V: Flexibility Concepts

1) Benefits of Flexibility

2) Types of Stretching

*   Active: An active stretch is one where you assume a position and then hold it there with no assistance other than using the strength of your agonist muscles. For example, bringing your leg up high and then holding it there without anything (other than your leg muscles themselves) to keep the leg in that extended position.

*   Passive: A passive stretch is one where you assume a position and hold it with some other part of your body, or with the assistance of a partner or some other apparatus. For example, bringing your leg up high and then holding it there with your hand.

*   Ballistic: Ballistic stretching uses the momentum of a moving body or a limb in an attempt to force it beyond its normal range of motion. This is stretching, or "warming up", by bouncing into (or out of) a stretched position, using the stretched muscles as a spring which pulls you out of the stretched position. (e.g. bouncing down repeatedly to touch your toes.) This type of stretching is not considered useful and can lead to injury.

*   PNF: PNF is an acronym for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. PNF refers to any of several post-isometric relaxation stretching techniques in which a muscle group is passively stretched, then contracts isometrically against resistance while in the stretched position, and then is passively stretched again through the resulting increased range of motion. PNF stretching usually employs the use of a partner to provide resistance against the isometric contraction.

*   Dynamic: Dynamic stretching, according to Kurz, "involves moving parts of your body and gradually increasing reach, speed of movement, or both." Do not confuse dynamic stretching with ballistic stretching! Dynamic stretching consists of controlled leg and arm swings that take you (gently!) to the limits of your range of motion. In dynamic stretches, there are no bounces or "jerky" movements. An example of dynamic stretching would be slow, controlled leg swings, arm swings, or torso twists.

 

List one example each of a passive, dynamic, & PNF stretch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part V: Warming Up & Cooling Down

 

1) Benefits of proper warm-up and cool down

Warming up brings about important physiological changes that reduce the risk of injury, while also preparing the body for higher levels of effort and energy utilization.

Specifically...a gradual warm-up:

Blood tends to accumulate in the lower body when a vigorous exercise session is stopped abruptly. With reduced blood return, cardiac output decreases and lightheadedness may occur. Because muscle movement helps squeeze blood back to the heart, it is important to continue lower level physical activity after the exercise session is completed (i.e. the cool-down period).

The best activities for both are simply to work at a much lower pace in an aerobic/cardiovascular activity that you are using for training. Examples include slow cycling on a bike or walking on a treadmill. As a general guideline, a 5 – 10 minute session should be dedicated for both warming-up and cooling-down.

 

                Design a 6 exercise cool down for your needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part VII: Rest & Recovery

 

Consecutive days of hard resistance training for the same muscle group can be detrimental. The muscles must be allowed sufficient recovery time to adapt. Strength training can be done every day only if the exercised muscle groups are rotated, so that the same muscle or muscle group is not exercised on consecutive days. There should be at least a 48-hour recovery period between workouts for the same muscle groups. For example, the legs can be trained with weights on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and the upper body muscles on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Recovery is also important within a workout. The recovery time between different exercises and sets depends, in part, on the intensity of the workout.

Rest Between Sets

*   Conditioning Cycle: 30sec to 1min.

*   Hypertrophy Cycle: 1 to 1 ½ min.

*   Strength Cycle: 2 to 2 ½ min.

*   Power Cycle: 2 ½ to 3 min.

*   Peak Cycle: 3 to 4 min.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part VIII: Applying the Concepts

 

1) Apply FIT to Cardiovascular Training

           

*   Overload:

Frequency:

Intensity:

Time:

 

*   Progression:

 

*   Specificity:

 

2) Apply FIT to Flexibility Training

           

*   Overload:

Frequency:

Intensity:

Time:

 

*   Progression: