General Guidelines for Strength Training :: essays research papers

General Guidelines for Strength Training1. Train with a high level of intensity. It has been shown that the harder you train (intensity), the greater the adaptive response. A high level of intensity is characterized by performing an exercise to the point of concentric (positive) muscular failure, i.e., youve exhausted your muscles to the extent that the weight cannot be moved for any more repetitions.2. Follow the "double progression" technique in regards to repetitions and weight. For a muscle to addition in size and strength it essential be forced to do progressively harder work. Your muscles must be overloaded with a workload that is increased steadily throughout the course of your program, often referred to as progressive overload. Therefore every time you work out you should attempt to increase either the weight you use or the repetitions you perform relative to your foregoing workout. Each time you attain the maximum number of repetitions, you should increase the i mpedance for your next workout. The point to remember is that the weight must always be challenging. The resistance should be increased in an amount that you are comfortable with, usually approximately 5-10%3. Perform unrivalled-two sets of each exercise. In order for a muscle to increase in size/strength it must be fatigued or overloaded for an adaptive response to occur. It really doesnt matter whether you fatigue your muscles in one set or several sets - as long as your muscles experience a certain level of exhaustion. Numerous research studies have shown that there are no significant differences when performing either one, two or three sets of an exercise, provided, of course, that one is done with an appropriate level of intensity, to the point of concentric muscular failure.4. go on concentric (lifting phase) muscular failure within a prescribed number of repetitions. The general recommendation is 8-12 reps, but this can vary from individual to individual and for incompati ble body parts and depending on the individuals goals. Normally, a rep scheme may be anywhere from 6-10 to 12-15.5. Perform each repetition with proper form. This one we cant pains enough as its such a common mistake, especially among young trainees. A repetition should be performed by raising and lowering the weight in a deliberate, controlled manner. So how many seconds per repetition? The general guideline is a 6 second repetition consisting of a 2 second lifting (concentric) phase, followed by a 4 second lowering (eccentric) phase.