- April 2008
- Volume 4
Inside this Issue
- Feature Article – Strength Training Guidelines
- Exercise of the Month – Foam Roller Chest & Groin Stretch
- Sports Training and Technique – Keeping Perspective
Strength Training Guidelines
Strength training is an important component of your fitness program. The resistance used can be in the form of machines, free weights, medicine balls, tubing or bands, and body weight. Regardless of how resistance is applied here are some tips to keep in mind.
Warm-up and Cool-Down: Perform an aerobic warm-up such as walking or an exercise machine for at least five minutes to distribute blood throughout the body to all the muscles that will be trained. If time permits do the same at the end of the workout before stretching to help with recovery.
Stretch: Always stretch the muscles you have used. Hold stretches for a minimum of 30 seconds and don’t bounce.
Breathe: Exhale during exertion and inhale while recovering.
Exercise Order: Start with the large muscle groups and multiple joint movements and progress down to the smaller muscle groups and single joint movements.
Balance Exercises: Include opposing, agonist/antagonist, muscle groups. When you perform an exercise such as a biceps curl the agonist, biceps muscle, is shortening while the antagonist, triceps muscle, is lengthening. The biceps curl should be balanced with an exercise for the triceps.
Rest: A minimum of 48 hours before strength training with the same muscle group again. Strength training breaks down the muscle so that it can grow back stronger. Adequate rest is necessary so that this rebuilding can occur.
Muscle Specificity: Your body will become strong in the postures you assume including joint angles and speed of movement. If you are training to improve sports performance then mimic sports positions and speed when strength training. For example have your feet pedal width apart while doing leg press and handle bar width apart when rowing or performing bench-press.
Progressive Overload: To gain strength the muscles must be consistently overloaded with increasing resistance, number of repetitions per set, or number of total sets.
Load, Repetitions, Sets, and Rest Intervals:
| Training Goal | Load | Reps | Sets | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Strength | High | 6 or less | 2-6 | 2-5 min. |
| Power | High | 3-5 | 3-6 | 2-5 min. |
| Hypertrophy | Moderate | 6-12 | 3-6 | 30 sec. - 1.5 min. |
| Endurance | Light | 12 or more | 2-3 | 30 sec. or less |
Alternating Exercises: Four Techniques
- Alternate upper and lower Body exercises.
Example: chest fly and back row. - Supersets - alternate between agonist and antagonist muscles.
Example: hamstring curl and leg extension. - Alternate push and pull exercises.
Example: bench press and lat pull down. - Compound Sets - two consecutive exercises for the same muscle group. Example: leg press and lunges.
Reference: The Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning
Foam Roller Chest & Groin Stretch
This month's exercise was inspired by my husband Ken who is shown below limbering up for a round of golf.
In this photo Ken is reclined on a foam roller. A rolled up towel or blanket can also be used. Ensure that the support is placed along the spine and your head to pelvis are supported. Arms are relaxed on the floor in line with the chest and the feet are pressed together while the knees gently fall out to the sides. Hold this posture for a minimum of 30 seconds and up to several minutes for maximum benefit.
Keeping Perspective
Why do we choose to participate in and race in sports? There are many motivations – to finish, to win, to improve our time, to have fun, the list goes on. And the reasons may change relative to the type of event, our level of preparation and training, the time of year, who’s participating, our health, etc. Our ambitions can even change during the event.
A personal story on keeping perspective…
A few weeks ago my husband (Ken) and I skied the Big Shooter Bonk 60 km cross-country race. I was inspired because I had never done the race before and Ken had completed it a few years back and talked of how it was fast and flat. Since neither of us had the time to ski much and had been sick leading up to the race we didn't have competitive aspirations but rather thought this would be a nice way to end the season with a long, beautiful ski.
Shortly into the race it was clear that this was not the fast, flat race I had hoped for with several short, steep hills. I would learn later that the course had been changed from what Ken had skied previously. The skiing was great and the trail weaved though spectacular aspen groves. As I was enjoying the skiing and nearing the first aid station I saw a familiar figure on the trail ahead, it was Ken. We met up at the aid station and decided to ski together. What a nice bonus, to not be alone in the wind and skiing with my hubby! Another women tagged onto us and when we reached the second aid station it was time to start turning skiers back. Since we were on the edge of the time limit we were allowed to continue and it was here that I found out I was in second place. We skied on and the other woman with us eventually turned back.
Upon reaching the turn around another woman caught up with us. She hurried away and for the next 10 or more km we chased with Ken in the lead going strong and eventually we passed her. At the next aid station as we were setting to depart there she was again! Off she went and this time we were tired and Ken had used up his energy (too much golf). What to do – leave him and chase her for second place or stay with him and take it easier for third?
Remembering what my goal was for the race – to experience skiing for a long time on new trails at the end of the season and with the added benefit of skiing with Ken, I stayed. We skied and stopped and talked and enjoyed the view, the skiing, and the time together. I made the right decision with no regrets; it was a great day of skiing!