RESEARCH LIBRARY

STRENGTH TRAINING

FULL BODY ROUTINES

Full-body routines have a role in a regular exercise program, and they're excellent for trainees at all fitness levels-as long as you know the benefits and limitations. The benefits include being able to train the entire body with fewer workouts per week, taking up less total time per workout and per week. When workouts last more than 60 minutes, there are higher dropout rates, so if a whole-body or any workout takes more than an hour, there's a greater chance of the trainee's dropping out.

Full-body workouts give beginners an opportunity to experiment with unfamiliar movements and at the same time develop the fitness base necessary for more advance routines. A great part of beginning bodybuilders' improvements in strength comes from the neural component-learning how to lift properly and learning with muscles to use effectively during the movement. Because much of the initial adaptation to weight training is neural rather than muscular, it takes less overload to elicit an adaptation. In fact, too much overload may actually put trainees at a disadvantage. While greater frequency of training and additional sets and reps bring good gains, for most beginning and intermediate level workouts the difference is usually small. For beginners the question becomes, why do more than is necessary for optimal improvement?

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has established guidelines for resistance training for the general public, recommending whole-body workouts performed twice per week to develop and maintain muscular strength and endurance in healthy adults. The recommended minimal session is one set of eight to 12 repetitions to near fatigue for eight to 10 exercises that condition the major muscle groups. Beginners can stay on that type of program as long as they continue to make progress, and as they advance, slowly add additional sets before moving to split routines or more intricate programs.

After using this routine for a period of months or years, trainees who desire even greater improvements can implement a more advanced, split routine. Athletes who use weight training to supplement their sports may use a two-day bodypart split once a week to target moderate-recovery workout, in which they train each bodypart a second time at a lower intensity. Advanced bodybuilders can use full-body workouts on easy-to-moderate days for recovery and added variety. They can also use such programs for maintenance training and time efficiency during the off-season and while traveling
Aug97IM

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GAIN BEST WITH MORE REST

How much time you spend between sets is usually dependent on how long it takes your workout partner to perform a set plus the time it takes to change the weights. In weightlifting competition lifters get three minutes between lifts to prepare themselves physically and mentally. What is the optimum time for maximum performance? The typical recommendation is anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes. Scientific data points to midway between the two-two to three minutes.

The primary energy source for lifting is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP and creatine phosphate (CP) fall into the category of high-energy phosphagens. The phosphagen systems provide energy for sports activities that last several seconds and are also involved in all forms of muscle contraction as a link between fuel sources and the contraction. The ability to restore your high-energy phosphagens is therefore crucial for performance from one set to the next.

Research has identified the half time for phosphagen replenishment at 20 to 30 seconds. This means that after 30 seconds of rest following a brief, intense set, 50 percent of your muscle ATP and CP will be restored. Phosphagen stores will be 75 percent restored after 60 seconds, and after three minutes they will be 98 percent recovered. As 93 percent of your phosphagen pools are restored after two minutes, most of the recovery occurs within the first two minutes of rest.

Since high-energy phosphagens are of prime importance for optimal lifting, you want your stores to be back to normal before you begin your next set. For this reason a rest interval of two to three minutes between sets appears optimal in order to maintain your energy levels and get the most out of each set.
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MUSCLE vs MUSCLE TONE

Many people train simply to increase their muscle tone without gaining size. In fact, most women in the gym, many first time female bodybuilders fear that they'll get big and bulky if they lift weights. They don't realize how hard it is to put on muscle mass.

So what exactly is a toned muscle? It's simply a muscle that has been trained and is hard and shapely. Knowing muscle physiology as we do, we realize the importance of heavy-resistance training in recruiting all the fibers within a muscle. If you don't lift heavy weights, then not all the fibers will be trained and the muscle will lack tone. An untrained muscle appears loose and flaccid and is often mistaken for fat. In order to train and tone an entire muscle, you've got to lift heavy weights to work all the fibers. By keeping you total sets and reps low even when hoisting heavy poundage's, you'll train each muscle in its entirety without the added bulk that's developed when lifters use heavy weights with higher sets and reps.
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SQUAT FOR YOUR KNEES

How often have you heard people swear off squats for fear they'll injure their knees? The National Strength and Conditioning Association recently published a position paper regarding the use and efficacy of the squat in training, and according to its findings, that often-heard statement is misinformed. In fact, the paper states, "squats, when performed correctly and with appropriate supervision, are not only safe but may be a significant deterrent to knee injuries."

The author refers to numerous recent scientific studies indicating that weight training and squats in particular improve knee joint stability and help strengthen the muscles, ligaments and tendons of the knee. Researchers now believe that many injuries to the knee and low back are the result of incorrect exercise form, fatigue and overtraining. Proper strengthening your hips and thighs, but it will also enhance your overall body strength and performance in many sports.
March93IM

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TESTOSTERONE AND TOO MUCH TRAINING

Many negative physiological changes occur as the result of stress and overtraining. While a threshold level of stress is necessary to elicit the positive changes that athletes desire from their training-for example, increased muscle mass and power, an enhanced cardiovascular system, increased endurance and an improved appearance-when the exercise is too stressful, they begin to experience those undesirable changes. Symptoms of overtraining include elevated resting heart rate, loss of appetite, lethargy, weight loss and irritability, as well as changes in the testosterone and hormones involved in a stress response.

Research shows that testosterone levels are temporarily decreased as a result of overtraining, while serum cortisol levels increase. Cortisol is a catabolic steroid hormone that's released as a result of physical stress and is involved in the inflammatory response. In runners and cyclists testosterone levels decreased by 50 percent and cortisol levels increased approximately threefold after intense competition.

These changes are disadvantageous for an athlete, especially a bodybuilder who's trying to pack on muscle mass. Bodybuilders, therefore, should follow a more prudent training approach to avoid crossing the line from adequate to excessive training. Keep track of your body's signals and avoid the pitfalls that come from training too intensely.
May92IM

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LACTIC ACID REMOVAL

One of the byproducts of weight training is lactic acid buildup. Lactic acid levels increase following high-intensity exercise that is primarily anaerobic-for example, sprinting and weightlifting. High levels of lactic acid stimulate the free nerve endings around the muscle fibers, which results in the burning sensation you feel after high-intensity training. A recent study tested massage and light exercise as compared to inactivity to see which form of rest, active or passive, was best for removing the lactic acid from the trained muscles.

During a 50-minute period after the subjects trained, they either rested completely, got a massage or performed light exercise at 35 to 45 percent of their max, after which the researchers measured their lactic acid levels. The results showed that both massage and light activity led to significantly lower blood lactate levels than complete rest. With light exercise, however, the lactic acid levels dropped lower than both the massage and rest groups at 15 and 30 minutes, yet at 50 minutes there was no difference between the massage and light exercise groups-both exhibited levels that were half of those seen in the rest group. The researchers concluded that massage and exercise remove lactic acid better than rest. Furthermore, the effects of exercise are rapid, while those of massage are gradual.
May92IM

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THE CALORIC COST OF LIFTING

There seems to be a lot of confusion as to how many calories a person actually uses during a resistance-training workout. While there have been many studies done on the various forms of aerobic exercise, resistance training and energy expenditure hasn't been a popular research subject. Aerobic exercise is continuos in nature; Weightlifting is intermittent, with reason it is more difficult to control the caloric expenditure for weightlifting.

Depending on the type of resistance training, the average caloric expenditure for a 150-pound weightlifter ranges from values of 5.5 to 6 kcal/min for Nautilus and isometric-resistance exercise to 12.5 kcal/min for circuit weightlifting. Isotonic, isokinetic and hydraulic forms of resistance training fall in the range of 9 to 10 kcal/min.

Remember, however, that this represents the caloric cost of lifting, not of the entire time spent in the gym. Using a mean value of 9 kcal per minute, we can estimate that a typical hour workout, in which one- third to one-half of the time is spent resting between sets, would result in an expenditure of between 180 and 270 calories. A comparable hour spent walking would expend 325 calories, even though walking has a lower caloric cost (5.4 kcal/min).

Don't let these values mislead you, however. Aside from the health benefits of resistance training, the additional muscle mass boost your overall metabolic rate, which cause you to burn more calories, throughout the day than you did in you less-lean condition.
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ACTIVE REST

When sprinters do intervals on the track, they often jog between repeats rather than stop completely. Cyclists, too, intersperse short jumps or sprints within a training ride to enhance their explosive power.

If the rest period after such intense effort involves active rest, it improves recovery. When exercise continues at a lower intensity, a pumping action of the working muscles aids in the removal of waste metabolites, including lactic acid. The light activity also maintains a higher metabolic rate in the surrounding muscle fibers, which causes those fibers to utilize the lactic acid.

Similar light activity should prove advantageous for weightlifters both for recovery between sets as well as recuperation between workouts. Although the high energy phosphagens play a key role in supplying energy during weightlifting, studies have also shown that active rest intervals, as opposed to passive rest, lead to superior performance in repeated, short-term, high-intensity power activities. Future studies may prove the advantages to what bodybuilders have practiced for a long time: a light flexing of the muscle after each set. So rather than sitting around waiting for your training partner to finish a set, start moving, lightly flex your muscles, and reap the benefits on each successive set.
Sept91IM

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LEG DEVELOPMENT

Will leg extensions selectively strengthen and develop the inner portion of the quadriceps, the vastus medialis? Many trainers experience fatigue in the inner quad while performing extensions, yet research does not back up the ideal that such fatigue actually takes place.

Scientists examined the strength and fatigability of the vastus medialis and the vastus lateralis during leg extension exercise, and the study provided no evidence of selective fatigue of the medialis. In fact the results indicated that in 57 percent of the subjects the vastus lateralis fatigued at a significantly faster rate. Leg extensions also seem to strengthen both regions at similar rates, and there is no selective strengthening or development of the medial region with this exercise. Leg extensions appear to be an optimal exercise for overall lower quad development, and unless you change your leg or foot position to change the line of pull, they will work that lateralis as much as the medialis.
Aug91IM
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MEDICAL EXPERTS RECOMMEND LIFTING

The medical community is finally beginning to recognize the benefits of weightlifting, something readers of this magazine have known for years. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recently altered its exercise guidelines to include strength training along with aerobic exercise. For years the ACSM recommended a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times per week for healthy adults to maintain cardiovascular fitness. That recommendation now includes at least two sessions of moderate-intensity resistance training per week.

The ACSM prescribes a minimum of eight to 10 exercises that work the large muscle groups, with each movement done for eight to 12 repetitions. While this program won't turn out Olympia competitors, it will improve people's fitness levels and increase the general public's awareness of the benefits of weight training. Strength training should go hand in hand with cardiovascular training to provide a more balanced approach to fitness. The new SACSM guidelines bring us one step closer to that goal.
Oct91IM

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