Chapter 13

Resistance Training Concepts

Purpose

• To provide the fitness professional with the fundamental concepts related to resistance training

• To allow the fitness professional to select and administer the appropriate resistance training protocol for all clients

Objectives

• After this presentation, the participant will be able to:– Describe the stages of the general adaptation syndrome.– Define and describe the principle of specificity and

adaptation.– Define stability, muscular endurance, hypertrophy, strength,

and power.

Introduction

• The final component of the workout template

• Generally seen as the most important component

• Without a proper assessment and flexibility protocol and attention to the client’s goal(s), can become more of a hindrance than help

Adaptation

• Adaptation is the most common driving force for most clients and training programs.– Cosmetic, health, or performance related

• Benefits– Improve cardiovascular efficiency– Increase lean body mass– Decrease body fat– Increase metabolic efficiency– Increase tissue tensile strength– Increase bone density– Improve endocrine and serum lipid adaptations

General Adaptation Syndrome

• Human movement system (HMS) seeks to maintain physiologic balance (homeostasis).

The Principle of Adaptation

• Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (SAID Principle) – HMS specifically adapts to the types of demands placed on it.

The Principle of Adaptation

• Degree of adaptation during training – Strongly related to the mechanical specificity,

neuromuscular specificity, and metabolic specificity of the training program

– The more similar the exercise is to the actual activity (movement speed, movement pattern specificity, bioenergetic specificity), the greater the carryover into real-life settings.

Principle of Specificity

• Mechanical specificity refers to the weight and movements placed on the body.– To develop muscular endurance of the legs requires light

weights and high repetitions when performing leg-related exercises.

– To develop maximal strength in the chest, heavy weights must be used during chest-related exercises.

– Neuromuscular specificity refers to the speed of contraction and exercise selection.

Principle of Specificity

• Metabolic specificity refers to the energy demand placed on the body. – To develop endurance, training will require prolonged bouts

of exercise, with minimal rest periods between sets. • Endurance training primarily uses aerobic pathways to supply

energy for the body.

– To develop maximal strength or power, training will require longer rest periods, so the intensity of each bout of exercise remains high.

• Energy will be supplied primarily via the anaerobic pathways.

General Adaptation Syndrome

• General adaptation syndrome (GAS) is a term used to describe how the body responds and adapts to stress. – In this case the stress being placed on the body is the weight

being lifted during resistance training.

• This general pattern of adaptation was first described by Hans Selye, who outlined three stages of response to stress: – Alarm reaction– Resistance development– Exhaustion

Alarm Reaction Stage

• The alarm reaction is the initial reaction to a stressor. – The alarm reaction activates a number of physiological and

psychological protective processes within the body.

• During the alarm stage of resistance training, numerous physiologic responses occur, including – Increase in oxygen and blood supply – Neural recruitment to the working muscles

Resistance Development Stage

• During the resistance development stage, the body increases its functional capacity to adapt to the stressor. – After repeated training sessions, the human movement

system will increase its capability to efficiently recruit muscle fibers and distribute oxygen and blood to the proper areas in the body.

Exhaustion Stage

• Prolonged stress or intolerable amounts of stress can lead to exhaustion or distress. – When a stressor is too much for any one of the physiologic

systems to handle, it causes a breakdown or injury such as• Stress fractures

• Muscle strains

• Joint pain

• Emotional fatigue

Progressive Strength Adaptations

• Definition of Strength– The ability of the neuromuscular system to produce internal

tension (in the muscles and connective tissue that pull on the bones) to overcome an external force

Strength Adaptations

• Five main categories – Stabilization– Muscular endurance– Muscular hypertrophy– Strength– Power

• All occur in a progressive sequence– Stabilization before strength– Strength before power

Stabilization

• Must be established before training for other adaptations because it specifically focuses on the recruitment of tissues in the body responsible for postural stability with the appropriate amounts of stress

• Getting the right muscles to fire, with the right amount of force, in the proper plane of motion, and at the right time

Muscular Endurance

• The ability to maintain force production for prolonged periods

• Helps increase core and joint stabilization

• Resistance training protocols using high repetitions are the most effective way to improve muscular endurance.

Hypertrophy

• The enlargement of skeletal muscle fibers in response to increased volumes of tension

• Muscle fibers must be recruited to induce hypertrophy. – Provides the necessary information as to why clients should

start and revisit the stabilization period of training before entering into the strength period

Strength

• Strength adaptations provide the necessary progression from the stabilization adaptations of training to increase the stress placed on the body, allowing for new adaptations to be achieved.

• Heavier weights and higher volumes of training are used to increase the recruitment, synchronization, and firing rate of motor units, while placing necessary mechanical stress on the muscles to force increase in size and strength.

Power

• The ability of the neuromuscular system to produce the greatest possible force in the shortest possible time

• An increase in either force or velocity will produce an increase in power

• Achieved by increasing either the weight (force) or the speed that a weight is moved (velocity)

Resistance Training Systems

• Single-Set System

• Multiple-Set System

• Pyramid System

• Superset System

• Circuit-Training System

• Peripheral Heart Action System

• Split-Routine System

• Vertical and Horizontal Loading

Single-Set System

• One set of each exercise

• Good for first-time clients – Allows for proper adaptive responses of the connective

tissue and nervous system before engaging in more rigorous training systems

– As beneficial as multiple-set training for beginning clients

Multiple-Set System

• Multiple sets of each exercise – Superior to single-set training for the advanced client

Pyramid System

             

 

Superset System

• Two exercises performed in rapid succession

• Uses independent systems with similar principles– Tri-set system

• Three exercises in rapid succession

– Giant-set system• More than three exercises in rapid succession

Drop-Set System

• Performing a set to failure, then removing a small percentage of the load (5–20%) and continuing with the set for a small number of repetitions

• Advanced form of resistance training suitable for experienced lifters

Circuit-Training System

• A series of exercises performed one after the other with minimal rest

• Ideal for those with limited time and those who want to alter body composition

Circuit-Training System

Peripheral Heart Action System

• Variation of circuit training

• Alternates upper and lower body exercises

• Distributes blood flow between the upper and lower extremities

• Beneficial for incorporating an integrated, multidimensional program for altering body composition

Peripheral Heart Action System

Vertical Loading

• Progresses a workout vertically down the OPT™ template

Horizontal Loading

• Perform all sets of an exercise or body part before moving on to the next exercise or body part.

Split-Routine System

• Training different body parts on separate days

• More work can be performed for the allotted time per workout

Split-Routine System

Summary

• The OPT™ model follows a progressive, systematic approach that enables the fitness professional to make consistent gains with all clients through training manipulations to achieve various goals.

• It is critical to develop appropriate stabilization before performing exercises with heavy load (strength) or high velocity (power).

• There are many training systems that can be used to structure a resistance-training program for different effects, including single-set, multiple-set, pyramid system, circuit training, peripheral heart action, split-routine, vertical loading, and horizontal loading.