There is a huge attrition rate among those starting a strength
training program primarily because most people are not taught
the principles essential for a safe and effective program.
This
article is part two of a five part series discussing the very
important principles and guidelines of a safe and effective
strength training program. This article discusses the importance
of forcing blood to your muscles and proper lifting speed. The
previous article, part one of this five part series, explained
the proper methods of warming-up, stretching, and cooling-down
for a safe and effective strength training program. The following
exercise guidelines are extremely important for your safety
and the effectiveness of your strength training program.
Importance
of Blood Supply to your Muscles It is important to understand
the value and purpose of targeting or forcing blood to the muscles
you are training. Many of the principles we teach have the sole
purpose of forcing blood into your muscles. When you use proper
lifting technique, you will notice blood racing to the specific
muscle you are training. And this is exactly what you want to
happen.
When
blood is forced into your muscles during your weightlifting
program it potentiates the "microtrauma" or tiny little
tears in your muscles that we mentioned earlier. When this happens,
your muscle tissues repair and rebuild themselves bigger and
stronger than they were--if you allow ample resting time. This
is why you never train the same muscle group two days in a row;
if you do, you cut off the rebuilding process.
You
will know that you are using proper form when you feel a warmth,
some fatigue, and a "burning" feeling at the end of
each set for each muscle group. If you do not get this feeling,
you probably need to review the proper form for your exercise.
This may be an indication that you are making other common mistakes
in your routine that do not allow blood to be fully targeted
to the your muscles.
One
of the most common mistakes people make is not training their
muscle groups in an organized, systematic fashion. Always do
every set and every exercise for specific muscle groups together.
For example, if your chest routine consists of three sets of
bench press, do all three sets, separated by resting periods,
and then go on to the next muscle group. Or, if your chest routine
consists of two or three different chest exercises, do all of
those chest exercises together. Do the Bench Press, then Incline
Bench Press, then Flys, for example--until your chest routine
is complete. Then you can move on to the next muscle group.
Many
people make the mistake of doing a set of Bench Press for their
chest, then a set of Biceps Curls, then another set of Bench
Press, and then on to another muscle group, and so on. This
does not fully target blood into any one muscle group. You are
just teasing your chest muscles and then moving on to tease
another muscle group without ever targeting enough blood into
any muscle group to cause much stimulation for improvement.
Another
common mistake is eating right before your training program
or eating too soon after your program. This can cause your heart
and digestive system to work too hard and compromise the oxygen
and nutrient delivery to the working muscles. Eating just before
or too soon after your workout will not allow you to get enough
blood into the muscles you are training.
Think
about this: Digestion takes a lot of blood to work effectively.
The more blood your body sends to digest your food the less
blood is available to go to your muscles, to rebuild and increase
strength. You should wait at least 60 minutes after eating before
you start your exercise program.
Similarly,
do not eat too soon after ending your workout because you want
the blood that you just targeted into each specific muscle to
remain there as long as possible. If you eat food too soon after
your workout, the blood will be forced out of your muscles and
into your digestive system. So wait at least 60 minutes after
your program before you eat a meal.
Of
course you should not go to your workouts hungry; you definitely
want nutrients in your system for performance enhancement and
energy, but try to eat an hour or more before workouts, and
make sure your meal includes foods that are rich in complex
carbohydrates and protein and low in fat, sugar, and cholesterol.
Lifting
Speed
One
of the most important elements in weightlifting--one that has
a big effect on how much blood is targeted to your muscles--is
lifting speed. Speed plays a major role in the incidence of
injury as well as strength and muscle development. Fast lifting
creates momentum and doesn't promote blood flow to the muscle.
Slow movement creates less momentum and less internal muscle
friction. Not only does slow lifting require a more even application
of muscle power throughout the movement range, it actually promotes
rapid blood flow into the specific muscle you are training.
In
every strength training exercise for every muscle there are
two different parts to each repetition of the exercise set performed.
One, the concentric contraction--called the "positive"
phase of the repetition—is the part where the muscle is actually
doing the work, such as the lifting motion of the bicep curl--from
the beginning where your arms are hanging straight down to the
point where the weight is lifted up. The second part is the
eccentric contraction--called the "negative" phase
of the repetition--is the part with resistance, because you
are returning the weight from the end of the positive phase
back to the beginning. In the bicep curl, this is where you
let the weight come back slowly to the beginning position, with
your arms extended straight down again.
It
is more important to let the weight come back slowly on the
"negative" phase than on the "positive"
phase. Coming back slowly with resistance on every exercise
is very, very important because this is the phase that promotes
blood flow to your muscles and thus causes microtrauma, building
your muscles even stronger during your day of rest. We recommend
one to two seconds for each lifting movement (the positive phase),
and three to four seconds for each lowering movement (the negative
phase). Whatever your actual lifting speed, remember to always
come back slower with resistance (the negative phase) for each
and every weightlifting exercise. If you find that the weight
is so heavy that you cannot come back slowly in full control
of the movement, you should lighten the weight until you can.
Many people pay far too much attention to the quantity or weight
of the lift and not the quality of the movement performed. Your
muscles cannot know how much weight is on the bar or machine,
but they will respond very well when you are using good, controlled
form and come back slowly with resistance.
Please
check back for Part three, where I'll discuss the importance
of proper lifting technique, exercising through the full range
of motion, proper exercise sequence, and the correct number
of sets for what you're trying to achieve. Until then, remember
to use slow lifting speeds and try to get as much blood into
the specific muscle you are training as possible. Good luck,
and enjoy all the wonderful benefits of strength training.
Chad Tackett
is President of Global Health & Fitness. Learn how you
can have your own personal online trainer, dietician and motivator
at
http://www.global-fitness.com
