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Types of strength training
There are different ways to increase strength, each with its own goals,
equipment, methods and/or results.
Isometric exercise
Plyometrics
Pilates
Martial arts
Apart from the obvious weights and resistance bands, there are a number of other
items of exercise equipment that can be used while or to compliment strength
training:
Swiss balls or Wobble boards
Levering weights like Indian clubs
Punching bag
Aerobic exercise versus anaerobic exercise
Strength training exercise is primarily anaerobic. Even while training at a
lower intensity (training loads of ~20-RM), anaerobic glycolysis is still the
major source of power, although aerobic metabolism makes a small contribution.
Weight training is commonly perceived as anaerobic exercise, because one of the
more common goals is to increase strength by lifting heavy weights. Other goals
such as rehabilitation, weight loss, body shaping, and bodybuilding often use
lower weights, adding aerobic character to the exercise.
Except in the extremes, a muscle will fire fibres of both the aerobic or
anaerobic types on any given exercise, in varying ratio depending on the load on
the intensity of the contraction. This is known as the energy system continuum.
At higher loads, the muscle will recruit all muscle fibres possible, both
anaerobic ("fast-twitch") and aerobic ("slow-twitch"), in order to generate the
most force. However, at maximum load, the anaerobic processes contract so
forcefully that the aerobic fibers are completely shut out, and all work is done
by the anaerobic processes. Because the anaerobic muscle fibre uses its fuel
faster than the blood and intracellular restorative cycles can resupply it, the
maximum number of repetitions is limited. In the aerobic regime, the blood and
intracellular processes can maintain a supply of fuel and oxygen, and continual
repetition of the motion will not cause the muscle to fail.
Circuit weight training is a form of exercise that uses a number of weight
training exercise sets separated by short intervals. The cardiovascular effort
to recover from each set serves a function similar to an aerobic exercise, but
this is not the same as saying that a weight training set is itself an aerobic
process.
Exercises for specific muscle groups
Weight training exercises
The back extension should be left to the end of the workout, because in other
exercises the lower back muscles are used to keep the back straight. This is not
possible if the muscles have already been exercised and exhausted.Weight
trainers commonly divide the body's individual muscles into ten major muscle
groups. These do not include the hip, neck and forearm muscles, which are rarely
trained in isolation. The most common exercises for these muscle groups are
listed below. (Videos of these and other exercises are available at exrx.net and
from the University of Wisconsin.) The sequence shown below is one possible way
to order the exercises. The large muscles of the lower body are normally trained
before the smaller muscles of the upper body, because these first exercises
require more mental and physical energy. The core muscles of the torso are
trained before the shoulder and arm muscles that assist them. Exercises often
alternate between "pushing" and "pulling" movements to allow their specific
supporting muscles time to recover. The stabilising muscles in the waist should
be trained last.
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