Training Methods Hypertrophy and Strength: Fast, Maximum and Resistant

Muscle strength is the ability of the human machine to face all those situations in which it is necessary to overcome a resistance or oppose it.

Muscle strength is increased already in the first months of life, allowing us to carry out that obligatory course that brings us to the standing position in a short time and then walking.

Compared to the past, in modern sport there are no activities that do not include training to improve strength, most often through the use of overloads; the latter, sometimes even unjustly criticized, are the most appropriate means of increasing strength and muscle mass.

Force classifications

Ceiling or pure: maximum expression of strength that the neuromuscular system is able to express with a voluntary contraction (load prevalence at the expense of speed)
Fast: ability to overcome or overcome a resistance with a high rate of contraction (prevalence of speed on the load)
Resistant: ability to oppose a load for a relatively long period of time

Anatomo-functional characteristics that positively influence performance capacity:

Transverse muscle section (size)
Insertion of the levers on the bone segments
Frequency of neural impulses per unit of time
Number of fibers to which impulses are transmitted
Biofeedback speed of the organs responsible for the return of information to the central nervous system (Renshaw cells, Golgi tendinous corpuscles)
The synchronization of the contraction of the various motor units (intramuscular coordination)
Prevalence of fast muscle fibers on the lens
Coordinated intervention of synergistic muscles
Optimal presence of energy sources
Low internal friction between muscle fibers during contraction
Amount of androgenic hormones produced

Various types of contractions

Concentric (exceeding or isotonic): approach of the two articular heads
Eccentric (ceding): distancing of the two articular heads
Isometric (static): unchanged distance of the two articular heads
Pliometric (elastic): rapid inversion from the eccentric force to the concentric force
Auxotoninica: combination of isometric and isotonic force (muscle tone unchanged during contraction) with the latter predominating.

Load characteristics

The load is that set of rationally proposed training stimuli in consideration of the goals and physical characteristics of the person performing them; has two features that distinguish it in:

External load: volume administered through the exercises (content, volume and organization of the same)
Internal load: individual adaptation phenomena that take place to adapt to the external load

The content of the external load is represented by the characteristics of specificity of the training load and the potential for adaptation; the volume instead contains intensity (expressed in the ceiling) - density (ratio between administration and recovery) - duration.

The training load is subject to essential principles that respect the subjective characteristics of individual response and adaptation:

Principle of rationality: compliance with the objectives in relation to psychological and physiological rules
Principle of continuity: the load must not be subject to prolonged and unscheduled interruptions
Principle of progressivity: the load must progressively grow in all its components
Load / recovery unit principle: recoveries must be carefully dosed and not left out
Principle of unity between general load and specific load: choice of general load based on the specialization of specific techniques and training means.
Principle of load variability: avoid uniform and protracted loads
Systematic principle: training sequences and the frequency of certain exercises (including tests) must not be random
Principle of cyclicity: to optimize adaptations, loads must be organized in periods with different characteristics, avoiding excesses of standardization.

Strength training methods

According to Herre (Training Theory, Sports Press Society), the type of training that corresponds to the predominant form of contraction in the specific athletic gesture must be prevalent in strength training. To all this, it is appropriate to combine some essential principles:

Muscle tension must always be maximum to ensure maximum synchronization of muscle fibers
The speed of muscle shortening must be just as high to fully activate the neuromuscular stimulus
The contraction must be as wide as possible
The time of contraction must be long enough, in order to constitute all the processes of adaptation
The intensity of the training load must not be less than 70%, it must be continued for at least 6-8 weeks with 2-3 weekly training sessions (Sale 1988), since a single weekly stimulus does not produce any stimulus capable of inducing adaptations (Atha 1981).

Ratio between load and number of repetitions possible

Intensity	% of the ceiling	number of repetitions
Max	100	1
Sub-max	99-90	2-3
Great 1	89-80	4-6
Great 2	79-70	7-10
Moderate 1	69-60	11-15
Moderate 2	59-50	16-20
Small 1	49-40	21-30
Small 2	39-30	31 and beyond

System of alternating loads (intensity from mid-high to high) Example: 70% x4, 80% x3, 90% x2, 70% x4, 80% x3, 90% x2
Repeated flow system (medium-high to max intensity) Example: (75% x8) x 5 series
Pyramidal systems (intensity from medium to max) Example: 1x95%, 2x90%, 3x85%, 4x80%, 5x75% (or inverse)
Or: 4x80%, 5x75%, 6x70%, 7x65%, 8x60% (or reverse)
Or: 4x80%, 3x85%, 2x90%, 1x95%, 1x95%, 2x90%, 3x85%, 4x80%
System of super ceilings (intensity from 110% to 140% of the maximum load) Opposition resistant to the load in the transferring phase of the movement
System of alternation between static tensions and dynamic tensions Isometric stop at the critical angles of the athletic gesture
Isometric system - Hettinger and Muller 1953 (intensity from medium to high to max) High intensity contraction against fixed resistances; contraction of max 6 seconds, pause between repetitions of at least 20 seconds, variable intensity from 40-50% to 90-100% depending on the objective
Contrast system (low to medium-high intensity) Alternation of low resistances with high resistances
System of isokinetic loads (sub-max intensity) Speed and use of constant force in all angular phases of the articular action radius
Pre and post fatigue system (medium-high intensity) Execution of specific exercises for a particular district, applied before or after generalized exercises
Bulgarian system (high-max intensity)

Heating	Work out
2x3x50%	3x1x100%
1x2x60%	3x2-3x85-90%
1x1x70%	1x1x90%
1x1x80%	3x1x100%
1x1x90%	3x2-3x85-90%

Electrostimulation system (method of use Adrianova et al. 1974) Due to electrical stimulation, muscle training is similar to isometric training; duration of each cycle of muscle stimulation equal to 10 '', rest breaks less than 50 '', number of cycles not exceeding 10, total training time equal to 10 '.
Eccentric-concentric combined system (intensity from max to super max) 110-120% load in eccentric phase of which 30-40% must consist of auxiliary loads, which will be removed in the concentric phase.
Weightlifting system (sub-max intensity) Technical application of tearing and momentum; intensity from 75-100% with 8-10 series having 1-6 repetitions each. Learning VERY difficult.

Training methods for muscle hypertrophy

The ability of an athlete to increase his muscle mass depends on:

Structural factors of muscle composition
Nerve factors related to the number of motor units used
Relationship with the stretching capacity that enhances the contraction

Hypertrophy can be attributed to four factors:

Increased myofibrils
Muscle sheath development (connective tissue)
Increased vascularization (depending on the type of stimulus applied)
Increased number of fibers

Series method : from a minimum of 6 to a maximum of 12 repetitions, with pauses of incomplete recovery from 30 to 60 "

Super series method : succession of 2 exercises for antagonist muscles, with 8-12 repetitions each and 2-5 minutes of recovery
Giant series method : as for the super series, but 3 to 5 exercises are used for the same muscle group or antagonists; from 3 to 5 sets with 6-12 repetitions per exercise, recovery 2-5 minutes
Method of forced repetitions : get help from a partner in performing 2-3 more repetitions than exhaustion
Negative repetition method: exclusive execution of the negative movements of the exercise with a load beyond the maximum, helping in the positive phase
Stripping method: continuous reduction of the load in the same series until total depletion is achieved
Density method : progressive reduction of recovery within the same training between the repetitions and the series
Method of decreasing series or Oxford method: at each series the load is reduced by increasing the number of repetitions; breaks are incomplete recovery
Method of half repetitions : in some exercises it is possible, after complete exhaustion, to perform some repetitions with incomplete movement
Peak-contraction method: it is a matter of maintaining a load isometrically for a few seconds at the end of a run-out series.

Fast force

The development of fast force is one of those characteristics that need to be treated from 6-12 years of age; this for 2 reasons: the first is that the fast force correlates directly with the development of coordination, the second is that even in particularly predisposed subjects the room for improvement depends essentially on infantile and adolescent neuro-muscular stimulation.

Predisposing factors:

Mobility of nervous processes: regulation of the alternation between the excitatory processes and those inhibiting the neuro-muscular system
Muscular elasticity: rapid ability to extend the antagonist muscles when they are engaged alternately to the agonists
Tension arising from will: the quality and quantity of reactive impulses are also determined by the desire to produce them.

The development of fast force is correlated and dependent on that of the MAXIMUM FORCE; this is explained by the fact that the training of the latter is able to stimulate the coordination of the inter and intramuscular fibers.

The fast force is divided into 2 stages of contraction:

Stage of initial or starting force: ability to express force at the initial moment of tension
Stage of explosive force: ability to obtain force values in a very short time

The explosive force can be positively influenced by the following factors:

Frequency of nerve impulses from the brain to the muscles
Number of fibers to which signals are sent
Influence of biofeetback (see maximal strength)
Type of muscle fibers
Size and tension produced by each fiber, which are closely related to the mass and molecular weight of the PROTEIN structure that constitutes the fiber
Physiological conditions in which the muscle fiber is found at the time of the beginning of the explosive work
State of training in which the muscle fiber is located (neuro-muscular component and metabolic component).

Being a conditional ability that does not respect the linear development, the stimulation of the fast force must be carried out near the competitions, planning the work in 4 fundamental stages:

Increased ability to tolerate load and development of arthromuscular balance (overall development)
Development of maximal strength
Development of rapid force through special stresses (reactive exercises and similar to those of the athletic gesture)
Construction of the specific rapid force (use of the competition exercise predominantly)

Fast force development methods

Dynamic stress system (intensity from 55% to 75-80% of the ceiling) Example: (55% x3, 60% x3, 70% x2, 75% x2, 80% x1) x3 series
System for the development of speed in force regime (intensity from 30% to 65% of the ceiling) Example: (30% x3, 40% x3, 50% x3, 65% x3, 50% x3, 40% x3, 30% x3) x3serie
Plyometric training system and shock method (natural load) Capacity for rapid development of concentric force starting from an eccentric stretching condition on a dynamic load; it is a method particularly used in the development of the elastic force of the lower limbs. Parameters to respect in the execution of the "leaps":
- The height of the fall must be between 75-100cm.
- 10 repetitions of leaps
- 4 series
- Pause between leaps (subjectively determined)
- 2-3 weekly training sessions

The resistant force

Resistance is the body's ability to withstand a long-term workload; the resistance is classified into:

Resistance to speed: 10-35 "
Short term resistance: 35 "-2 '
Medium duration resistance: 2-10 '
Long lasting resistance:
- 1st type: 10-35 '
- 2nd type: 35-90 '
- 3rd type: 90-360 '
- 4th type:> 360 '

In the first two a good aerobic capacity and a maximum anaerobic capacity are required; in the average resistance a considerable aerobic capacity and a good anaerobic capacity is required. In long-term resistance, the development of maximum aerobic capacity is required.

Also for the resistance numerous structural and functional anatomical factors influence, in general, the predisposing factors are:

Peripheral oxygen transport capacity
Muscular capillary bed
Arteriovenous difference for oxygen
Mitochondrial enzymatic activities
Cardiorespiratory system activity
Amount of muscle myoglobin
Number and mass of mitochondria
The ability of myofibrils to oxidize carbohydrates and fats
Type of muscle fibers
Reserves of ATP and CP in the muscular apparatus
Glycogen reserves
Activity of glycolytic enzymes

Development methods of resistant force

Circuit training system (intensity 30-60%): from 3 to 6 circuits of 5 to 7 stations per circuit
System of the maximum number of repetitions (intensity 30%): perform the maximum number of repetitions possible; the recovery of 2 'of the first series will be brought gradually to 1' in the fifth series.
Continuous system (intensity from medium to low) : depending on the duration in time, this system is called: Continuous method of short duration (15 "-2 '), medium duration (2-8') and long duration (8 -15 ').
Interval system (average intensity): short high intensity work phases and proportionate recovery phases

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