The Army Training System - AskTOP

The nature of the eccentric contraction,however, makes the muscle andconnective tissue more susceptible todamage, so there is more muscle sorenessfollowing eccentric work.When a muscle is overloaded, whetherby isometric, isotonic, or isokineticcontractions, it adapts by becomingstronger. Each type of contraction hasadvantages and disadvantages, and eachwill result in strength gains if doneproperly.The above descriptions are moreimportant to those who assess strengththan to average people trying to developstrength and endurance. Actually,a properly designed weight trainingprogram with free weights orresistance machines will result inimprovements in all three of thesecategories.Principles of MuscularTrainingTo have a good exercise program,the seven principles of exercise, describedin Chapter 1, must be appliedto all muscular endurance and strengthtraining. These principles are overload,progression, specificity, regularity,recovery, balance, and variety.OVERLOADThe overload principle is the basisfor all exercise training programs. Fora muscle to increase in strength, theworkload to which it is subjectedduring exercise must be increasedbeyond what it normally experiences.In other words, the muscle must beoverloaded. Muscles adapt to increasedworkloads by becoming largerand stronger and by developing greaterendurance.To understand the principle of overload,it is important to know thefollowing strength-training terms:• Full range of motion. To obtainoptimal gains, the overload must beapplied thoughout the full range ofmotion. Exercise a joint and its associatedmuscles through its completerange starting from the prestretchedposition (stretched pastthe relaxed position) and ending ina fully contratcted position. This iscrucial to strength development.• Repetition. When an exercise hasprogressed through one completerange of motion and back to thebeginning, one repetition has beencompleted.• One-repetition maximum (1-RM).This is a repetition performed againstthe greatest possible resistance (themaximum weight a person can liftone time). A 10-RM is the maximumweight one can lift correctly10 times. Similarly, an 8-12 RM isthat weight which allows a personto do from 8 to 12 correct repetitions.The intensity for muscularendurance and strength training isoften expressed as a percentage of.the 1-RM.• Set. This is a series of repetitionsdone without rest.• Muscle Failure. This is the inabilityof a person to do another correctrepetition in a set.The minimum resistance needed toobtain strength gains is 50 percent ofthe 1 -RM. However, to achieve enoughoverload, programs are designed torequire sets with 70 to 80 percent ofone’s 1 -RM. (For example, if a soldier’s1 -RM is 200 pounds, multiply200 pounds by 70 percent [200 X 0.70= 140 pounds] to get 70 percent of the1 -RM.)When a muscle isoverloaded by isometric,isotonic, or isokineticcontractions, it adapts bybecoming stronger.3-2