Methods of Training for Strength

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Methods of Training for Strength

Given all of the ways in which we can define strength, there must be many ways that we can train to increase these types of strength. The method you use depends on what your goals are and what your level of training is. We should now know how important the specificity of training is as one of the Principles of Training.

Below are some simple definitions of the different ways that we can train for strength.

Isometric Training

An isometric exercise is where your muscles are contracting but there is no joint movement. Because the joint isn't moving, your muscles will not strengthen through a full range of motion. They will get strong in the position at which they are held, but not at other positions (unless you train at those positions too). A sporting example would be ‘tug of war’.

Isometric exercises can be incorporated ine training for strongman and power lifting competitions. Many strongman events, like the truck push, include isometric components. Isometrics also help power lifters get through the sticking points in their dynamic exercises points at which they have trouble pushing through or completing a movement for a full lockout. Of course, isometrics can benefit anyone's sticking point by strengthening the muscles at a particular range of motion.

Isotonic Training

Isotonic muscular contractions have a concentric phase, in which you lift the weight and the muscle shortens, and an eccentric phase, in which you slowly lower the weight and the muscle lengthens under tension. Isotonics involve a constant external resistance, like gravity, barbells, or dumbbells. With free weights, the possibilities are endless. You can use gravity, barbells, dumbbells and medicine balls. Although the resistance is always the same, the force to move that resistance varies with the joint angle as the weight is lifted and lowered.

Depending on the exercise, an isotonic movement can require more force to lift the weight at the end of the movement (squat), the beginning of the movement (dead lift), or the middle of the movement (biceps curl). The lifter also controls the speed of the movement. These components of isotonic exercise mimic our movements in life and sports, so doing isotonic exercises can be very functional.

Variable-Resistance Training

Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus equipment, thought he had invented a way for the entire muscle to be trained equally throughout the exercise range of motion with his revolutionary Nautilus cam system. Jones designed the weight-stack machines with a cam shaped like a nautilus shell to equally distribute the weight lifted throughout an entire range of motion. He wanted to eliminate the bio mechanical disadvantages that are inherent in free-weight training, such as unequal force curves.

Unfortunately, Jones's system didn't really train muscles equally throughout their ranges of motion, and neither does any pulley, lever, or cam machine invented since. Machines can be a nice adjunct to a strength-training program, but isotonics should be the core. Most machines can't stimulate the same amount of muscular hypertrophy, bone mass, and strength as isotonic exercises, particularly exercises that employ free weights.

Advantages of Free weights

Advantages that free weights have over machines:

1. Balance - Using free weights allows your body to develop and improve balance. You have to hold dumbbells and barbells in a balanced position, or you risk injury and embarrassment from plates falling off the bar. To provide balance the body has to work overtime, and that's a good thing. You use accessory muscles (muscles that help in the exercise but are not necessarily the ones you are training).

For instance, if you are performing a standing biceps curl, your core and lower-body muscles have to hold your body tightly in place or you will fall over. Also, your upper-back muscles have to contract isometrically to provide a base of support so that your arms can actually curl the weight and not just drop it on the floor.

2. Functional application - Life does not take place in one dimension, so the exercises you do to enhance life shouldn't either. You bend, twist, and lift in all dimensions during the day to get the job done. If you simulate the activities that your body needs to do every day when you use weights, then your daily tasks or sporting activities will become easier.

3. Posture - Free weights challenge your core, whereas machines allow you to relax and rest. The problem is that the majority of the public has poor posture from the kind of world we live in. We slouch at the computer and don't pay too much attention to our posture until our muscles ache from fatigue. By squeezing your shoulder blades together while bench pressing, you'll see your bench press go up with ease and your posture become much improved.

4. Perfect fit - Most machines are made for the specifications of an average man (5 feet 11 inches, 180 pounds). No matter what your size, free weights can accommodate you. You'll also eliminate the possibility of injuring yourself from working out on a piece of equipment designed for someone else.

5. Fat-burning properties - Training with free weights burns a ton of calories. First, it burns calories when you grab a pair of dumbbells, hold them, walk to the nearest bench, and set up your lift- likewise when you work with barbells. Second, if your lift is a total-body lift like a squat or a dead lift, almost every muscle in your body is working and demanding energy in the form of calories. If you are doing a single muscle group exercise like a biceps curl, you'll still burn more calories lifting with free weights than with machines; the other muscles in your body are working hard to provide stabilization.

Isokinetic Training

Used extensively in physical therapy clinics and sports-training centres, isokinetic equipment tries to solve the problems of both isotonics and variable resistance by using accommodating resistance at a set velocity. You perform the exercise at a specific velocity, and no matter how much force your muscle produces, the isokinetic machine matches that force. This force matching makes it an excellent rehab device, because it makes the exercise quite safe.

If you are rehabilitating an injury and can't produce much force, the machine will only give you what you can take. You can practice different velocities (speeds) to closely mimic the speeds of normal or sports activities. Unfortunately, isokinetic machines are very expensive and require someone who is trained to operate them. They are great for rehab and certain sport-specific training.

Eccentric Training

We use eccentric, or lengthening, contractions often in daily life simply by fighting gravity in all of our movements. Walking down the stairs eccentric muscular action every time we plant our feet.

Because an eccentric contraction recruits many more muscle fibres than a concentric contraction, eccentric training is extremely effective for strength improvements. Unfortunately eccentric contractions also generate the most damage and soreness in muscles, so you should use them in moderation and only if you have an experienced weight-training background. Frequently eccentric exercises are recommended as part of a rehabilitation protocol under the supervision of a rehab professional.

Whereas eccentric contractions have to follow concentric contractions in isotonic exercise programs, eccentric training focuses on performing only the eccentric portion of the exercise. Some exercises require spotters or special equipment, but some are easy to do on your own. For instance, you can lift a weight with both arms or legs and lower it with just one arm or leg. That way you are getting an overloaded resistance on one limb in the eccentric phase. Eccentric training can rectify strength discrepancies between limbs and also improve overall strength.

Plyometric Training

Usually people describe plyometrics as jumping exercises, but any exercise that allows the muscle to quickly pre stretch before performing the actual movement is plyometric. A pre stretch is a counter movement or a movement that is the opposite of the intended movement.

Most sports incorporate plyometric movements, so many athletes incorporate plyometric exercises into their routines. These exercises can speed up reaction time, improve force production, and increase velocity. Plyometric exercises involve Type II muscle fibres, just as strength training does. You may find, after adding some of these exercises into your routine, that you can improve your power and lift your weights faster.

You'll find a few plyometric exercises, like the jump squat, push press, and overhead throw-down exercises. Proper technique and moderation in adding plyometrics to your training program are essential to avoid injury. Plyometric programs vary greatly depending on the person and their goal.