Today we’re going to move a little more in-depth into the theory behind program design for strength training. We will start with going over good program design on one of the fundamental types of programs you need to know about if you are seriously thinking about strength training. (This builds off our last blog so make sure you read that first)
You’ll need to know the following definitions to understand the rest of this entry:
Repetition (Rep): One complete movement of a single exercise.
Set: A group of consecutive repetitions.
Rest Interval: The time taken to recuperate between sets.
The multiple set system:
This system is what most people think of when they think of strength training. It involves doing multiple sets for each exercise with a rest interval in between to let the muscle group partially recover.
Here’s what a multiple set workout could look like for your upper body:
So that is all well and good but how can I design a program like that?
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This is the first of a series of blogs on strength training. Also know as resistance training, it encompasses everything from body weight exercises (such as pushup) to using fixed path selectorized machines to advanced circuit training seen in Crossfit classes. For our purposes, WBV training done on the PowerPlate should be considered a form of strength training – although there are some other factors to take into consideration when designing programs for vibration platforms.
The purpose of this blog is not to argue the benefits of strength training (for that you should check out one of the previous entries) but to give some basic information to help you make good choices when designing you own programs.
So here we go…
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Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from one of our great partners, Teeter.
Back pain will be experienced by 90% of adults in their lifetime and when it hits, there isn’t anything that one wouldn’t do to get rid of it. When you have back pain everything changes; you get out of bed differently, you feel ridiculous trying to pull that t-shirt over your head, you’re not comfortable standing, sitting or laying down – you simply want it to go away so you can put on your own socks again and get your regular life back.
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It is a common problem that people gain weight during the holidays. It turns out though that we may not gain as much as we think. The common belief is 3-5 lbs is normal for the holiday season but it turns out (according to a study by the National Institute of Child Health and Development) that the average gain is much closer to one pound. Unfortunately the study also found that weight gained during this period is not generally lost in the year that follows.
• So the good news is we don’t gain as much weight.
• The bad news is the weight we do gain stays with us from year to year.
SO… WHAT DO WE DO TO STAY TRIM THIS HOLIDAY SEASON?
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In the fitness industry the fine print seems to be getting smaller and the number of anonymous experts seems to be multiplying at an exponential rate. This blog is to help you to be more informed as you begin your research.
In the previous two blogs we gave some general guidelines for buying treadmills and ellipticals. This week we are going to dive into a couple of specific things you should know when buying any piece of exercise equipment.
To Be Clear:
We encourage everyone to do their homework before buying a treadmill, elliptical or home gym. It is important that you get the right piece for you no matter what your budget because then you will be more likely to use it. This is blog is not meant to attack anyone’s products or businesses but to turn down some of the background noise that can lead people to be confused.
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As a relative newcomer to the fitness world, Ellipticals (also known as cross trainers) appeared in the market in the early 90’s. Contrary to popular belief, while they were one of the first companies to build and market the product, they did not invent the category.
On September 30, 1992 inventor Larry Miller filed for a United States Patent named Stationary Exercise Device. Patent Number 5,242,343 was issued September 7, 1993. Precor later bought his design and started making products.
Today every fitness company in the world has their own version of the elliptical with only one company (Octane Fitness) focusing exclusively on the category.
To decide if an elliptical is the right piece of equipment here are a couple of things to think about:
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Treadmills were originally called “treadwheels” and were used as a method of reforming offenders in prison, an innovation introduced by Sir William Cubitt in 1817. Later treadmills were introduced in to the public in medical setting to diagnose heart and lung disease by Dr. Robert Bruce and Wayne Quinton at the University of Washington in 1952. Later research by Dr. Kenneth Cooper on the benefits of aerobic exercise, published in 1968, provided a medical argument to support the commercial development of the home treadmill and exercise bike.
Here are answers to many of the most common questions about treadmills:
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