The Principles of Strength and Resistance Exercise

Skeletal muscle mass has been fundamentally important to our human existence and evolution. From physical activity to planned exercise, our muscles allow us to move freely and independently. Skeletal muscle allows us to produce force through voluntary muscular contractions. From chewing, to walking, to performing a squat, muscles contract consciously and unconsciously. What exactly else does skeletal muscle do?

• Maintains our core body temperature: Our muscles use energy to generate heat.

• Protects our organs: Our skeletal muscles protect the vital organs that we need for survival and also help support the weight of our organs.

• Stabilize and provide posture to our body: skeletal muscles help us stay upright and help us maintain posture while carrying out activities we perform on a daily basis.

• AND MORE!

It is important to make sure our skeletal muscles are resilient and dynamic enough to last us for many years. Muscular strength is vital in allowing our muscles to remain strong for many years. Developing a structured exercise program based on strength and resistance exercise is important to increasing your skeletal muscle mass and strength. Having trouble developing an exercise plan? Below are principles of strength and resistance exercise that can be used to help you out achieve your fitness goals!

What is Strength?

• Muscular strength is defined as the maximum force a muscle or muscle group can generate through a given movement (Ex: A 1 repetition max on a bench press or squat)

  • It is taking a maximum load through a specific range of motion with good form, allowing the muscle(s) to contract through a load.

Now that we know what muscular strength is, what are some adaptations to strength training that benefit us?

Principle Adaptations to Strength Training

Strength training allows for:

• Increase in strength and power. Strength is the absolute force being produced during a contraction, while power is defined as how quickly can your muscles produce force over a given distance.

• Increases in muscle size: Different mechanisms allow muscle size to increase from those of strength and power, however, muscle size is augmented through strength training as well!

In order to benefit from the adaptations of strength training, the resistance training principles of progressive overload, specificity, and variation must be applied to your strength/resistance training program. What do these terms mean and how can we apply them?

• Progressive overload in principle is a gradual increase in the amount of stress placed on one or a variety of specific muscle groups.

  • Progressive overload can be achieved by increasing the number of repetitions at a given intensity over time.

Example: Week 1: Bench pressing 135 lbs for 8 reps → Week 4: Bench pressing 155 lbs for 8 reps

• Progressive overload can be achieved by changing the repetition speed or tempo of each set during exercise.

  • If your fitness goals are focused on muscular endurance then the duration between each working set of an exercise would be shortened to improve endurance!

  • If your fitness goals are focused on power/strength then lengthening the rest periods between sets will improve the quality of each set!

• Progressive overload also can be controlled through weekly training volume!

  • Increasing the # of sets completed or increasing the # of repetitions per set!

Specificity

Specificity is important for building a resistance training program as well as training adaptations are specific to the stimulus applied. Some questions before beginning to structure your exercise program are:

• What are you specifically trying to improve?

• What muscle action is involved?

• What is the range of motion?

• What muscle groups are involved?

It is important to select exercises in your program that align with your strength training goals.

• Are you trying to improve your ability as a weightlifter?

• Are you trying to improve your strength and power as an endurance athlete?

Variation

Planned alteration of your strength training program is important as it allows you to be progressive with your strength gains. After all, nobody wants to be bored doing their exercise! Planned variation can come from manipulating different variables in a program such as work volume, intensity, and the types of exercises required for the strength gains to be seen!

For example, an endurance athlete (ex: soccer player, cyclist, etc..) may want to perform heavier resistance exercise training at the beginning of their offseason and then work on power movements as the regular season approaches. As the regular season approaches they may taper off from a specific strength and resistance training program so residual fatigue is not a factor before beginning a regular soccer season.

Variation allows for continuous challenge and progression! Whether you are a firefighter or marathon runner, variation is key to strength and resistance training gains.

If you are interested in learning more about strength and resistance exercise training or are seeking to improve your strength/resistance goals by building a strength program based on your fitness goals, schedule an EP session now

“Strength is never a weakness. Weakness is never a strength.” - Mark Bell