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Exercise And Weight Training
Exercise And Weight Training
What kind of exercise and weight training is required to be in shape? When we address this question, we first need to understand the basic qualities of fitness and strength. Akin to a farmer who requires four elements for his crops to grow - water, sun, soil and air, our body also needs the following four elements to be in good health and state of fitness:
• Strength
• Muscular endurance
• Cardiovascular endurance
• Flexibility
Understanding these elements of fitness, especially how you carry out exercise and weight training to achieve each one, is very important if you are to get the best benefit.
Strength
Strength is the capability of a muscle to exert force. The amount of weight you can lift in one repetition is how you can measure strength. This could be in any exercise and weight training such as bench press or lift in the squat. Pure strength is the most important requirement in many sports such as shot-putting, discus throwing, jumping high in basketball, having a powerful tennis serve, driving a golf ball, throwing a baseball, etc. Strength is also the key to sports where you have to meet an adversary with a lot of force. Some examples of these sports are wrestling, football and rugby.
On the other hand, power is different. While an athlete may have a lot of strength at the bench press, he may not be able to put the shot well. He may require different exercise and weight training to develop power which is = strength + speed. Thus, he requires speed and strength for power.
Muscular Endurance
The ability of a muscle to produce force repeatedly over a period of time is known as muscular endurance. It is measured by the number of repetitions of exercise and weight training. It is a strength movement if you can do only a few, but changes into muscular endurance exercise when you can do a number of such movements. Sports requiring muscular endurance are those in which you have to apply force for a longer period of time. Some of these are wrestling, hurdling, rowing, sprinting and sprint swimming.
An athlete who is under a regime of exercise and weight training can continue to produce muscular force for only a limited period of time before the energy stores in the muscle are depleted. The energy stores of the body quickly deplete during movements that require maximum strength. For movements that need to continue for a longer time, generally lesser strength is required and energy is depleted at a slower rate.
Cardiovascular Endurance
The capacity of the respiratory system and the circulatory system to supply oxygen and nutrients to the muscle cells is known as cardiovascular endurance. This allows an activity to sustain and continue for a long period of time.
This type of fitness can be developed with correct exercise and weight training. This is necessary for sports like distance running, cross-country skiing, cycling, distance swimming, triathlons, rowing and soccer. In these sports, the strength required is low and the movement is repetitive. This allows one muscle group to rest while another takes over and gets exercised. This allows the blood stream to bring in nutrients and take away waste products. Thus, correct exercise and weight training allows you to build muscles right.
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