William J. Kraemer, Ph.D., FACSM, FNSCA, CSCS
Professor, Human Performance Laboratory
Department of Kinesiology
University of Connecticut

Today we would like to begin a multi part series provided by a renowned sports scientist and AdvoCare Scientific and Medical Advisory board member, Dr. William Kraemer.

Fitness Tips-No. 1: Getting Started- Medical Screening

When starting a lifestyle change for better health and fitness, solid nutrition, proper nutritional supplementation, and exercise are all important to making it all work. Getting started the right way is vital for success.

The first step in getting started with a physical fitness program is to make sure that exercise is going to be safe. Due to the fact that a total conditioning program will involve, resistance training, cardiovascular endurance training and flexibility training, you have to make sure that you can perform each element of the program with little risk of injury or death.

Therefore, it is important to have an absence of any cardiovascular disease or medical problems such as diabetes that can increase the risks. In addition, a musculoskeletal exam is needed to document that you are orthopaedically ready to perform a variety of movements without pain or limitations. Again, exercise prescription modifications can be made but one has to understand what you are dealing with.

Do not get me wrong, exercise is essentially safe but just as top professional athletes get checked out by the team physician to make sure they are ready to go, you need to do the same.

To do this, call for an appointment with your family physician before starting an exercise program. Again, this is especially important if you are over the age of 35 years. Sudden death from exercise has been estimated to be 1 in 15,000 and the underlying reasons are typically undiagnosed medical problems. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that medical clearance and follow-up, including exercise stress testing, are essential screening components for older adults (men over 45, women over 55), those at increased risk for cardiovascular events, and those with known cardiac, pulmonary, or metabolic disease (e.g., diabetes), especially when vigorous exercise (e.g., jogging, running, racquet sports) is considered.

Often forgotten is the musculoskeletal exam. This is needed so you can exercise successfully and is a routine part of a physical exam. In this exam, the physician will look for any specific symptoms within a region of your body that makes a movement uncomfortable or painful, talk to you about your prior injuries and how they occurred, document their current status, and ask if you any systemic symptoms (e.g., numbness in the shoulder etc). In this exam, your physician will look at the different regions of your body and joints (e.g., neck, knee, shoulder, elbow, hand, hip, lower back) and evaluate their stability and mobility. You physician will also examine your musculature to see if it is balanced in its development and symmetry. Vitally important are an examination of your feet’s structure and function. Again, modifications can be made (e.g., orthotics, knee brace, exercise limits for movement) for anyone but you need a known starting point to work from.

So, get that preliminary set of medical screens and then we will be off and running with more fitness tips to get you started in the right direction toward improved health and fitness.

 

 

 

Fitness Tips-No. 2:  A Need for a Total Conditioning Program

Well you have now gotten a clean bill of health and are ready to get active! The biggest mistake most people make when starting a program is doing “too much, too fast”. Even in healthy people this can result in excessive soreness and unnecessary fatigue. So start slow and work into a total conditioning program.

Another mistake too many people make is that they do not address a total conditioning program and just perform one exercise. A great example is the 45 year old corporate executive who was an avid runner and got pretty good running in 10K races and enjoyed his workouts.

However, he never did any resistance training and thus had low strength fitness. He also had a love of skiing and was pretty good on the short runs in the New England region but then took on some serious hills that were double and triple the time down the hill out West. With these more demanding and long downhill runs his lack of strength and power ended up in a knee injury on a late run in the day. In addition, without the needed muscular fitness his recovery was slower as well. So it is important to have a program that addresses all of the fitness elements.

A total conditioning program consists of cardiovascular endurance fitness, muscular fitness, flexibility fitness and body composition fitness via optimal nutritional and supplementation practices.

Exercise training should also be progressive, meaning starting at a level that can be easily tolerated and progressing to harder workouts over time. In addition, variation in training called “periodization” should also be used in order to provide for needed rest for optimal recovery and to avoid boredom in the training programs.

In addition, a warm up and cool down should be a part of every workout and this should include both static and dynamic stretching and light warm-up activities.

The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association currently recommend that healthy adults need:

• 30 minutes (minimum) of moderate intensity cardio, 5 days per week
  - or -
• 20 minutes (minimum) of vigorous intensity cardiovascular exercise, 3 days per week

Moderate intensity physical activity is classified as a physical activity performed at a level sufficient to noticeably raise one’s heart rate and cause one to break a sweat, yet still allow the individual to carry on a conversation (such as brisk walking).

Vigorous-intensity activity is classified as a physical activity that causes rapid breathing and a sufficient elevation in heart rate (such as jogging). These activities should be performed in addition to the routine activities of daily living.

These guidelines can be achieved by combining moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activities on different days. It is possible to achieve these guidelines by walking briskly for 30 minutes two days per week, and jogging at a higher intensity on two other days per week.

Additionally, these recommendations are minimum recommendations. In order to lose weight or maintain weight loss, 60 – 90 minutes of exercise may be necessary.

Tips for fitting cardiovascular exercise into a busy lifestyle

Accumulate 30 minutes – The recommended 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity can be achieved by three shorter 10-minute bouts of exercise, totaling 30 minutes. Research indicates, that this can be just as affective as 30-minutes of moderate intensity physical activity done in a single bout, and is particularly useful for individuals who have a hard time finding 30 minutes at one time.
Schedule the activity – It is important to make exercise a regular part of a daily schedule by setting specific days and times for exercise.
Choose activities you enjoy – In order to stay motivated and adhere to exercise goals, activity selection is important. Suitable activities to meet the recommendations are vast, and include such activities as swimming, biking, or playing basketball with friends. Activity selection should consider individual interests, needs, schedules, environment, family, work, and social commitments, travel, and weather conditions.

Fitness Tips-No. 3: Calculate your target heart range
Exercise Intensity for Cardiovascular Exercise

Well you have been getting a start by walking and just starting an exercise habit before you really get started with a more intense exercise program. You have gotten a clear bill of health from your physician and have even taken a stress test which evaluated you heart function as well as your cardiovascular fitness and then you know your maximal heart you can exercise at.

While intensity classifications are somewhat vague in the above cardiovascular fitness recommendations, cardiovascular exercise intensity can be more precisely measured by monitoring exercising heart rate. A personalized target heart rate training zone can be calculated by using the Karvonen formula below.

 

Fitness Tips-No. 4:  Resistance Training

It is important to understand some of the basic principle of resistance training. When undertaking a needs analysis for a training program, there a few underlying principles to consider:

Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is an overarching principle stipulating that one needs to increase the exercise demands in order to see progression in a performance variable, as defined within the construct of the variable being trained for (i.e., strength, power, or local muscular endurance). Progressive resistance exercise or progressive overload refers to the need to continually increase the stress placed on the muscle as it becomes capable of producing greater force, greater power or has more local muscular endurance. For strength, at the start of a training program the 5 repetition maximum (5 RM) for the bench press might be 225 lb, and is a sufficient stimulus to produce an increase in strength. Later on in the training program, 5 repetitions at 225 lb would not be a sufficient stimulus to produce further gains. The muscles involved can easily perform 5 repetitions with 225 lb and consequently 5 repetitions with 225 lb is no longer a 5 RM or a sufficient stimulus to further increase strength. If the training stimulus is not increased at this point, no further gains in strength will occur.

Several methods can be utilized to progressively overload the muscle. The resistance (amount of weight utilized) to perform a certain number of repetitions can be increased. The use of RMs automatically provides progressive overload because as the muscle’s strength increases the amount of resistance necessary to perform a true RM also increases. For example, a 5 RM may increase from 225 lb to 245 lb after several weeks of training. Another method of progressively overloading the muscle is to increase the volume of training performed (i.e., the number of sets and repetitions of a particular exercise). An important corollary is that progression must be varied as directed by the principle related to periodization of resistance training (see below); so that overtraining is minimized or eliminated in an exercise prescription.

Specificity of Training

This is very much the underlying principle of any exercise program. Training is specific to the type of program utilized and only those muscles that are trained will adapt and change in response to a resistance training program. For example, light resistance will not activate many motor units and therefore the muscle fibers contained in other motor units will not be trained nor adapt to the loading. In addition, training upper body only will not influence the lower body muscle fibers. Thus, resistance training is specific to the motor units that are activated and their influence on physiological systems to support their homeostasis, repair and remodeling.

SAID Principle

The SAID principle is the acronym for specific adaptations to imposed demands. This means that the adaptations to resistance exercise are specific to the demands of the program (which, in turn, are determined by the acute program variables). This principle is an extension of the concept of specificity and underscores the importance of the exercise prescription in targeting those features of adaptation that are influenced by a specific resistance training program. These adaptations are dependent upon the exercise range of motion and specific mode. For instance, isometric exercise may increase strength, but only at the specific angle the exercise is performed at.

Periodization of Training

In order to eliminate the potential for overtraining and boredom in resistance training, variation in the exercise stimuli is vital. Periodization of training involves the systematic manipulation of the acute program variables over time with planned rest periods used to provide recovery, as opposed to the standard progressive overload method in which the repetition range remains constant for several weeks while the weight is increased as strength allows. Unloading or lighter cycles or workouts also provide the body with recovery periods needed for optimal training. Both the classical linear periodization program, which manipulates workout protocols over each week within 4 week microcycles, and the non-linear method, which manipulates intensity, volume, and other acute program variables within a week, have been shown superior to standard progression programs6-9.

Prioritization of Training

With any total conditioning program, one has to prioritize the training goals. Even within a periodized program the trainable goals for resistance training are maximal strength, power, local muscular endurance and muscle hypertrophy. As discussed in Chapter 31, many of the other systems adapt as well in support of these training goals (e.g., connective tissue). Thus, each training cycle needs to have a training priority based upon the goals of the individual.

Fitness Tips-No. 5:  Program Design

In program design, one has specific “tools” to work with, referred to as acute program variables. Without an appreciation of how to properly implement and manipulate acute program variables, two fundamental flaws will occur: 1) all programs will look the same and thus not meet the specific needs of the individual and 2) the individual will not progress and training plateaus will ensue.  Therefore understanding the acute program variables and their influence on the effectiveness of a resistance training program is vital to optimal exercise prescription.

Choice of Exercises

The choice of exercise is related to the biomechanical characteristics of the goals targeted for improvement. The number of possible joint angles and exercises are almost as limitless as the body’s functional movements. Since muscle tissue that is not activated will not benefit from resistance training, the exercises should be selected so they stress the muscles, joints, and joint angles specified by the client’s needs analysis.

Exercises are designated as primary or assistance exercises. Primary exercises train the prime movers in a particular movement and are typically major muscle group exercises (e.g., leg press, bench press, hang pulls). Assistance exercises are exercises which train predominantly a single muscle group (e.g., triceps press, bicep curls) that aid (synergists) in the movement produced by the prime movers.

Exercises are also be classified as multi-joint or single-joint exercises. Multi-joint exercises require the coordinated action of several muscle groups and joints. Power cleans, hang power cleans, power snatches, deadlifts, and squats are good examples of whole body multi- joint exercises.

The bench press, which involves movement of both the elbow and shoulder joints, is also a multi-joint, multi-muscle group exercise; although it only involves movement in the upper body. Some other examples of other multiple-joint exercises are the lat pull-down, military press, and squat.

Exercises that attempt to isolate the particular muscle group movement of a single joint are single-joint and/or single-muscle group exercises. Bicep curls, knee extensions, and knee curls are examples of isolated single-joint, single-muscle group exercises. Many assistance exercises are classified as single-muscle group or single-joint exercises.

Multi-joint exercises require neural coordination among muscles and thus promote coordinated multi-joint and multi-muscle group movements. Multi-joint exercises require a longer initial learning or neural phase compared to single-joint exercises; however, it is very important to include multiple-joint exercises in a resistance training program, especially when whole body strength movements are required for a particular activity.

Most sports and functional activities in everyday life (e.g., climbing stairs) depend upon structural multi-joint movements and for most sports, whole body strength/power movements are the basis for success. Running and jumping, as well as activities such as tackling in American football, a take down in wrestling, or hitting a baseball all depend on whole body strength/power movements.

Thus, incorporating multi-joint exercises in a resistance training program is important for both athletes and non-athletes. A basic program will include 8-10 different exercises (primarily multi-joint) that work all the major muscle groups.

Many multi-joint exercises, especially those with an explosive component, involve the need for advanced-lifting techniques (e.g., power cleans, power snatches). An important advantage to multi-joint exercises is that they are time efficient since several different muscle groups are activated at the same time. They also allow for intra-muscular coordination between joints.

In addition, the other benefits of multi-joint exercises, in terms of muscle tissue activated, hormonal response, and metabolic demands far outweigh single-joint exercises and most workouts should revolve around these exercises.

 

Fitness Tips-No. 6:  Order & Number

Order of Exercises
Sequencing of specific exercises within a session) significantly affects force production and fatigue rate during a resistance exercise session. As already discussed in part 5 (Choice of Exercise), multiple-joint exercises are more effective in increasing muscular strength than single-joint exercises. Therefore, these exercises should be given priority within the training session (i.e. placed early in the training sessions when fatigue is minimal). Experts have made the following recommendations regarding exercise order:
When training all major muscle groups in a workout:

• Perform large muscle group exercises before small muscle group exercises
• Perform multiple-joint exercises before single-joint exercises
• Rotate upper and lower body exercises
• Also, for power training, perform total-body exercises (from most to least complex) before basic exercises. For example, perform power cleans before back squats. This is especially important when teaching new exercises.

It is especially important to check for proper exercise technique anytime a change is made in the program design (e.g., changing the order of exercise, changing the rest period lengths). Changes in the program design could have an impact on the skills of a particular lift. Complex multi-joint exercises (e.g., power cleans) are more sensitive to such program alterations due to the higher technique demands.

When training upper body exercises on one day and lower body exercises on a separate day:

• Perform large muscle group exercises before small muscle group exercises
• Perform multi-joint exercises before single-joint exercises
• Rotate opposing (agonist and antagonist) exercises

When training individual muscle groups:

• Perform multi-joint exercises before single-joint exercises
• Perform higher intensity exercises (i.e., those that require a greater percentage of one’s one repetition maximum) before lower intensity exercises

Number of Sets

This variable has received much attention, as the number of sets for an exercise is part of the total work equation. When progression is desired for a given exercise, more work is needed. One set of an exercise is a starting point for beginners due to limited toleration of the exercise stress.

The number of sets performed for each exercise is a factor in what is referred to as the volume of exercise (e.g., sets x reps x resistance). As such, one of the major roles of the number of sets performed is to regulate the volume performed during a particular exercise protocol or training program. However, some short term and all long-term studies support the contention that the greater training stimulus associated with the higher volume from multiple sets is needed to create further improvement and progression in physical adaptation and performance.

Variation in training stimuli, is also critical for continued improvement and this variation often includes a reduction in training volume during certain phases of the overall training program. The determining factor here is in the “periodization” of training volume rather than in the number of sets, as sets is only one of the components in volume. Exercise volume is a vital concept in resistance training progression, especially for those who have already achieved a basic level of training or strength fitness. As mentioned earlier the principle of variation in training or more specifically “periodized training” involves the number of sets performed. Since the use of a constant volume program can lead to staleness and lack of adherence to training, variations in training volume (i.e., both low and high volume exercise protocols) is important during a long-term training program in order to provide adequate rest and recovery periods.

 

 

Fitness Tips-No. 7:  Intensity of Exercise

The amount of resistance used for a specific exercise is one of the key variables in any resistance training program. It is the major stimulus related to changes observed in measures of strength and local muscular endurance. When designing a resistance training program the resistance for each exercise must be chosen carefully. The use of either repetition maximums (RM, the maximal load that can be lifted the specified number of repetitions) or the absolute resistance that only allows a specific number of repetitions to be performed is probably the easiest method for determining a resistance.

Typically, a single training RM target (i.e. 10 RM) or a RM target range (i.e. 3-5 RM) is used. Throughout the training program, the absolute resistance is then adjusted to match the changes in strength so a true RM target or RM target range resistance continues to be used. Performing every set until failure occurs can be stressful on the joints but it is important to ensure that the resistance used corresponds to the targeted number of repetitions. This is because performing 4-5 repetitions with a resistance that allows for only 4-5 repetitions compared to a resistance that would allow 14 or 15 repetitions produces quite different training results.

Another method of determining resistances for an exercise involves using a percentage of the 1 RM (e.g., 70% or 85% of the 1 RM). If the client’s 1 RM for an exercise is 200 pounds (90.9 kg), a 70% resistance would be 140 pounds (63.6 kg). This method requires that the maximal strength in all exercises used in the training program be evaluated regularly. Without regular 1 RM testing (e.g., each week), the percentage of 1 RM actually used during training, especially at the beginning of a program, will decrease as the individual becomes stronger and the relative training intensity will consequently fall.

From a practical perspective, use of percentages of 1 RM as the resistance for many exercises may not be administratively effective because of the amount of testing time required. In addition, for beginners the reliability of a 1RM test can be poor. It is therefore recommended that the RM target or RM target range is used as it allows the trainer to alter the resistance in response to changes in the number of repetitions that can be performed at a given absolute resistance. For general conditioning, lifting to the point of muscular fatigue (not complete failure) in 8 to 12 repetitions is recommended (corresponding to approximately 60-80% of the 1 RM).

Specific neuromuscular adaptations to resistance training depend in large part on the resistance used. These adaptations follow the principle of specificity presented earlier in this chapter. Heavier resistances will produce lower numbers of repetitions (1-6) but have been found to lead to greater improvements in maximal strength. Thus, if maximal strength is desired, higher loads should be used. Alternately, if muscular endurance is the goal, a lower load should be used, which will in turn allow a greater number of repetitions (e.g., 15-25) to be returned.

Fitness Tips-No. 8:  Rest between Exercises

The rest periods play an important role in dictating the metabolic stress of the workout and influence the amount of resistance that can be used during each set or exercise. A major reason for this is that the primary energy system used during resistance exercise, the ATP-creatine phosphate system, needs to be replenished and this process takes time. Therefore, the duration of the rest period significantly influences the metabolic, hormonal, and cardiovascular responses to an acute bout of resistance exercise, as well as the performance of subsequent sets. For advanced training emphasizing absolute strength or power (few repetitions and maximal or near-maximal resistance), rest periods of at least 3-5 minutes are recommended for large muscle mass multi-joint exercises (such as squat, power clean, or deadlift); whereas, shorter rest may be sufficient for smaller muscle mass exercises or single-joint movements.

For a novice-to-intermediate resistance exercise protocol, rest periods of 2-3 minutes may suffice for large muscle mass multi-joint exercises since the lower absolute resistance used at this training level seems to be less stressful to the neuromuscular system. Performance of maximal resistance exercises requires maximal energy substrate availability at the onset of the exercise and a minimum fatigue level and thus requires relatively long rest periods between sets and exercises. Resistance training that stresses both the glycolytic and ATP-creatine phosphate energy systems appears to be superior in enhancing muscle hypertrophy (e.g., bodybuilding), thus less rest between sets appears to be more effective in promoting hypertrophy.

If the goal is to optimize both strength and muscle mass, both types of protocols should be used. However, short-rest resistance training programs can cause greater psychological anxiety and fatigue, potentially due to the greater discomfort, muscle fatigue, and high metabolic demands of the program. Therefore, psychological ramifications of using short-rest workouts must be carefully considered and potentially discussed with the client before the training program is designed. The increase in anxiety appears to be associated with the high metabolic demands found with short-rest exercise protocols (i.e., 1 min or less). Despite the high psychological demands, the changes in mood states do not constitute abnormal psychological changes and may be a part of the normal arousal process before a demanding workout.

Resistance training has become a critical component to a general health and fitness program due its role in increasing muscular strength, power and speed, hypertrophy, local muscular endurance, motor performance, balance, and coordination. Because of its array of benefits, resistance training has now been recommended by national health organizations such as the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) for virtually all individuals including adolescents, healthy adults, and the elderly and clinical populations.

Critical to successful resistance training at any level is appropriate program design. Program design entails proper exercise instruction (e.g., technique, breathing, correct use of equipment, etc.), goal setting, methods of evaluation, the correct prescription of the acute program variables, and the inclusion of specific methods of progression targeting particular areas of muscular fitness.