Learn about strength training and developing a training program - for yourself, or instructing others.
- Expand your knowledge as a personal trainer or sports coach.
- Understand how different parts of the body move and exercise applications appropriate for these.
- Learn about risk management and health and safety.
- Understand the importance of warming up and cooling down.
- Learn about principles of training and planning an exercise program.
Resistance exercise is important for building and maintaining muscle strength. Resistance training is when the body resists a force that is placed on it. This can involve using weight machines, free weights, resistance bands, body weight and other exercises.
Appropriate muscle strength training is important when people are increasingly physically inactive, especially at work. Through proper and regular resistance exercise, a person can control spinal problems and many other issues associated with aging. For others, strength training can be an important part of an overall exercise regime.
Who might do this course?
- Fitness leaders, trainers and coaches
- Athletes, aspiring weight lifters
- People with back or muscle problems who need to understand and build their strength
Lesson Structure
There are 6 lessons in this course:
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Types of Resistance Training
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Principles of Resistance Training
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Principles of Exercise; frequency, testing, time, type
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Benefits of Resistance Training
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Types of Resistance Training; Weights, Body Building, Power Lifting, Tubing
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Muscle Contraction
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Isotonic, Concentric, Eccentric, Isokinetic Exercise
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Terminology
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Resistance Training Program Components
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Type of Activity
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Misconceptions about Training
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Major Muscle Groups
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Equipment and Applications
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Choosing the Best Training Equipment
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Resistance Training Systems; free weights, pin loaded machines, isokinetic, resistance bands
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Design of Fitness Equipment; Exercise Bikes, Rowing Machines, Treadmills, Step Machines, etc.
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Training Variables; repetitions, sets, duration, workload, intensity, training frequency, work out time, etc.
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Overload and Over training
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Stretching
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Warm Up
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Recovery and Cool Down
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Risk Management
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Posture
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Gym Maintenance
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Health and Safety
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Gym Standards
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. Understanding Movements
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Flexibility
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Exercises
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Movement and Muscles; how muscles work, Muscle Fibre, Skeletal Muscle Types,
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Types of Movement; free active, active assisted, active resisted, relaxed passive, forced passive, etc
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Types of Muscle Work
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Types of Muscle Contraction
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Physiological Adaptation
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Muscle Tone
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Selection of Exercises
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Introduction
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Body Shapes
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Exercises for Different Sports; basket ball, football, track and field, etc
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Problems During Exercise
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Training Response
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Tolerance capacity
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Fatigue
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Recovery
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Training effect (i.e. over compensation)
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Deterioration (i.e. Decay)
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Injury and Ignorance
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Developing Training Methods
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Training Principles
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Principles for beginner training; intermediate principles and advanced
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Resistance Training Tips
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Training with Your Own Body Weight
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Use of Resistance Training
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Planning a Program
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Mental State for Training
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Risky Clients
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Fitness Goals
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Length of Training Phases (Cycles)
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Record Results and Make Changes as You Go
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Aims
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Identify different types of resistance training, the purpose of each, and explain the misconceptions that are commonly held about training.
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Demonstrate a working knowledge of types of resistance training equipment available, its use, care and maintenance and application to training variables and client program needs.
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Recognise correct resistance training form in exercises and apply correct techniques where necessary in demonstrating and instructing.
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Select training methods and programming principles relevant to increasing strength, power, speed, local muscular endurance, cardio vascular endurance and weight loss.
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Outline the training method relevant to increasing strength, cardio vascular efficiency, muscular endurance, physical rehabilitation and programs for sports people.
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Plan and describe elementary circuit or resistance training programs for non risk clients.
Resistance Training can Achieve a Great Deal when it is Better Understood
Resistance training is used for different reasons. The common uses of resistance training are to increase strength, to increase power, to increase muscle mass and definitions as well as to develop aerobic conditioning.
It isn't only about building a muscular physique
Strength and balance in muscles is important for holding your body together; keeping bones and tissues in the right places and functioning properly. When some muscles are really weak and others are too strong; bones can more readily go out of alignment, back and neck problems can develop, and a whole range of medical issues can arise.
Often visits to a chiropractor or physiotherapist become necessary because of imbalances in muscles caused by lack of appropriate or balanced exercise.
Muscle Contraction
There are a variety of different ways that muscles may contract, and different types of contraction relate to different types of exercise. It can be valuable to understand these differences, when planning an exercise regime for resistance exercise.
Isotonic
Sometimes called dynamic exercises, these involve moving a constant weight (resistance) over the full motion of movement. It is the most common form of exercise and uses concentric and eccentric contractions. The key is to concentrate on the specific muscles doing the exercise. Correct form is essential. The cheating methods of 'throwing and swinging the weight' will do little for muscle development and more for injury.
Details on how isotonic exercises work are covered in books such as The Encyclopaedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bill Dobbins (1985) (London, Pelham Books).
Concentric
Where a muscle shortens as it contracts e.g. bicep curls (biceps muscle). The upwards phase is known as concentric.
Eccentric
Where a muscle lengthens as it exercised e.g. biceps are eccentrically exercised as the weight is lowered in a biceps curl.
Isokinetic
Isokinetic training involves contraction at maximum tension throughout the full range of movement. In practice this is achieved with a machine called an ergometer which equals force (from the athlete) with a reactive force (from the machine). This is similar to Circuit equipment.
Isometric
Sometimes called static exercises, these involve little movement (but usually no movement) of the limbs however muscles are contracted. It is a lot like trying to push over a building. The disadvantage is that strength is not developed over a full range of movement; however certain sports require this type of strength such as gymnastics, wrestling and martial arts.
Some time ago isometric exercises were considered harmful to the health of many individuals (due to the belief that it causes higher strain on people with weak hearts). Today this form of exercise is seen as a useful adjunct to other traditional isotonic.
Learn more about the different types of resistance training
- Understand movement, the right equipment to choose and how to exercise.
- Develop training methods.
- A course to benefit you or to help you in your learning to help others.
The basic principles of resistance training include:
- Type of lift - you need to tailor your workout to address specific body areas. For example, if you want bigger and stronger arms, you need to use exercises that target those particular muscles.
- Intensity - the faster the lift, the greater the intensity.
- Volume - the greater the number of lifts, the more profound the increase in muscle size and strength. You can increase the volume by either training frequently (say, four times per week instead of two) or else training for longer per session (such as one hour instead of 30 minutes).
- Variety - switching around your workout routine, such as regularly introducing new exercises, challenges your muscles and forces them to adapt with increased size and strength.
- Progressive overload - gradually increasing your weights forces your muscles to grow stronger and larger.
- Rest - you need to rest between sets. If your goal is muscle size or endurance, rest for two minutes or so. If you want muscle strength, allow up to four minutes between sets.
- Recovery - muscle needs time to repair and grow after a workout. A good rule of thumb is to rest the muscle group for at least 24 hours to allow sufficient recovery time before working the same muscle groups again.
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