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Defining Your Goals
Your body will do what you train it to do. That’s why it’s important to define your goals and focus on
those goals. Here are some fitness components that will help you define your goals and choose your fit-
ness program.
Muscle Strength is the maximum force that
you can exert against resistance at one time.
Your muscle strength comes into play when
you pick up a heavy bag of groceries or lift a
small child. It is developed when a localized
muscle is worked both positively (concentric)
and negatively (eccentric) at a resistance - great
enough so you can perform only five to eight
repetitions of the exercise before the muscle
fails. Each set of repetitions is followed by a
rest interval that typically runs three times
longer than the set. Later, between exercise
sessions, the muscle overcompensates for the
stress and usually increases in both strength
and size.
Muscle Endurance is the ability to perform
repeated contractions. It comes into play
when you cross-country ski or work on your
feet all day. Endurance training addresses the
slow twitch, endurance muscle fibers, which
depend on oxygen for energy. To develop
muscle endurance, use low resistance and high
repetitions - about 15-20 repetitions in each set,
three sets to each exercise, working the muscle
only to fatigue.
Muscle Power is the combination of strength
and speed of the muscular contraction. This
is often misinterpreted as a)being directly
associated with certain skill or sport and/or
b) meaning that you must move fast. Load is
actually a more important factor than speed
when attempting to improve power. When
training to achieve muscular power, pick a
resistance that fatigues you in the 3-5 repetition
range. When performing these reps, it is more
important to think of contracting the muscles
faster rather than attempting to move faster.
Performing sport simulation exercises usually
results in a deterioration of the motor pattern
or skill. The biomechanically sound method
of improving power in your sport is to train
for power using the correct joint movements,
as described in this manual. Then practice the
skill associated with your sport, learning to
apply this newly achieved power.
Body Composition is the ratio of fat weight
(fat) to lean weight (muscles, bones and tissue).
As you age, the ratio shifts. The fat weight
increases and the lean weight decreases.
Training for muscle strength will generally
increase muscle size and aerobic conditioning
will help burn extra calories. Performing these
two forms of exercise, either at different times
or together, will create the greatest changes in
body fat weight.
Balanced Strength and alignment are the result
of equal strength developed in all parts of the
body. It comes into play in your standing and
sitting posture, and in your ability to perform
just about any activity safely and effectively.
An over-development of the back will round
the shoulders; weak or stretched abdominals
can cause lower back pain. You want a
balance of muscle strength in front and back.
In addition, you need a balance of strength
between your middle, lower, and upper body.
Flexibility is the ability of a muscle or group of
muscles to move the joint through a full range
of motion. Flexibility comes into play when
you execute an overhand serve or stretch for
the top shelf in the kitchen. It is a cooperative
movement of opposite muscle groups. When
a muscle contracts, its opposite muscle group
must relax for the action to occur. Increased
flexibility means an increased range of
motion, made possibly by this simultaneous
contracting and relaxing. Good flexibility is
important in protecting the body from injury
and can be achieved through the balanced
strength training programs that are included in
this manual.
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