Principles and Practice of Weight and Strength Training E-Book

Greg Weller

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 225

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

The practical application of exercise theory by strength and conditioning coaches the world over has helped develop exercise research knowledge into effective training methods. Principles and Practice of Weight and Strength Training will cover how to properly prepare yourself for your chosen sport or activity by increasing strength.It examines the following: Common postural problems and how to improve posture; Techniques for self-myofascial release; A wide range of mobility and stability exercises, shown through step-by-step colour photography; More advanced weight and core exercises for the improving athlete; Implementing effective training programmes. Principles and Practice of Weight and Strength Training will help people make sure they train effectively, reduce injuries, improve their performance and enjoyment, and not waste time and effort on poor practice.'I owe Greg Weller my career. He is by far the best strength and conditioning coach I have ever had the pleasure of working with, in or outside of professional rugby.' Dan Smith, Professional Rugby Player, Doncaster Knights, Bath Rugby, England U21s. A practical guide to how to properly prepare yourself for your chosen sport by increasing strength, aimed at athletes and those supplementing their training in specific sports. Superbly illustrated with 230 step-by-step colour photographs. Greg Weller has been involved in sport and the fitness industry for over twenty years.

Leseprobe

Principles and Practice

Principles and Practice of weight and strength Training

Greg Weller

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2013 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2013

© Greg Weller 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 84797 629 1

Acknowledgements

There are a few people deserving of a great deal of thanks for helping with this book and none more so than Lianne, my wonderful fiancée and expectant mother of our first child. Thank you for being so understanding during the writing of this book and for a great demo of a Sumo Dead Lift among others. Thanks to my friends and colleagues Scott Stevens, Katie Mitchell and fellow strength and conditioning coach Joe Rogers for their support and help, and for agreeing to model for the pictures in this book. Last, a big thank you to David Crottie, Mike Burt and Chris Gibson from Body Reform Personal Training (bodyreformpt.co.uk) for allowing me to use their excellent facilities at London’s Canary Wharf for the photographs in this book.

Readers may contact the author either via Crowood or directly at [email protected]

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1 Posture

2 Training Preparation/Warm-Up Phase

3 Strength Training

4 The Torso or Training ‘Core’

5 Double-Leg Movements

6 Single-Leg Movements

7 Vertical and Horizontal Pulling

8 Vertical and Horizontal Pushing

9 Planning Training

Bibliography

Index

INTRODUCTION

The world of exercise has seen many changes in the last twenty years. Research has revealed a wealth of information, some of which has helped confirm certain training methods to be valid and consign others to be myth. Information continues to improve with the advancements made in sports science and in coaching. Research into performance enhancement is now more relevant and applicable to real sporting situations. The practical application of the research has also come a long way, with the work of some great strength and conditioning coaches all over the world turning theories into practice. Unfortunately, it is taking a long time for the effects of all this great work to filter down and some athletes are still woefully ill informed or badly advised. Athletes of all levels, from recreational runners to keen amateur athletes, and even elite-class athletes, still present with some very common yet easily corrected deficiencies in their training. With the collaboration of researches and coaches from around the world there is enough scientific and empirical evidence to allow for well-informed decisions to be made for their training and health.

Strength training is not just for sprinters, rugby players or weightlifters; whatever your sport or reason for exercising, you need to do some strength training. Runners of all kinds, from middle-distance to marathoners and beyond, will get better results and stay healthier with the addition of some strength work. All you footballers out there will benefit from some weight training; it could prolong your career too. Accelerating, stopping, changing direction and jumping all feature in the playing of football, tennis, cricket, hockey and many other popular sports. All these aspects will get better if you improve your strength and power.

One of the main objectives in training is the prevention of injury. If you are injured you cannot train or compete. Training must also enhance performance in some way. This means that training has to be made as safe and as effective as possible. Bear this in mind when selecting exercises for your programme and think about the associated risks against the possible benefits. Crazy balancing acts on stability balls with heavy weights, for example, are counterproductive and just plain dangerous. New fitness fads and training methods will come and go, but the big strong lifts and sound training principles will always be around because they work. Be wary of the latest over-hyped fitness fad and try to be analytical in your appraisal of it before jumping on the band wagon. This does not mean you should reject everything new; excellent innovations will continue to be made but they need to be distinguished from the gimmicks and fads.

This book will provide the information you need to look after yourself better and perform better. Even before you have built significant strength, simply improving your movement with some SMR and mobility work will make you feel better and improve your performance. Some athletes have set new personal best times after just two weeks by working at getting rid of trigger points and mobilizing stiff joints before they have even started proper strength training.

There are explanations on how to prepare yourself for training sessions and look after your body better, by reducing aches and pains and injuries and making yourself stronger and more robust. The first section looks at how good posture can influence performance by helping maintain muscle balance and joint alignment to allow optimal movement and expression of strength in diverse situations.

Next is the training preparation or warm-up phase, a progressive four-stage plan to make sure you are ready for your training session. Instead of ignoring your stiff back or shoulders and heading straight for the weights, spending ten to fifteen minutes working on mobility and stability will greatly improve your training.

Methods for strengthening and stabilizing the torso, or ‘core’ as it is also known, are explained and illustrated; some of these can be used as good pre-activation exercises as well.

The main section explains how to perform and develop technique for some of the best exercises for increasing whole-body strength and improving health and performance.

The final chapter on planning contains some example programmes and effective training methods to help you in your quest for strength.

CHAPTER 1 POSTURE

Correct postural balance and strength are important for efficient movement in everyday life and for optimal performance in sporting situations and it all begins when we are babies. In the womb we develop in the foetal position and after birth we start strengthening the muscles that comprise the posterior chain. These are the muscles running from the head down the spine to the hips and down the back of the legs to the feet. Babies have great mobility and quickly start to develop the stability and strength they need to get to their feet and start walking. Motor patterns and movement are practised and perfected until they can stand, then walk and eventually run around with confidence and good posture. Toddlers have great squatting and dead-lifting technique too.

As children start attending school they find themselves sitting down for longer periods at a time, and this is when bad postural habits and muscle imbalances can start to develop. Kids need to move. Movement develops motor skills, maintains mobility and is vital to ensure healthy development of the whole body. As we get older the pressures of modern life make it harder to find opportunities to maintain optimal mobility and good posture. We spend more and more of our waking hours sitting down: on the way to work, on the train or in the car; at work for hours on end; on the way home again; and at home in the evening watching television. None of this is good for the posterior chain that developed so well in infancy. Then, to make things worse, because we sit around so much we develop a paunch, so we start doing sit-ups in a vain attempt to get six-pack abs. This only adds to the overdevelopment of the anterior chain and contributes to poor posture, among other problems.

Athletes and non-athletes develop posture and movement dysfunctions through daily habits and poorly designed training programmes. Poor posture can lead to neck, shoulder, back, hip or knee and ankle pain, and possibly injury. Adopting the correct posture during athletic movements will reduce the risk of injury by making sure that all joints and structures are in the right position to absorb and generate forces. Good posture can be encouraged and reinforced with an appropriate mobility and strength programme that addresses muscle imbalances and movement dysfunctions.

Healthy Posture

Posture can be influenced by many factors, from repetitive sporting actions and frequently held positions at work or rest, to acute or chronic injuries, emotional stress and even sleep positions. It is a very complex subject and one that cannot be extensively explored here. Proper analysis and treatment of postural and movement dysfunction, especially in the presence of pain, requires the skills of an appropriately qualified therapist. However, some of the more common and basic dysfunctions can be assessed with movement screens such as the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) devised by Gray Cook and helped with corrective exercise strategies. Below are some basic explanations of common postural dysfunctions, which will give an idea of how the body is linked throughout with many ways of integrating muscles for producing movement and providing support.

Side view of ideal posture: ear in line with shoulder, normal spinal curves, neutral pelvic position and alignment from hips through knees to ankles.

Healthy posture does not need to be perfect and the ideal posture should be used as a guide to assess where there may be areas that need attention. When the body is viewed from the side there should be alignment from the ear to the shoulder through the hip joint just behind the centre of the knee and down to the ankle. From the front the head should be held straight, the shoulders and hips should be level and, with the feet hip width apart, there should be good alignment from hip to knee and ankle. With a good posture the spine has three natural curves: a lordosis at the neck and lumbar spine and a kyphosis at the thoracic spine.

Front view of ideal posture: shoulders level, arms straight by the sides, pelvis level and alignment from hips through knees to ankles.

Looking at static posture can provide some information of possible dysfunction, but it is also vital to assess dynamic posture. This is where the Functional Movement Screen is used to assess how the joints and segments move and interact with each other in order to perform effective and efficient movement. At the bottom of the squat for instance the pelvis must be able to tilt anteriorly, to maintain a strong and stable spine position. If the pelvis tilts posteriorly the lumbar spine will round out and be subjected to damaging compressive and shear forces.

Common Postural Dysfunctions

Rounded Shoulders

Some of the most common postural dysfunctions start with the position of the head. When the head is held forward of the shoulders it results in extension at the neck and a rounding of the shoulders and thoracic spine. The sternocleidomastoid is a muscle attaching at the skull behind the ears, running down to the clavicle (collar bone) and sternum, which exerts a simultaneous upward and downward force when the head is held in the right position. The downward force tilts the head backwards and the upward force tilts the head forwards. When in the correct postural position the sternocleidomastoid’s upward force pulls on fascial connections running all the way down the front of the torso to the pubis, which lifts the chest and helps with the correct pelvic position. When the head is carried forward of the shoulders the sternocleidomastoid cannot exert its upward pull so the chest drops and the abdominals slacken, allowing the pelvis to tilt forward.

Slouched shoulders can cause neurogenic tension in the lumbar spine, which can then make an anterior pelvic tilt worse. In addition, the muscles across the chest, particularly the pectoralis minor, tend to be over-active and the muscles of the upper back tend to be under-active. All this contributes to what Janda termed the ‘upper crossed syndrome’ and is very commonly seen in today’s largely sedentary population.

Example of poor posture: forward head carriage, rounded upper back and shoulders. This posture can lead to neck, back and shoulder pain and movement dysfunctions.

Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Another common problem is at the pelvis, independent or in conjunction with a forward head carriage. Anterior pelvic tilt is when the front of the pelvis tilts forwards, resulting in an exaggerated lumbar lordosis. There can be a number of contributing factors in any postural dysfunction and it may be necessary to change daily habits or sports techniques as well a s addressing mobility, stability and muscle imbalances. Anterior pelvic tilt can result in a tight lower back and hip flexors or a tight lower back and hip flexors can contribute to an anterior tilt. Rather than trying to discover what came first, the best approach might be to address the most common contributing factors. Sitting down for long periods can lead to reduced activation in the glutes and over-activation in the hip flexors. Repetitive short-range hip flexion, as in running and cycling, can also lead to tight hip flexors, which can then cause inhibition at the glutes. This is a powerful combination for producing an anterior pelvic tilt. The hamstrings attach to the pelvis and an anterior tilt will pull them tight, resulting in neurogenic tension here as well.

Such problems will result in inefficient biomechanics, which reduce performance, create fatigue and lead to over-use and acute injuries, not to mention the damaging compressive and shear forces that can occur in the spine.

Example of anterior pelvic tilt, which can also accompany the rounded shoulder posture and can lead to back pain and movement dysfunctions.

Foot Pronation or Eversion

Foot pronation and eversion relate to slightly different foot movements that have come to be used interchangeably to describe roughly the same thing: rightly or wrongly, the problem is commonly termed ‘flat feet’. Although some people may have structural flat feet, most difficulties are due to muscular or fascial problems, which can usually be treated and corrected with manual therapy techniques such as deep massage and addressing muscle imbalances. Over-pronation of the foot can lead to problems at the knee, hip, lower back or even higher up – for example, the right ankle has a strong relationship to the left shoulder. Conversely, hip and knee problems can lead to pronation of the foot. Either way, over-pronation of the foot can hinder performance and lead to chronic or acute injuries.

Over-pronated feet, with ankle joints not centred, feet turned out and arches fat. This can create problems at the knee, hip and back.

Pelvic and Spinal Awareness

The pelvis is an area worthy of special attention as it is the point where the legs and torso are connected and its position can exert an influence or be influenced by joints above and below. When there is an anterior tilt, the pelvis tilts forward in relation to the femur and causes the lumbar spine to arch excessively. In a posterior tilt, the pelvis tilts backwards relative to the femur and causes the lumbar spine to straighten out too much and appear fat. The neutral pelvis sits between these two extremes and should be the normal position for most people.

Anterior pelvic tilt: creates an excessive lumbar lordosis, which can lead to back pain and other postural dysfunctions.

Neutral pelvic position: the correct position for a relaxed standing posture.

Posterior pelvic tilt: creates a fat lumbar spine, which can lead to problems with the spine.

Quadruped Spine Mobilizer

Quadruped exercises can be useful for helping establish pelvic and spinal awareness and may also be used as mobility/warm-up exercises. The quadruped start position is on your hands and knees with hands directly under your shoulders and knees under your hips and your spine in a neutral position. To help with spinal awareness, lift your spine up into an arch then lower your spine down into a curve. Do not go to the end ranges of movement; just get a little flexion and extension in the spine for a few repetitions, then return to neutral. Use a mirror at the beginning to help you get into a neutral position and guide the flexion extension movement, then try to feel when you are in a neutral position without a mirror.

Quadruped spinal mobility (neutral): starting position, with neutral spine.

Quadruped spinal mobility (flexion): quadruped position with flexed spine. Avoid going to the end range of motion.

Quadruped spinal mobility (extension): quadruped position with extended spine. Avoid going to the end range of motion.

Bird Dog

From the same quadruped position extend one leg back behind you until it is straight while simultaneously flexing the opposite shoulder until the arm is straight and both are parallel to the floor. Think about squeezing the glutes and gently bracing the abdominals to maintain stability while maintaining easy breathing. The spine and pelvis should not move. Hold this position for a few seconds and concentrate on maintaining a neutral spine and pelvis. Again, using a mirror can give good feedback.

Another good feedback mechanism is having someone place a broomstick or similar along the back. Keep the chin tucked in and neck in line with the spine and place the stick from the back of the head, between the shoulder blades and on to the pelvis. As you move the arm and leg keep the stick in touch with these three points and do not allow the space between the stick and the lumbar spine to change.

For more exercises that will help with posture, stability and awareness, see the mobility, pre-activation and core-strengthening sections.

Bird dog, start position: having the dowel in contact with the head, upper back and hips gives feedback on how to achieve the correct quadruped position.

Bird dog, finish position: maintain spine and pelvic position as you extend leg and flex opposite arm.

CHAPTER 2 TRAINING PREPARATION/WARM-UP PHASE

An Effective Warm-Up

The warm-up phase of any exercise regime is vital to the effectiveness of the rest of the workout session. Sadly, it is all too often overlooked completely, or addressed with a few arm swings and a couple of static stretches. Some believe that sitting on a stationary bike or plodding on a treadmill for ten minutes constitutes a warm-up but it is nowhere near good enough. The body needs to be properly prepared for the demands of the intended exercise if we want to reduce the risk of injury and ensure the quality of the workout. If you are an athlete you need your workout sessions to be as productive and as safe as possible. The last thing you want is to waste time and risk injury with a ‘junk’ workout. The real skill in training is to optimize performance improvements with the least amount of training possible and implementing a full and proper warm-up is a vital component of an effective training session.

Think about the warm-up more in terms of it being the part of the training session where you work on mobility, stability and motor skills. It needs to be comprehensive and contain several elements that progress to movements specifc to the upcoming training session. When you first start to implement some of these elements, take your time and get used to them as you would any new exercise or skill. Some may find the warm-up is the workout for the first few sessions. With practice you will become more familiar with the techniques and your body will respond faster. Total time spent on the warm-up should be somewhere between ten and fifteen minutes, and possibly longer while first implementing new concepts.

The warm-up is comprised of four progressive stages that blend into one continuous preparation phase:

Stage One: reducing muscle tension and density with a form of self-massage called self myofascial release (SMR).Stage Two: working on maintaining or increasing mobility in specific areas with targeted mobility drills and in multiple areas with whole body mobility drills.Stage Three: pre-activation work where the aim is to increase neural drive and excitability of particular muscles and movement patterns that are essential to all workouts.Stage Four: the specific warm-up. This is where the movement patterns specific to the upcoming workout are grooved to improve the execution of the exercises during the session and, consequently, the results from the training session.

A Note on Static Stretching

Routinely stretching the whole body prior to exercise is no longer considered necessary and does not constitute a warm-up. Static stretching can definitely be beneficial for a muscle which is tight or short for some reason but it may also decrease force and power production and decrease coordination if performed prior to training. Tight muscles are often so due to neurogenic tension rather than structural changes and can be addressed with SMR and mobility work prior to training. This is more beneficial, as it helps to heighten neural excitement, prepare the joints for loading and warm the soft tissues, at the same time as moving them through increased ranges of motion. Muscles that are actually shortened due to structural changes such as a loss of sarcomeres and connective tissue changes may need to be lengthened through some static stretching as well. Otherwise, leave the static stretching for another time and only for muscles that actually need it.

The Four Stages of the Warm-Up

The warm-up needs to address biomechanical, physiological and neural factors to prepare for training or competition. The best way to familiarize yourself with a proper warm-up is to break it down into the four stages then eventually blend them together into a flowing, effective preparation phase that will address all the necessary factors.

Stage One: SMR (Self Myofascial Release)

Benefits of SMR

The first stage is to address tissue quality with some SMR techniques. SMR is a cheap, convenient and effective way of giving yourself a pre- and post-exercise massage. It does not replace a good, proper massage and if you are serious about your training a regular sports massage can really help. SMR techniques use a variety of simple equipment, from foam rollers to tennis and golf balls. The principle involves using the piece of equipment to apply focused pressure to muscles and fascia. This facilitates the release of trigger points or tight areas through stimulation of mechanoreceptors. (Mechanoreceptors are neural receptors that lie in the skin, muscle and fascia throughout the body and which help regulate muscle tension and communicate information about the status of muscles and joints.) Knots or trigger points can occur for a number of reasons. They can be a result of maintaining a static posture for prolonged periods, such as sitting at a desk all day; they may also be caused by the repetitive movements that feature in many sports such as running, cycling or swimming. SMR should be done regularly to keep the knots at bay, or they will return and hinder your progress. The benefit of SMR is improved movement, increased blood flow and faster healing or recovery.

If they are ignored, knots or trigger points – areas of muscle or fascia that have become tight or gone into spasm – will become chronic and harder to resolve. They prevent the muscle from lengthening and shortening as it should and, consequently, affect the proper alignment and functioning of joints. The result is altered biomechanics, which can adversely affect performance and lead to excessive stress on structures, causing premature wear and tear and injury. Releasing these knots will allow for better movement and muscle contraction, which will give you better results from your strength training. This is not the only benefit. You will also reduce your risk of injury and heighten your skill acquisition from your training sessions.

When you first start to implement SMR you may find several tender areas that require a lot of attention in the first few days. After a while, when the worst areas have improved and you have got to know your body better, you may need to use SMR techniques only where they are really required.

SMR Technique

There are a couple of different techniques for SMR; you can try them both to see which suits you best, or you can use a mix of methods. One is to roll over a muscle until you find a tender spot, then pause and apply pressure on the tender area for about thirty seconds. Then move on to another tender spot and repeat the process over the whole muscle. Another method is to roll over a muscle until you find a sore spot, then move back and forth over the sore area ten to fifteen times. Then move on to another sore area and repeat. A third method is to roll up and down the length of the muscle without stopping. When you encounter a sore spot you just roll straight over it until you reach the end of the muscle, then roll back the other way straight over the sore spot again. It is rare for tender spots to disappear instantly with any of the methods and it usually takes a few days of SMR to get rid of the knots.

The best time to use SMR is still being researched and experimented with. It is undoubtedly beneficial before a training session, while after, as part of the cool-down, it can help with recovery and regeneration. Another possible application being explored at the moment is to roll during the rest periods between sets of exercises. This can help if you find you are experiencing tightness in your hip flexors or biceps femoris after a set of squats, for instance. Whether or not this is a good long-term practice is yet to be confirmed.

The Calf

A good way to go about implementing the SMR part of the warm-up is to start at the calf and work your way up. The calf can be done with a foam roller or tennis ball depending on how tender the trigger points are. Start with a foam roller and progress to the tennis ball (which is also a bit harder to use). Start sitting on the floor with your calf on the roller and using your arms for support with your hands on the floor behind you. Lift your hips off the floor and roll the calf up and down the roller. Target the bottom of the calf, the middle and at the top on the outside edge, which are the main areas for developing knots.

Calf: foam rolling for the calf, the most common spot for a trigger point is about half way up, where the soleus meets the gastrocnemius.

Fibularis: foam rolling for the fibularis on the outside of the lower leg; just below the knee is usually a site for trigger points.

Iliotibial Band (ITB)/Tensor Fasciae Latae (TFL)