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Weight Training
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Benefits of Weight Training - Develop muscle strength and tone
- Develop muscle endurance
- Increase in metabolism, body burns fat more efficiently
- Maintain/increase bone density
- Increase performance level
- Decrease risk of injury
- Increase mental focus
- Increase self-esteem
How do we get stronger? Overload Principle A muscle will only strengthen when it is forced to operate beyond it's customary intensity. Muscle size, strength, and endurance will only improve when stress (weight or repititions) is greater than usual. Resistance or Weight Training will increase the size of the muscle. this is called hypertrophy. Progressive Resistence Progressive resistance is the key to any well designed strength program. This means that as your muscles adapt to a given exercise( as you get stronger), you need to gradually increase the resistance to promote further gains. Repetition
Repetition (rep) is one complete movement of an exercise. Sets
A set is a number of repetitions completed in succession. A set can be any amount of repetitions. Depending on what you are trying to achieve determines how many reps you will do per set, and how many sets you will perform of an exercise. How much weight? For maximum strength and muscle development, sets should be done with enough weight to cause muscle fatigue ( the inability to do another repetition). A weight load that produces fatigue in the 3rd set of repetitions corresponds to approzimately 70% of a maximum lift. How many? Stength vs. Endurance When repetitions are low (3-5 per set), with weight set heavy, strength development is primarily promoted. With higher repetitions (12-18 per set), with weight set light, muscle endurance can be achieved. Repetitions at 8-12 per set and weight set medium then moderate strength and endurance are promoted. Rest between sets should be approximately 45 seconds to 1 minute. Exhale as you raise the weight, inhale as you lower the weight. Raise the weight on 2 counts and lower the weight on 3 counts. How often? For most people, lifting 2 to 3 times per week is appropriate to make significant gains in strength. Increases in muscle size and strength don’t occur while you’re training, they occur during the rest period between workouts. This is when your muscles recover and rebuild, gradually becoming bigger and stronger. The recovery process takes at least 48 hours. For this reason, strength training sessions should be scheduled no more frequently than every other day. If you prefer to train more often, you should avoid hitting the same muscle group on consecutive days.
Physical Education Department
Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart
3860 Main St.
Buffalo, N.Y. 14226
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