Thread: Exercise 101 Breakdown

First Cardio: EVERYONES FAVORITE.

Cardiovascular exercise can be broken down into two parts: Aerobic and Anaerobic exercises.

Aerobic exercises involve sustained activities, which work on the slow-twitch muscle fibers. They call for large amounts of oxygen during the activity and have a long duration helping to improve the cardiovascular endurance of ones body. A marathon or an "aerobics" class would fall into this category. Aerobic exercise is necessary for weight-loss.

Anaerobic exercises, on the other hand, are short in duration and utilize the fast-twitch muscles of your body. They involve a short burst of energy that doesn't use much oxygen. However, the recovery will call for good deal of oxygen intake. A good example of this would be the 100-meter dash. At the end of the 100 meters, the runner is exhausted even though the duration was only 10-15 seconds. This will not help you lose much weight but it will give you speed and power.

NEXT: RESISTANCE TRAINING (3 TYPES)

resistance training. In this instance use weights as the resistance. Resistance training can be broken down into three categories: Endurance, Power, and Mass Training

MUSCULAR ENDURANCE:
Muscular endurance is the building block for resistance training. Without muscular endurance, the other two categories cannot be achieved.

Endurance training involves low weights but high repetitions. The repetitions should be done at a steady rate. I usually recommend five to six sets and 10-15 reps. per exercise. The weight used is between 50-60% of the one rep. max. Every new lifter or old lifter who hasn't lifted for some time needs to go through endurance training.

POWER TRAINING:

Power training involves a little heavier weight with less reps. The repetitions should be done with quick bursts on each concentric contraction. I usually recommend five sets and 6-10 reps. per set. The number of reps will vary with the set and the amount of weight will also change. The weight varies from 60-80% of one rep. max.

MASS TRAINING:

mass training requires heavy weight accompanied with low repetitions. The important thing to remember is that the eccentric contraction should be nice and slow but the concentric contraction should be at a moderate rate. I usually recommend five sets with 2-8 reps. depending on the weight. The weight varies from 70-100% of one rep. max.