Principles of Stength and Conditioning Midterm

Health-Related Components of Fitness

Cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength/endurance, flexibility, and body composition.

Skill-Related Components of Fitness

Speed, power, agility, balance, coordination, and reaction time.

Acute Resistance Exercise Variables

Variables that characterize the type and magnitude of the resistance exercise stimulus, including exercise choice, exercise order, load, volume, and rest periods.

Needs Analysis

A process used to determine the physical demands of a sport and includes the metabolic demands, biomechanical demands, and common injuries of the sport.

Metabolic Demands of Sport

The energy requirements of a sport, which are affected by the muscles used and can range from highly aerobic to highly anaerobic. Most sports use a combination of both.

Biomechanical Demands

The generalized body and limb movements encountered in a sport, including body position, timing and coordination, movement speed, and length of exertion.

ATP

The body's energy molecule. It is produced by anaerobic and aerobic energy systems and is used by all muscle fibers to produce chemical and mechanical energy.

Phosphagen Energy System

An energy system that uses stored ATP and creatine phosphate in the muscle. It provides energy rapidly for short-duration, high-intensity activity, usually lasting less than 6 seconds.

Glycolytic Energy System

An energy system that produces ATP through the breakdown of glucose in muscle fibers. It is slower than the phosphagen system and can provide energy for up to about 3 minutes.

Oxidative Energy System

The most robust energy system for producing ATP. It produces ATP more slowly but can generate large amounts of energy without rapid fatigue. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins can enter the Krebs cycle.

Frontal Plane

A plane that divides the body into front and back portions.

Transverse Plane

A plane that divides the body into top and bottom portions.

Sagittal Plane

A plane that divides the body into left and right portions.

Isometric Contraction

A muscle contraction in which the muscle length remains relatively constant while tension is produced.

Stabilization

Isometric muscle action used to stabilize the body or a joint.

Concentric Contraction

A muscle contraction in which muscle tension rises to meet resistance while the muscle shortens.

Eccentric Contraction

A muscle contraction in which the total length of the muscle increases while tension is produced.

Triple Extension

The explosive simultaneous extension of the hips, knees, and ankles to generate power.

Dynamic Movement

Movement from one location to another using the body and muscles while moving through a full range of motion.

Static Movement

Muscle contraction at high intensity without movement of the joints.

Musculoskeletal Injury

An injury caused by mechanical overload or overtraining that can be contact or non-contact.

Neurological and Cardiopulmonary Injuries

Injuries involving the nervous or cardiovascular/respiratory systems, such as concussions, asthma-related problems, and heart attacks.

Causes of Injuries

Athlete fatigue and tissue fatigue

Injury Prevention

A team approach involving doctors, athletic trainers, strength coaches, and team coaches.

Athletic Testing

Testing used to analyze strength, anaerobic power, speed, agility, aerobic capacity, endurance, and body composition.

Athletic Testing Basics

Athletic testing should be based on scientific evidence and requires a profile of the sport to properly test athletes.

Slow-Twitch fibers

Muscle fibers with high mitochondrial content that can sustain activity for longer periods and resist fatigue.

intermediate fibers

Muscle fibers with a medium amount of mitochondrial content and characteristics between slow- and fast-twitch fibers.

Fast-Twitch fibers

Muscle fibers with low mitochondrial content that are capable of producing high force and powerful contractions.

Specific

A test should be specific to the athlete's sport.

Relevant

A test should provide information that predicts an athlete's ability to succeed in their sport.

Valid

A test must measure what it claims to measure.

Reliable

A test should produce consistent and repeatable results.

Dynamic Warm-Up

A series of preparatory activities and functional movements performed to prepare the body for sport.

Goals of a Dynamic Warm-Up

Increase kinesthetic awareness, emphasize sport-specific movements, keep muscles active, progress from less intense to more intense movements, and emphasize proper form and mechanics.

Dynamic Warm-Up Design

Use large muscle group patterns similar to sport movements, progress from simple to complex movements, combine movements when appropriate, and avoid fatiguing the athlete.

Static Stretching

Stretching that is best performed at the end of the cool-down and is primarily used to increase flexibility.

Progressive overload

The process of gradually increasing resistance or training demands and is necessary for long-term gains in resistance training.

Resistance Program Concerns

Health or injury limitations, available equipment, training frequency, muscle groups to train, targeted energy systems, and required muscle actions.

Resistance Program Goals

Rehabilitation, increased muscle size, strength, power, speed, local muscular endurance, balance, coordination, flexibility, reduced body fat, and general fitness.

Resistance Training Variables

Exercise selection, exercise order and workout structure, intensity, training volume, rest intervals, repetition velocity, and training frequency.

Single-Joint Movement

An exercise that primarily stresses one joint or muscle group; it requires less skill and generally has a lower injury rate.

Multi-Joint Movement

A more technically complex exercise involving multiple joints; it is highly effective for improving muscular strength and includes basic strength and total-body lifts.

Machine Weights

Resistance equipment that provides greater stability and control, is often safer for beginners, can produce similar strength gains to free weights, and allows specific exercises to be targeted.

Free Weights

Equipment such as barbells and dumbbells that require the lifter to control all aspects of the movement and generally involve more muscles.

Alternative Equipment

Equipment such as weighted balls and resistance bands, as well as unstable exercises and strongman exercises.

Closed-Chain Exercise

An exercise in which the distal segment of the limb is fixed; these exercises can provide greater improvements in performance.

Open-Chain Exercise

An exercise in which the distal segment of the limb is moving freely.

Olympic Lifts

The six Olympic lifts covered are the power clean, front squat, squat clean, push jerk, power snatch, and squat snatch.

Total-Body Training

A workout approach that involves exercises targeting all major muscle groups and commonly emphasizes Olympic lift variations followed by basic strength exercises.

Total-Body Training Guidelines

Train large muscle groups before small muscle groups, multi-joint exercises before single-joint exercises, total-body exercises before basic strength exercises, alternate upper and lower body or opposing muscle groups, and stagger exercises.

Upper- and Lower-Body Split

A training approach that uses only upper-body lifts in one workout and only lower-body lifts in the next.

Upper- and Lower-Body Split Guidelines

Train large muscle groups first, perform multi-joint exercises before single-joint exercises, and alternate opposing exercises.

Muscle Group Split

A training approach that focuses on specific muscle groups and is commonly used by bodybuilders.

Muscle Group Split Guidelines

Perform multi-joint exercises before single-joint exercises, high-intensity exercises before low-intensity exercises, and move from the heaviest exercises toward lower-intensity exercises.

Increasing Intensity

Increase the relative percentage of 1-repetition maximum, train within a repetition maximum zone, or increase the absolute amount of weight lifted.

Increasing Volume

Increase the number of exercises per session, repetitions per set, or sets per exercise.

Power

The product of applied force multiplied by the velocity of movement.

Maximal Power

The power produced during one or two muscle contractions; it is essential for explosive movements.

Stretch-Shortening Cycle (SSC)

A movement pattern in which muscles are rapidly stretched and then shortened to accelerate the body or limb; commonly associated with plyometrics.

Plyometrics

Exercises involving a rapid stretch-shortening cycle that require little or no weight and can be designed to be sport-specific to improve power output.

Ballistic Resistance Training

Training in which the athlete projects the resistance into free space, such as ball throws, weighted squat jumps, and weighted box jumps.

Heavy Resistance Training

Training in which the athlete should be able to generate approximately three times the muscle tension required during the actual sporting event.

Olympic Lifts

Power clean, front squat, squat clean, push jerk, power snatch, and squat snatch.