Understanding Strength Concept and Muscle Contraction

Understanding Strength Concept and Muscle Contraction. This post continues my earlier post is about physical fitness. Now i will describe one part of physical fitness that is Strength. Strength is the basic of all muscle contraction, every movement always involves the muscles in our body. So as to do a lot of physical activity needed muscle strength.

What exactly is strengths? Is the strength can be improved? What exercise can improve strength?. Some of these questions will try to explain in this article .

A. Understanding Strength

The definition of strength is muscle ability to contract maximally. The muscle ability can be increased through a variety of exercises that many contracting muscles. Usually involve exercises to strengthen the load from outside the body, due to increase the muscles ability to contract.

Muscle contraction consists of several kinds of which are:

1. Isometric contraction

Muscle contractions occur lengthening and shortening of the muscles, which means that our muscles tensed or contracted but not the movement stretched and shortened, no synergistic and antagonist muscles example during movement plank, arm muscle movement does not occur extends and retracts.

Isometric contraction

2. Isotonic contraction

Muscle contractions that occur lengthening and shortening of the muscles, the motion flexi and dorsi, there is always a muscle synergy and antagonists for example like when doing push-ups, bicep we move extends and retracts, the movement of push-ups, triceps muscle into muscle synergies contractions while biceps muscle becomes antagonistic muscle. In this isotonic contraction have a contraction and relaxation.

Isotonic contraction

B. Strength exercises using Weight Training

Forms of exercise to strength some of which are called with weight training. This exercise is usually carried out in places that a lot of fitness equipment for weight training. To do strength training with weight training, requires an understanding of the rules of doing weight training. In coaching there are called maximum repetition shortened MR, MR is the rule lifting weights for strength training.

For strength, maximum repetitions performed is between 8-12 MR. This means that the repetition at the beginning of the exercise must be 8 repetitions or 8 MR, if less than 8 means the initial load is lifted too heavy, the load must be lowered. If the beginning of the exercise exceeds 8 repetitions means that the load is too light so that the load should be lowered.

8-12 maximum repetition is devoted to some sports are not the dominant strength components such as soccer, basketball, volleyball and so on. For more sports that require strength, maximum repetition can be used 6-10 MR. As the sport of wrestling, judo, athletic throwing numbers, etc.
In one minimum weight training performed 3 sets, 3 repetitions. Example schedule Monday, Wednesday, Friday, alternated one-day rest period to restore cells damaged during weight training the day before. With the recovery time for our body, exercises performed can be useful.

The forms of weight training can be seen in the posting of weight training. So, for this post may be useful for the reader as well. Thanks.