Josh Perez Fitness

By having some helpful knowledge for stretching we can increase performance and results. Weightlifting is a sport that requires a tremendous amount of flexibility. Any lack of flexibility in major muscles or joints like the shoulder, elbows, hips, wrists and lower legs will limit your potential. Therefor you should be familiar and consistent with different stretching methods and understand the function of the muscles and joints involved.

In weightlifting, training increases your strength, and it’s due to the organism adapting over time, to the added stress. Flexibility training works in the same manner. Consistency and exceeding the existing range of motion are responsible for increases in flexibility. So the body’s natural adaptive responses is to increase flexibility in the active joints.

Joint Flexibility & Limitations:

1. Lack of elasticity of connective tissues
2. Muscle Tension
3. Lack of coordination and strength during movement
4. Bone and joint structure limitations
5. Pain

Also, to increase your range of motion of a joint, stretching must accomplish 1 of 3 things:

1. Increase the extensibility of connective tissue
2. Increase inter-muscular coordination
3. Increase intra-muscular coordination

Types & Varieties of Stretching

There are numerous recognized forms of stretching through out the fitness world and each type of stretch is specific to your different need and or goal. I will define the big 3: Static, Ballistic and Passive/ Active. Whichever method is going to be used, the possibility of injury depends on several factors including intensity, duration, frequency and velocity.

Static:

Static stretching is an effective and popular technique that is often taught in P.E. classes ranging from junior high all the way through the professional sports world. It involves a holding a position for a period of time, typically between 10 and 30 seconds, and which you could repeat or not. Static stretching involves total control, little or no movement, and minimal to zero velocity of the movement. The benefits of static stretching includes scientific research supporting the increase of range of motion, and minimal to no muscle soreness. Everyone can benefit from static stretching.

Ballistic:

Ballistic stretching involves movement in a dynamic (moving) fashion. Many athletes such as martial artists, gymnasts, and NFL players use ballistic stretches as a warm-up where movement through a full range of motion is necessary. Also, numerous amounts of weightlifting athletes incorporate ballistic stretches to prepare tendons, ligaments, and the musculature around the major joints for external load bearing exercises. These sport specific stretches and movements are effective in improving flexibility and mobility. Some examples of this are:

• Leg swings
• Arm circles
• Kicks

Here are some disadvantages to ballistic stretching (Yes they do exist):

1. Inadequate tissue adaptation – if tissue is stretched too rapidly, lasting flexibility cannot be optimally developed.
2. Soreness resulting from injury – if the ballistic movements are high in amplitude, slight tearing or stretching injuries may occur in your muscle
3. Initiation of the stretch reflex – if a sudden stretch is applied to the muscle, a reflex action is initiated causing the muscle to contract. This causes an increase in muscle tension and a decrease in stretching ability.

Passive – Active:

With this passive – active stretching, generally you have a partner who helps guide you through this stretch. Your partner does all of the manipulation and this will benefit both of you in a few ways.

1. Positive feedback from your partner
2. Reduces boredom
3. Helps familiarize you with a stretching program

One of the top books that I have found to help guide you through the “correct” way of stretching for your goal is titled “The Dynamic Flexibility Manual.” This manual will answer all of your questions and it illustrates images on how to perform the stretches. I have the book listed below:

There are a number of myths and misconceptions regarding strength training and flexibility, which you should recognize. Here are 3 examples:

1. Strength gains may limit flexibility
2. Flexibility gains may have detrimental effects on strength
3. Muscle gain will decrease flexibility causing you to be “muscle bound”

The truth is – strength training or weightlifting does not limit your flexibility, but actually improves it through proper weight lifting technique. Their are 2 main keys for developing flexibility through resistance training. First, the muscle or muscle groups must work together through the entire range of motion. Second, there must be an emphasis on the eccentric (negative) contraction. The reason is because there is greater stress on the muscle fibers while trying to work through full range of motion – consequently, this increases flexibility. With the greater stress being on the eccentric (negative) part of training, their will be more muscle soreness.

Refer to my Fitness Products – Deals and Fitness Products – Store for your savings on all major fitness brands.

A specific warm-up should follow the general warm-up and stretching routine before any type of intense exercise. The specific warm-up relates to activities specific to your resistance training program or training session. Depending on the exercise, you may to choose to use no weights, or use the bar when performing these exercises that I have listed below. Here are the examples.

• Pressing movements
• Pulling movements
• Arm circles
• Trunk circles
• Overhead squats
• Knee circles
• Squat to a overhead press
• Muscle snatch
• Wrist circles
• Core movements

A cool-down gives the body a period of adjustment from exercise to recovery. You may choose this time to improve flexibility, but more importantly, the cool-down assists in muscular relaxation and promotes the removal of muscular waste products by the blood. Lastly, It also reduces muscular soreness and allows the cardiovascular system to adjust back to it’s normal levels.

If developing big, oval-shaped pectorals is your goal, then having proper bench pressing technique is crucial to your workouts. The barbell bench, is one of the most paramount exercises for building size and strength in the chest, deltoids (shoulders), and triceps. Building size or strength of your chest will be dictated by your technique and form. Building size is all about training the muscles to become bigger, symmetrical, and more aesthetically appealing.

You must strive to have complete control of the movement and control the tempo. The tempo being – lifting the barbell off the bench, and going down for 3 seconds, holding for 1 second, and pushing up for 2 seconds for 8-10 repetitions. Make sure to go full range of motion (ROM) but never locking out the elbows nor touching your chest. As soon as you feel your shoulder take over, that is your limit on the range of motion, and you should press back up from their.

Another key point to bench pressing is keeping your elbows out to your sides, roughly 90 degree’s from your wrist to your elbow, and your elbow to your shoulder. This will maintain tension on your pectorals and it will help minimize tricep involvement. Remember, you can never isolate a muscle, you can only emphasize it. Ideally you want to perform 4-5 sets, 8-10 repetitions. If you can do 8 repetitions easily, go up in weight, if your struggling, then your fine. Increase your weight by 15% every 3-4 weeks to decrease the chance of adapting to the exercise. The hazard of adapting to an exercise is – not seeing anymore growth. The illustrations below represent proper technique and form to the barbell bench press.

As far as your back is concerned, more excitement comes from more functional training. The simplest, easiest, most basic moves are usually the most important gift you can give your body every day. These exercises are common sense, preventative movements, and relays to everyday life that when done on a daily basis will keep your whole body toned up.

What’s Functional Training?

• Functional training strives to work major muscle groups in their full range of motion to promote everyday ease of movement.
• Functional training is quality of life movement.
• Functional training gives you the ability to move at ease and perform everyday activities and tasks, pain free.
• Functional training burns maximal amount of calories because of maximal muscles being used to perform the movement.

These example exercises provides rotation, flexion, and extension of the spine which is the foundation for functional training.

Still in Bed:

1. One Knee Hug (lying on back – hug one knee into chest – feel stretch in lower back – other leg can be bent at knee or extended.) Breathe. Switch legs.
2. Both Knees Hug (same as above – hug both knees into chest – feel stretch in lower back – breathe into the stretch – feeling your spine lengthening with each breath.)

If Your Watching Televison:

1. Hip Rolls (from above, drop feet on floor – knees bent – arms out to the side in a T position – shoulder level – palms up – allow your legs – knees together to roll to the ride side – and attempt to kept your left shoulder on the floor – breathe into the torso stretch – pull your abdominals in and bring your knees back to center and roll them to the other side.)
2. Pelvic Lift (lying on back – knees bent – feet shoulder width apart – arms by your side – lift your hips up into the air – keep weight centered in your whole foot – and slowly roll yourself down –starting from your mid back, lower back and then rear end. Articulate the spine as though it were a ‘string of pearls’ – make sure your knees stay still during the movement – they have a tendency to roll open during the lowering.) Breathe
3. Prone-Iso Abs aka Planks (roll over onto your belly – prop yourself up on your elbows – legs extended together behind you – visualize lifting your chest – pull in your abs and feel your spine naturally extend – drop your shoulders and breathe.)

While on a weight lifting program, the right hormones (testosterone) are necessary in order to bulk up. Women’s testosterone levels are much lower than men’s, so in most cases, they are not capable of building large muscles. In fact, since muscle is more dense than fat, women tend to lose inches when they strength train.

So in addition to the physical benefits (increased metabolism, decreased risk of osteoporosis, increased strength), strength training will help women to slim down! Women, in fact, are more likely to tone up from strength training rather than bulk up. Research shows that women can add up to 35% lean muscle and end up looking thinner, feeling stronger and being firmer.

Our society and pop culture seem to associate weight training with oversized muscles, but that’s just one avenue, which is extremely difficult for most people (including men) to achieve.

Women with an intense fear of becoming large (likely due to these images, bodybuilding magazines, and myths) as a result of weight training are at a disadvantage when it comes to their health.

The problem most women run into isn’t building too much muscle, but not building enough. This sets them up for increased risk of osteoporosis later in life, as well as a reduction in muscle mass of about 2-5% per year, which has an adverse affect on metabolism (and can result in weight gain).

Glucosamine is a wonderful product specifically designed to relief pain. Glucosamine comes in two kinds of forms for ingestion such as powder and tableted.

Glucosamine is first off considered a health enhancing compound, not a performance enhancer, and is better known as glucosamine sulfate (aka chondroitin sulfate).

The main purpose of taking glucosamine is to relieve joint pain primarily from osteoarthritis, and to hasten recovery from connective tissue or joint damage.

Glucosamine is very popular among the 26-45 age range due to it’s recovering properties.

The potential users of glucosamine are people who suffer from osteoarthritis, people with medical supervision, and is used for athletes with mild joint or connective tissue discomfort. Glucosamine should be taken as a dosage of no more than 1,500 mg a day, and for women it should be 1,000 mg dosage.

The best way to take the glucosamine product is through a time released tableted form. The reason why this is, any type of powder or liquid serum form is completely unstable when taken in by the human body and is attacked by our defense system, which destroys it.

Glucosamine is best taken as a tableted form and we maintain 90% of it as opposed to the powder or liquid serum form of being only 10%.

Refer to my Fitness Products – Deals and Fitness Products – Store for your savings on all major fitness brands.