The Benefits of Strength Training

1465 Words3 Pages

The benefits of strength training not only include increased physical strength, but the ability to negate or control certain disease's while improving conditions associated with aging.
Studies have shown that initial increases in strength seen in the beginning stages of strength training programs are largely due to neural factors, even though, the process responsible for muscle growth is evident in early weeks of training. Research shows that different types of neural adaptations like enhanced coordination and increased voluntary activation of major muscles are responsible for these early increases in strength (Sale, 1988, p. S142). Muscle strength is measured by the maximum amount of torque a muscle can produce during a maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) (Duchateau, Semmler & Enoka, 2006, p. 1768). Since humans cannot completely activate a muscle voluntarily, strength training can help increase the amount of muscle a person can activate voluntarily (Gabriel, Kamen & Frost, 2006, p. 135). Some data suggest that the pattern of motor unit activation and the number of motor units activated are equally as important the frequency of activation in producing increased strength (Gabriel, Kamen & Frost, 2006, p. 136). When an individual performs specific exercises repeatedly the motor units that control the activated muscles learn to activate in a simultaneous pattern, increasing strength. This can lead to intermuscular coordination allowing muscles to distribute motor unit activation among the muscles involved in particular exercises. Changes in the capability to distribute muscle activation may be due to the ability to voluntarily activate the muscles needed for specific task (Duchateau, Semmler & Enoka, 2006, p. 1769). Explosive power...

... middle of paper ...

...y of resistance training in the elderly. Eur Rev Aging Phys Act, 6, 1-2. doi: 10.1007/s11556-009-0047-8
Sale, D. G. (1988). Neural adaptation to resistance training. MEDICINE AND SCIENCE IN SPORTS AND EXERCISE, 20(5), S135-S145.
Sorace, P., Mahady, T. P., & Brignola, N. (2009). Hypertension and resistance training. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 31(1), 33.
Suetta, C., Magnusson, S. P., Beyer, N., & Kjaer, M. (2007). Effects of strength training on muscle function in elderly hospitalized patients. SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE & SCIENCE IN SPORTS, 17, 464-472. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2007.00712x
Williams, E. J., & CYR-Campbell, D. (1997). Nutrition, exercise, and healthy aging. Nutrition and Health for Older Americans, 97(6), 632-638.
Zacker, R. (2005). Strength training in diabetes management. Diabetes Spectrum, 18(2), 71-75. doi: 10.2337/diaspect.18.2.71

Open Document