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Functional Strength Training-The military way to strength and fitness
So, what is functional strength training anyways? Functional Strength Training is “The development of physical strength that most closely mimics what might be needed in real world situations.” Pretty simple, why work on building strength or developing muscles you may never really need in the real world. Let’s take the bench press, for instance. Try to imagine a scenario where you would be laying directly on your back, and the only way to survive would be to push an extremely heavy weight straight over your head. Whenever I ask this question to a group of fitness buffs, I usually get someone who shouts out “What if a car fell on you?” Well, in the real world, I am not usually in a scenario where a car could fall on my, and if in fact I was laying on my back and I car DID fall on me, well, no amount of bench pressing would turn that into a happy scenario.
There ARE many real world scenarios where functional strength training could play a part in your safety or survival. What if, in order to save yourself, you had to scale a high wall? Maybe someone was chasing you, or you had to get on the other side to rescue someone, how would you get over the wall? No matter how pretty your pec muscles were, no amount of pressing will get you through this one. Nope, this is all pulling my friend. This type of scenario is one of the reasons that the military put such an emphasis to perform pull-ups. The ability to pull your own weight is an extremely useful and tactical skill and forms the foundation of a solid functional strength training regimen.
Another heavily focused fundamental of this type of training is core strengthening. Remember that scenario with the bench press? Well, if you DID have a large weight on your chest that you need to get off, you would save yourself, not by pressing straight up, but my twisting your torso (using your core muscles) and pushing with your legs to throw the weight to the side. The press does come into play, but it is the functional movement of your whole body that gives you true strength and ability in these types of real world scenarios. Other types of exercises include the squat, dead lift, lunges, and push ups among others.
Functional strength training can help you get through your everyday activities more easily. They can also better prepare you for life threatening situations that could befall any of us at any time. They can also give you a slim, ripped, muscular physique. So what are you waiting for? Do some research on functional strength training, put together a workout, and transform your body for the better today.
http://www.MrFatLoss.com, aka, Emile Jarreau is 31 year veteran fitness professional and co-owner of M2FitnessPros.com in Long Beach, California. Also having 19 years of bodybuilding and figure coaching experience, he specializes in fat loss and all its aspects and freely shares online resources to the world.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emile_Jarreau
Build Strength Doing Calf Raises
Author: David Taggart
If you ask any fitness trainer what one of the most neglected muscle groups are, they would probably respond by saying the calve muscles. The calve muscles are between your ankles and knee caps and can be one of the most difficult muscle groups to develop if you do not know what you are doing. Through out this article I want to educate you on the anatomy, and different exercises that you can implement into your workouts that will give you the calve muscles you are looking for.
The calve muscles has many different components of anatomy attached to it. The calves are most commonly defined as the fleshly, muscular back part of the human leg between the knee and ankle, formed chiefly by the belles of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Other anatomic components surrounding the calves muscle groups are: Anterior Tibialis or flexion of the ankle, and the inversion of the foot; Peroneus Brevis or flexion of the ankle, and the eversion of the foot; Peroneus Longus or the flexion of the ankle, and the eversion of the foot; Soleus or the flexion of the ankle, Gastrocnemius or flexion of the ankle; and Posterior Tibialis or flexion of the ankle and inversion of the foot.
The actual muscle size that each person is able to obtain is mostly genetic; however, you can still build decent size in your calves with the proper training and work ethic. Most people are just not aware of how to train the fast and slow twitch muscle fibers that will isolate the gastrocnemius or the posterior tibialis. The fact that many are weak in the calves can attribute to not being as flexible as well, not going through the full range of motion while doing calf exercises, training on the wrong day, and not keeping enough variation of exercises. Be certain to keep these things in perspective when exercising your calf muscles.
I have provided below a list of exercises that you can do to get the results you are looking for in your calf muscles. Choose a few of the exercises from the list and see which ones will work best for you.
Dumbell:
Calf Raise on a dumbbell
Standing dumbbell calf raise
Seated one leg dumbbell calf raise
Machine:
Standing calf raise
Seated calf raise
Calf press on the leg press machine
Body Weight:
Knee Circles
Ankle Circles
Now go to work and do not get discouraged if you are not receiving the results you want right away. Joy in the journey.
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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Build Strength Doing Calf Raises
Back Flexibility and Strength Exercises
Anyone who has ever suffered from a major backache knows how central the back is; even in times you might think it isn’t important. Even something like squeezing a tennis ball, an action that involves a focus on the fingers, forearm and bicep will involve the latissimus dorsi and other back muscles.
The lats are the large ‘side’ muscles that make a man triangle-shaped. To demonstrate how they are used during squeezing a tennis ball, try it! You’ll quickly feel a tensing of the muscles on the side of the arm you use. It’s especially noticeable if you have back pain.
Any sport will require strong back muscles, for speed and coordination, for balance and movement and for providing a strong ‘pillar’ for all the limbs to move off of.
Here are some simple exercises to help stretch and strengthen those all-important back muscles. Most of them are better performed on a firm, but not hard surface. While you work the muscles, you don’t want to cause undue, painful pressure on bony parts of the body.
Knee to Chest
Lie on your back and clasp your hands behind one thigh. Pull slowly toward the chest, keeping the other leg flat on the ground. Vary the action by flexing the ankle – first pointing the toe, and then pulling it back toward the knee – at the same time as you stretch the leg.
Hold each position for 5 seconds, then switch legs and repeat. Do 10 reps.
Rotations
Lie back, knees raised and together, feet flat on the floor. With your arms extended and near the body, and your palms flat on the floor, lift the feet off the ground slightly and rotate your trunk by moving the knee. Move the knees slightly left, then right.
Over time, as you become more flexible and build strength, you can increase the range of motion. Ultimately, you should be able to touch your knee to the floor.
Alternate the action by crossing your arms over your chest, then repeat.
Pelvic Press
Lie down on your back, knees raised and feet flat on the floor. Push the small of the back into the floor, feel the tension in the lower abdominals. Vary the action by moving your feet together and performing the exercise, then slightly apart and repeat.
As you press into the ground, hold for 5 seconds, but continue to breath slowly and normally.
Pelvic Lift
Lie on your back, knees raised and feet flat on the ground, arms crossed over your chest. Keeping the legs and knees together, raise the buttocks up slightly and hold for 5 seconds. Lower slowly, count to two, then repeat.
Remember to breathe normally through the exercise, in and out slowly.
Dog Stretches
On all fours, raise your head, eyes forward. Lower your arms and arch your back, hold 2 seconds, then resume the starting position. Slowly extend one leg, as near parallel to the floor as you can. Hold 3 seconds, and then put the leg back into starting position. (If this produces back, hip, or leg pain stop immediately.)
Switch legs and repeat. Vary the exercise by extending the leg with toe pointed, and then flex the ankle perpendicular to the leg. Hold for 2 seconds and repeat. Do 10 reps for each leg.
Never perform these exercises if they produce back pain. Mild discomfort from inactivity is natural. Pain is a signal that something is wrong. Consult your physician.
