Q & A :: Part III By Kyle Coleman

[Source11]

Part. III

11.)What are Compound and Isolation movements?



There is a key difference between Compound movements and Isolation movements. A compound movement is a multi-joint movement that works a group of muscles. A Isolation movement is to target a specific movement and try and place the majority of the training work on that muscle. Many people argue the fact that its impossible to completely isolate a given muscle which is correct, but it is not impossible to put the majority of the training stress on the particular muscle. To understand this you must see the eccentric and concentric muscle actions and how muscles work together. Like the example of the bicep curl, which is an isolation movement, as the bicep shortens (concentric) the tricep must then lengthen (eccentric). Although the majority of the stress is placed on the bicep the tricep is still being used and thus the bicep is not completely isolated.



List of Compound Movements (not complete)

ü Bench Press

ü Clean and Press

ü Snatch

ü Clean and Jerk

ü Dead lift

ü Squat



List of Isolation Movements: (not complete)

ü Bicep curl

ü Tricep extension

ü Hammer curl

ü Leg extension

ü Leg curl







12.) What is plyometric training?

It is a of mechanical shock stimulation to force the muscle to produce as much tension as possible. This method is characterized by impulsive actions to minimal duration (lasting period) between the end of the eccentric braking phase and initiation of the concentric acceleration phase. The maximal amount of time it shall take the athlete to perform the transition phase of the plyometric (time between eccentric and concentric) should be no longer then 0.15 seconds. If the movement takes a prolong period of time it redefines itself as an ordinary jumping movement rather then a classical plyometric. In the early 1960's Dr. Verkhoshansky used a method of training called "Shock Training". Many Western coaches believed that this was the Russian training secret to their dominance. In many countries in the East they still called it Shock Training rather then Plyometrics, which is an adoption of the method Verkhoshansky developed. The reason they favored the word Shock Training rather then Plyometrics is to recognize the difference between Plyometric Action and Plyometric training. Plyometric Action takes place in every day life. It involves running, jumping, hurdling, striking, and other forms of rebounding movements in sports. In many literature text today plyometrics are referred to as power metrics.


Safety of Plyometric Training.

Many people are fallen into the trap of the "Hype" of ballistic movements being dangerous, which are mostly forms of Western text that try to support it. Most of the text that does try and show how ballistic type movements, in this case Plyometric Training, have dangerous Sid effects are very false and un-clinically proven. Reason for this is their is no way to actually isolates the effects of Plyometric as that of other sports of which have the ability to compare overall intensity, duration and complexity of loading. To also believe that Plyometric actions are safe but not Plyometric training can only cause some good laughs among sports scientist. In actual term joints subjected to heavy impact such as Plyometric training are relatively free from osteoarthritis in old age and that those subjected to much lower loading experience a greater incidence of osteoarthritis and cartilage damage. How could this be you ask? The joints exposed to such impulsive loading attaching tendons and other tissues become much stronger and durable then those who aren't exposed to impulsive loading.

Benefits Of Plyometric Training:
* Increase Speed
* Increase Jumping abilities
* Increase Upper body speed
* Increase Upper body and Lower body reactive abilities
* Increase in variety outside the weight room
* Increase Explosive Strength
* Fun to do


Basic Plyometric exercises: (Upper/Lower)

1. Lower Body:
* Bounding
* Hurdle Hopping
* Box Jumps
* Single or Double leg hopping
* Tuck Jumps
* Depth Jumps

2. Upper Body:
* Chest Pass
* Explosive Incline push up
* Power Drops
* Incline Chest Pass
* Vertical Toss ups

That was a very short and basic list of Plyometric exercises everyone should be aware of. Before the athlete should place certain movements into their training program they must be aware of what is being demanded of their sport. For example if your a volleyball player then you could introduce some box jumping or hopping drills. If your a discuss thrower and you want to increase throwing distance one might do explosive incline push-ups or vertical toss passes. I would recommend doing Plyometric movements no more then 2 to 3 times per week depending on the movements done. If the athlete does a lot of box jumping and depth jumps then I would suggest it be preformed no more then 2 times a week. If the athlete wants to train a 3rd day with Plyometric movements then it wouldn't hurt to perform some basic bounding drills of low impact. The athlete must also be aware of the fact that with Plyometric training its not the quantity that is good but the quality that is being done. The athlete shouldn't worry about how much they do but how good they do it. Keep all movements under control and the environments safe. For certain movements such as depth or box jumps I would suggest 1-2 sets of 4-6 reps. The amount of exercises that can be preformed can range from 1-3. For all bounding and hopping movements the suggested amount would be 20-40m in length. The athlete can have 2-4 trips performed on each movement. Like its counter partner it can also have a rang of 1-3 movements per session trained.





13.) How are Olympic Lifts beneficial to strength training athlete’s?



In the Olympic game’s the weightlifting competition consist of two lifts. The Clean and Jerk and the Snatch. The clean and jerk, also referred to as c&j, is taking a barbell from the ground to above you head in two movement’s combined. First the weight is cleaned to the shoulder’s then the lifter drops under the weight and jerk’s it above head. The Snatch is a lift taken above the head just like the clean and jerk, but in one motion. The barbell starts on the floor and the lifter takes a much wider grip on the barbell then precedes to take the barbell from the ground above head like an overhead squat. Then the lifter will then stand up with the weight above head.

Now that you have a basic understanding as to how to perform the Olympic lifts we will talk about the benefits of the lifts. I find the benefits outlined in the book "The Weightlifting Encyclopedia” , by Drechsler rather well wrote. Here are the examples he has given about the benefits of doing Olympic lifts:

[Source11]

1. The mere practice of the (Olympic) lifts [the snatch and the clean & jerk as well as related lifting techniques] teaches an athlete how to explode.

2. The practice of proper technique in the Olympic lifts teaches an athlete to apply force with his or her muscle groups in the proper sequences.

3. In mastering the Olympic lifts, the athlete learns how to accelerate objects under varying degrees of resistance.

4. The athlete learns to receive force from another moving body effectively and becomes conditioned to accept such forces.

5. The athlete learns to move effectively from an eccentric contraction to a concentric one.

6. The actual movements performed while executing the Olympic lifts are among the most common and fundamental in sports.

7. Practicing the Olympic lifts trains an athlete's explosive capabilities, and the lifts themselves measure the effectiveness of the athlete in generating explosive power to a greater degree than most other exercises they can practice.

8. The Olympic lifts are simply fun to do

It has also been well documented by people the amazing vertical jump these Olympic lifters have. This is really amazing once you think that these guys don’t jump but yet can out jump the pro basketball players in the NBA. In the Mexico City Olympic Games Dr. Yessis did a field test with the Olympic lifters competing and the Olympic sprinters and jumpers. The had two test , the 25m sprint and the vertical jump. It was documented that the Olympic lifter’s out sprinted the Olympic sprinters in the 25m and out jumped the Olympic jumpers in the vertical jump! This is quite a feat for men 250-300lbs.

Olympic lifts have also been used to rehab people from past injuries. This is truly amazing when you think of the approach most people have with Olympic lifting being dangerous, which I’ll discuss later in this article.



14.) What is GPP and SPP?

Athlete’s can incorporate GPP and SPP as ways of getting out of the weight room and doing certain things that have a greater carry over in the true world we live in today. GPP is General Physical Preparation, whereas SPP is Specialized Physical Preparation. Both GPP and SPP are involved in low intensity work. Both form can be used for overall conditioning and help to improve overall skills in a certain sport. Where the work would be done to help improve a certain sport it would be more associated with SPP rather then GPP. Both GPP and SPP can also help speed up recovery time and help balance and coordination. These two methods allow for people to leave the walls of the training room and go out into the world we live in and use our strength like man did years ago.



15.) How are KettleBells different then Dumbbells?

Kettlebells are shaped much different then a dumbbell. I am sure everybody reading this knows what a dumbbell is shaped like. A kettlebell is a large ball of iron or steel with a thick handle attached to it. I guess you could say it looks more or so like a cannon ball with a handle. For years kettlebells have been used. This object date’s back to the days of the early strongman in the late 1700’s to present day. Many people believe they can accomplish the same thing using dumbbells as a kettlebell and that the only difference is shape. You can ask a good friend of mine Josh Henkin, who is a well respected strength coach in the nation, about the difference between a kettlebell and a dumbbell. The shape has a lot to do with the difference between them. The shape of the kettlebell makes it harder to maneuver and the leverage is much more different. The thickness of the handle of the kettlebell also allows for the grip to be worked as well. If you are interested in buying a kettlebell its rather easy to find them on the internet, just search for them! One training session with the “Ball of Hell” should make you a believer in them.

[FortifiedIron]

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