All of us have seen those machines which we are scared to touch maybe because we are clueless about how to actually use them without hurting ourselves. While they aren’t as popular as the traditional machines like treadmill and elliptical these machines have a very different role. They help us focus on specific muscle groups and are basically targeted to one or two muscles even with the group. While callisthenic is the new up-and-coming replacement to these machines they are slow and show results over a longer period of time whereas these traditional weight machines and equipment show instantaneous results.
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Muscle groups
The main muscle groups of interest that make up the human body are the abdominals, adductors (inside thigh), dorsal muscles (middle back), shoulders, arm extensors, wrist extensors, gluteal (butt), arm flexors, wrist flexors, scapular fixers (shoulder blade), thigh flexors (hamstrings), lumbar muscles (lower back), surae (calves), pectorals (chest), quadriceps (front thigh) and trapezii (upper back). Looking at it in less detail, the major muscle groups are the arms, shoulders, chest, back, legs, buttocks, and abdomen.
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Types of exercises
Compound exercises: Compound exercises are those that involve more than one joint, and often several large muscle groups. Examples: squat, deadlift, seated cable row, lateral pulldown.
Isolation exercises: An isolation exercise is one involving only one joint and which usually targets an isolated muscle group. Examples are the dumbbell arm curl for biceps and the leg extension machine for quadriceps.
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Joint movements
Flexion is when you decrease the angle in the joint. An example is the upward movement of an arm curl which decreases the angle in the elbow joint. The extension is an opposite movement that is, increasing the angle while lowering the weight. Abduction is moving a body part away from the middle of the body in the side plane. An example is raising a leg out to the side of the body. Adduction is bringing the body part toward the middle line of the body.
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Types of muscle contractions
Isometric contractions: The muscle does not lengthen. An example of this is pushing against a wall.
Isotonic contractions: The muscle shortens and lengthens. The shortening phase is called a "concentric" contraction and the lengthening phase is the "eccentric" contraction.
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Important terms
- A repetition (rep) is one completion of an exercise: one chin-up, one squat, one arm curl.
- A set is the selected number of repetitions before you rest. Let’s say 10 repetitions to 1 set of arm curls.
- The rest interval is the time between sets.
- The 1RM or repetition maximum is your personal best or the most you can lift once in any exercise. So 12RM is the most you can lift for 12 repetitions
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Type of training
· Strength training uses the most weight, the least number of repetitions, and the longest rest.
· Hypertrophy or muscle size training utilizes lighter weights, more repetitions, and less rest time.
· Strength endurance has less weight again, with more repetitions and even less rest.
· Power training involves lighter weights and longer rests while concentrating on the speed of the lift.
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Equipment
Dumbbells - They are a type of free weight, are a piece of equipment used in weight training, and can be used individually or in pairs, with one in each hand. Exercises with dumbbells include single-arm rows which target your back and upper arm muscles, shoulder press which target your shoulder muscles, chest press which target your chest muscles Bicep curls which target your biceps and Triceps extension which target your triceps.
Barbell - Barbells are a lifter’s best friend for moves like back squats, deadlifts, and snatches. They allow us to go so much further (than dumbbells) because you can add on so much more weight. But keep in mind, the bar itself can weigh anywhere from 45 pounds, so be sure to figure that into your calculation.
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