 Strength training is used to develop the strength and size of skeletal muscles. Properly performed, strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being. Strength training is often associated with resistance training, and particularly weight training, but there are a number of other forms of training that are also used to develop strength. These include:
- Isometric exercise, which was popularised by Charles Atlas.
- Plyometrics
- Sprinting
- Pilates
- Martial arts
Apart from the obvious weights and resistance bands, there are a number of other items of exercise equipment that can be used for strength training:
- Swiss ball
- Suburito, used for suburi exercises.
- Medicine ball
- Indian clubs
- Punching bag
- Strength shoes, which are used to increase calf strength. [1]
- Wobble board
Isometric, isotonic and isokinetic exercises
These terms combine the prefix "iso", meaning same, with "metric" (distance), "tonic" (strength) and "kinetic" (speed). In "isometric" exercises the length of the muscle does not change, in "isotonic" exercises the force applied to the muscle is relatively unchanged, and in "isokinetic" exercises the speed of movement is constant.
In isometric exercises the muscles flex and hold a stationary position. No movement of a load takes place, and the exercises require little in the way of equipment. An example of an isometric exercise is placing the palms of the hands against each other and pushing. Strength increases only occur at the angles the joints are held at during the exercise [2]. Isometric exercises are primarily used in physiotherapy and injury rehabilitation because the intensity can be rapidly and precisely adjusted, which makes them very safe. They are now rarely used outside this context.
In isotonic exercises the muscles are used to push or pull a weight. Any object can be used for weight training, but dumbbells, barbells and other specialised equipment are normally used because they can be adjusted to specific weights, and are easily gripped. Elastic resistance bands are a cheap and portable alternative. Some exercises, such as the push-up, use the individual's body weight instead. Advanced practitioners often add weight to body-weight exercises such as the crunch by, in this case, holding a dumbbell on their chest.
A third type of training, which is less common—except in sport-specific training or in rehabilitation—is isokinetic exercise. An exercise machine is used which registers the force applied to it by the user, and offers just that amount of resistance. (The rate of change of angle at the joints being utilised is kept constant.) This allows the user to exercise at an optimal speed, without the danger of being subjected to more weight than can be handled safely.
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