Exercise Physiology: FITT and Muscles

FITT Formula

• Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type
• Calculate Target Heart Rate (THR) by: (220 - age) x % (70-80%) = THR (bpm)
  • Example for a 20-year-old: (220 - 20) x 0.70-0.80 = 140 bpm - 160 bpm

Muscular System

• Skeletal Muscle: Voluntary, controlled by nervous system, responsible for movement
• Smooth Muscle: Involuntary, automatic control, found in various body systems
• Cardiac Muscle: Involuntary, found only in the heart

Muscular Capacity

• Resistance Training Benefits:
  • Increased muscle strength
  • Higher resting metabolic rate
  • Increased bone mineral density
  • Muscle hypertrophy (increase in muscle size)
  • Positive changes in body composition
  • Reduction of back pain
  • Improved glucose utilization

Terms to Know

• 1RM (1 Repetition Max): Maximum weight lifted for one repetition
• Repetition (rep): One complete movement of an exercise
• Set: A group of repetitions
• Overload Principle: Increasing workload to stimulate muscle growth
• General Adaptation: Preparing muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments for intense training. This focuses on higher reps, lower intensities, and shorter rest periods.
• Atrophy: Muscle size reduction

Muscle Action

• Prime Movers (Agonists): Muscles primarily responsible for movement
• Antagonists: Muscles that oppose the prime movers
• Stabilizers: Muscles that support the prime movers during movement

Principles of Resistance Training

• Exercise Selection: Choose exercises relevant to the specific sport or fitness goal
• Muscle Balance: Avoid imbalances by working on all muscle groups
• Exercise Order: Start with compound exercises (those engaging numerous muscle groups), then move to isolated exercises.
• Rest: Varies based on training goals, taking 10 seconds to 5-10 minutes between sets.
• Breathing: Exhale during concentric (muscle shortening) phase; inhale during eccentric phase (muscle lengthening)
• Speed of Contraction/Tempo: Adjust speed depending on the training goal, for power-based training tempo is faster.
• Technique: Maintain proper form during each exercise to prevent injuries

Overall Conditioning Program

• Example program for general conditioning with details about frequency, sets, and reps.

Common Terminology

• Functional Exercises: Movement patterns used in daily activities or specific sports.
• HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training): Alternating high-intensity bursts with short recovery periods.
• Metabolism: Chemical processes that sustain life.
• Plyometrics: Rapid and powerful muscular contractions.
• Superset: Performing two exercises consecutively without rest. Note this is often used in workout routines to work opposing muscle groups.
• Aerobic/Anaerobic Exercise: Exercises that require oxygen (aerobic) versus those that don't (anaerobic)
• Cross Training: Combining different exercise types to improve fitness or reduce the risk of injury.
• Compound Exercises: Exercises that work numerous muscle groups simultaneously, including two or more joints.
• PREP (Physical Readiness Evaluation for Police): Police recruit fitness test. The document mentions that further information is available elsewhere (probably in slides).