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Resistance Training for Different Populations: Summary
Upper Body Plyometric Drills Lower body plyometric drills require strength and balance and produce a lot of impact forces. For those reasons, they may not be a good place to start, but a compromise is to use low-intensity upper body plyometric exercises such as: • Kneeling ball pass • Medicine ball chest pass training We can modify this exercise to suit persons in a seated exercise environment: Explosive reach only or catch the medicine ball only. Choosing Resistance Follow these two general rules to determine the weight of the medicine ball: • The ball must be heavy enough to slow the exercise but not so heavy as to reduce the range of motion • The ball must not be so heavy that it makes it difficult for the client to comfortably control the ball for at least 5 repetitions Progression A simple progression strategy is after 2 weeks, add a fourth set of 15 repetitions. WOMEN OVER AGE 40 The Unique Role of Estrogen One of the primary reasons a woman’s body changes with age is because estrogen levels decrease. Estrogen is vital to women’s health and was recently determined to be the key factor in muscle health in women over age 40. Estrogen-rich cells are critically important to preserve muscle function. Loss of estrogen negatively affects muscle maintenance and self-renewal, directly impacting muscle tone, strength, and appearance. Satellite Cells LEARNING TIP!
Resistance Training Although estrogen and body composition changes after age 40 affect most women, research has shown that specific methods of resistance training can help to preserve muscle mass and strength and positively impact
body composition. Body Composition
Less lean body mass leads to a progressive decrease in metabolic rate that leads to an increase in fat mass; however, it is difficult to build muscle mass after age 40 to combat this natural occurrence. The key lies in the programming, and more specific for women over age 40, it is the training load that is so important. Training Load Training load is defined as the amount of work that is done. It is the cumulative effect of training frequency (how often), volume (how much), and intensity (how hard). It is very different for different groups of people and individuals, but the number one aspect of resistance training programming for women over age 40 is the volume, or how much. Training loads are defined by: • Type of exercise a client/patient does, like machine- based resistance training, free weight exercises, band or ball exercises, or body weight training • Amount of exercise or resistance applied over time • Responses to the exercises or resistance • Is what the muscle is subjected to over time • Is defined by the frequency of exercise sessions, the number of sets and repetitions per session, and exercise intensity • Is an indicator of expected changes to the muscle as a direct response like growth, strength, and appearance improvements • Reflects the type and amount of exercise a client/patient does Internal : • Describes how the body responds to the external training load • Includes things like muscle force generated or output, heart rate, blood lactate levels, oxygen consumption, and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) • Varies day to day and over time • Characterizes the exerciser’s physiological and psychological responses to exercise during and after training There are two types of training loads External: • Measures the amount of work done during training • Is easily quantifiable
Estrogen-rich cells are critically important to the preservation of muscle function. However, estrogen works with muscle satellite cells to maintain, repair, and build healthy muscles.
Muscle satellite cells play a critical role to sustain and regenerate muscle fibers necessary for muscle growth and tone. Muscle satellite cells play a critical role to sustain and regenerate muscle fibers necessary for muscle growth and tone.
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