The Well Rounded Workout
Muscles play a significant part in our daily lives, not only do they provide us with motion they also provide protection to our organs and are an integral part of body support and posture. We each have approximately 640 muscles beneath our skin. Interestingly, we have three different classifications of muscle; cardiac, smooth and skeletal. When it comes to exercise, men have more skeletal muscle then women. Exercising our muscles makes them stronger which improves our lives by making daily activities less of a sweat !
Muscle Balance
When incorporating resistance training into any workout and this could be anything you choose (body weight, resistance bands/tubing, free weights, machines, cables, medicine balls, TRX etc.), think of your body as a balance scale. Muscles work together in pairs and to function optimally they must have equal balance. This concept becomes even more important when occupation is taking into consideration. If you sit at your desk in front of a computer many muscles are working and others will become very weak over the course of days, weeks and months due to not being used in balance. This muscle imbalance over time will create a forward curving upper back, forward head placement, forward rounding of the shoulders and a compressed upper chest. Counteracting this unwanted muscular imbalance involves emphasis on strengthening the weaker muscles such as the upper back, back of the shoulders and stretching/opening of the upper chest bringing back balance before continuing greater more powerful resistance training to prevent possible injury.
Exercise Variety
If we use the same muscles when exercising three to five days per week we are not engaging the greatest number of muscle pairs. A more effective workout or exercise plan would have a variety of muscular resistance exercises over the two to five days per week. Changing workout routines often and creating variety into your program or daily activities will reduce the chances of developing muscular imbalances and preventing the occurrence and incidents of over use injuries. An average person who enjoys the activity of running uses the same muscles in the same pattern. This person would also benefit from resistance training two to three days per week concentrating on the muscles used for running will supply the runner with more muscular strength and ultimately more power. In addition, by having a variety of resistance exercises over the two to three days per week muscles which are not being used during the activity of running are worked, will be stronger and enhance the runners performance.
Having a Well Rounded Workout
Well rounded resistance training includes a warm up, resistance training, stretching and rest/recovery. Warming up our muscles prior to load bearing exercises will increase blood flow (oxygen) to our muscles and allow them to work harder for a longer period. There are a number of benefits of resistance training; it makes us stronger and able to do activities easier with less effort, it aids in the management of healthy body weight, it reduces the chances of loss of muscle mass, it reduces susceptibility of joint injury, it improves posture, it helps prevent bone disease (osteoporosis) and finally it improves performance. Stretching, it won’t prevent an over use injury it will increase blood flow to the area and reduce the possibility of injury. Stretching our muscles will increase flexibility and range of motion, two very important aspects of fitness as we age. Finally, we need to provide our muscles time to recover from the additional work and stress we put on them. If we do not they may not grow and we may not see the results or reap the benefits of all our hard work. Rest is essential. The amount of rest depends on a number of factors. However, it’s better to rest more then not enough between workouts. Thus having a well rounded workout only contributes positively to our lives and greatly improves our quality of life.
