STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS & DETAILED
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
Overloading Parameters
Load, repetition, volume, density, and exercise.
Load Progression
The practice of simply adding weight to the bar.
Repetition Progression
The act of performing more repetitions per set with the same amount of weight previously
used.
Volume Progression
Adding another set of the same weight and repetitions performed previously.
,Density Progression
A shortening of rest periods between sets.
Exercise Progression
Advancing from one exercise to a different one that's more demanding. Say our bodybuilder
elected to perform front squats instead of back squats for his next workout and decided to use
the same load. Inevitably, he'd face a greater challenge using the same load for the front squats,
as they tax the anterior core and quads to a greater degree than back squats do.
INJURIES
Simply stated, but just as easily ignored, is the fact that exercise breaks our bodies down. Rest
and proper nutrition make our bodies and muscles stronger and bigger. If we fail to rest and
refuel our bodies, we will make ourselves more vulnerable to injury. When form is
compromised, ligamentous, cartilaginous, and osseous structures, which do not have contractile
properties, are called into play to buffer the forces that muscles are designed to resist, which
include tension, compression, extensibility, shear, and torsion. Injuries most indigenous to
strength athletes affect bones, joints and their connective tissue, and muscles.
Bones
Bones provide the framework for our bodies. They cocoon organs and serve as the crux of our
body's stability. Although exercise fortifies bone strength, exercise performed with poor form
can slowly chip away at the bone's integrity.
,Skeletal Muscle Injuries
Muscle injuries, which can be categorized as either acute or overuse injuries, are commonly
sustained by active individuals and athletes. Acute injuries can be further broken down into
direct trauma and indirect trauma. Direct trauma is typified by a contusion that damages the
muscle fibers and may lead to vasoconstriction or a hematoma. These injuries are commonly
associated with contact sports. Indirect trauma disrupts the muscle fibers without contact.
Indirect trauma results from excessive mechanical stress via eccentric overload.
Skeletal Muscle Injuries
Muscles are at the greatest risk of sustaining injury during an eccentric muscle action. That
eccentric muscle action may occur prematurely, when the concentric muscle action is not great
enough to resist gravitational and inertial forces.
Overuse injuries stem from repetitively performing a movement continually and having an
insufficient amount of rest between activities. Consequent adaptations are quite problematic. A
muscle that is called on to work frequently may fatigue and require neighboring muscles to pick
up the slack and perform unintended roles.
Lower Back Injuries
Lower back injuries that commonly afflict bodybuilders include spinal stenosis, which is a
narrowing of the spinal canal; spondylolisthesis, which is characterized by slippage of the
lumbar vertebral segments; and spondylosis, which is characterized by microfractures of the
pars interarticularis, a section of the vertebra wedged between the articular processes of the
facet joint. Finally, avulsion or herniation of the disc can occur, where the disc translates
posteriorly, bearing down on the spinal nerves and creating unbearable pain. Typically, a lack of
anterior core and posterior chain strength begets lower back injuries. If both of these areas are
trained, the likelihood of suffering a lower back injury decreases.
Joints
, function as our body's movement centers. They are an intersection where collagen-based
structures, which include tendons, cartilage, and ligaments, all meet as they collectively stabilize
the rounded head of the bone within the capsule of the joint
Knees
The knees are two powerful, yet delicate hinge joints that are overlapped by a dozen muscles,
many of which share attachments with the hip. When the muscles that cross the knee or run
alongside the femur, such as the adductors and IT band, become tight, knee alignment becomes
altered.
Knee injuries
Many old-school bodybuilding programs heavily emphasize quadriceps training, practically
ignoring the training of the posterior chain musculature. Insufficient hamstring extensibility and
a lack of posterior chain strength won't permit a lifter to sit back into a squat properly and will
impose shearing forces on the patella. If the hip adductors (groin muscles) are too tight, and if
the hip abductors and hip external rotators (lateral glute) are too weak, the ankle will collapse
at the subtalar joint, causing pronation during static and dynamic activities. Tight hamstrings
may enact more posterior force on the knee, forcing it to clamp down on the patella and the
femur..
Knee injuries part 2
When muscles aren't firing properly or aren't working in unison to stabilize the knee, the body
turns to the osteoligamentous structures for support. When an unstable knee is exposed to
loaded dynamic exercises and high-impact activities, a potential disaster is likely to occur.
Muscular imbalances farther up the kinetic chain can interrupt this balanced foot position,
making it difficult to get into position. If proper position cannot be achieved, the patella may
slide off track and migrate laterally.