Weight Training – Lecture Notes
Muscular Strength and Endurance
I. Benefits of muscular strength and endurance
A. Improved performance of physical activities
B. Injury prevention
C. Improved body composition
D. Enhanced self image
E. Improved muscle and bone health with aging
II. Assessing muscular strength and endurance
A. Muscular strength – the maximum amount of force a muscle can produce in a single effort
B. Muscular endurance- the ability of a muscle to exert submaximum force repeatedly or
continuously over time
III. Fundamentals of weight training
A. Physiological effects of weight training
1. Movement occurs when muscles contract and pull on a tendon, which in turn pulls on
a bone. Strong muscles mean better movement.
2. Weight training increases muscle strength by increasing the size of muscle fibers and
improving the body's ability to call upon motor units to exert force
a. weight training increases the number of myofibrils (subunits of fibers), which
increases the size of muscle fibers, which increases the size and strength of
muscle
i. the process of making larger muscle fibers is called hypertrophy
ii. weight training increases the size and strength of both slow twitch
and fast twitch muscle fibers

slow twitch muscle fibers- relatively fatigue resistant, aerobic
system

fast twitch muscle fibers- easily fatigued, rapid and forceful
contractions, anaerobic system
b. muscle contractions
i. concentric contractions occur when the muscle is shortening as it
works (biceps as you perform a curl)
ii. eccentric contractions occur when the muscle is lengthening as it
works (quadriceps as you descend a set of stairs)
B. Types of weight training exercises
1. isometric (or static) exercise involves applying force without movement
a. can be performed with an immovable object (such as a wall) or by simply
tightening the muscle
b. tend to develop strength only near the joint
2. isotonic (or dynamic) exercise involves applying force with movement, using either
weights or a person's own body weight
IV. Creating a successful weight training program
A. Choosing Equipment: Weight machines versus free weights
1. weight machines are safe, convenient, and easy to use
2. free weights require more care, balance and coordination, but they strengthen the body
in ways that are more adaptable to real life and sports
B. Selecting exercises
1. a complete weight training program works all major muscle groups including neck,
upper back, shoulders, arms, chest, abdomen, lower back, thighs, buttocks and calves.
2. usually, 8-10 different exercises are required
C. Resistance
1. the amount of weight lifted determines the way the body will adapt and how quickly it
will adapt
2. to build strength rapidly, lift weights as heavy as 80% of your maximum capacity. For
endurance, choose 40-60% of your maximum
3. rather than continually assessing maximum capacity, base weight on the number of
repetitions you can perform (sub-max testing).
D. Repetitions and Sets
1. to improve fitness, you must perform enough repetitions to fatigue your muscles
a. a heavy weight and a low number of repetitions (1-5) builds strength
b. a light weight and a high number of repetitions (20-25) builds endurance
c. for general fitness, do 8-12 repetitions of each exercises
2. a set is a group of repetitions of an exercise followed by a rest period
a. the rest period allows the muscles to work at a high enough intensity in the
next set to increase fitness
b. you should perform 3 sets of each exercise for optimal fitness
c. the length of your rest interval depends on your goals: If you are training to
develop strength and endurance for fitness, rest 1-3 minutes between sets. If
you are training to develop maximum strength (and are lifting heavier loads) rest
3-5 minutes between sets
3. warm up and cool down
a. you should do both a general warm up (such as jogging or jumping rope) and
a specific warm up for the exercises you will perform
b. for a cool down, relax 5-10 minutes after exercising by stretching to reduce
muscle soreness
4. frequency of exercise: you should train 2-4 days per week; 3 times is optimal. Allow
a day of rest between workouts to let your muscles recover, or work different muscle
groups on consecutive days
E. Making progress
1. to begin training, choose a weight you can easily move through 8-12 repetitions for 1
set
2. progressive overload-gradually add weight and sets until you can perform 3 sets of
10 repetitions for each exercise
3. if you do more than 12 repetitions, add weight until you can do only 7 or 8
you can expect to improve rapidly during the first 6 weeks of training; after that gains
come more slowly
4. your ultimate goal depends on you
Designing Your Program
I. Needs Analysis – these are the questions you should be able to answer when we sit down together to go
over your individual program:

What muscle groups will I be focusing on?

Specifically, how do I want to change these muscle groups?

What type of muscle action will I be using?

Are there any sites of injury or weakness I need to address?
Principle of Specificity: in order to get specific results, you must train the muscles in the manner in which
it is intended to be used or changed.
II. Choice of Exercises

You must choose at least 10 different exercises in your program

Regardless of your focus, your program should include exercises for all of the following muscles
groups including, but not limited to: upper back, shoulders, arms, chest, abdomen, lower back, legs,
and buttocks.

Daily routine should work largest muscle groups first followed by the smaller muscles groups.
III. Systems of Training
1. Muscular Strength

Multiple Set System
Warm-Up:
2-3 sets of increasing resistance
Workout:
Sets: minimum of 3
Reps and Load: 5-6RM
Rest: 1 to 3 minutes

Triangle Programs
Warm-Up:
1 set, light resistance, 10-12 reps
Workout:
Sets: 3-6
Reps and Load: 10RM increasing each set up to 1RM
Rest: 1 to 3 minutes
2. Muscular Endurance

Circuit Program
Warm-Up
light cardio such as jump rope or jogging
Workout
Sets: 1 to 3 of each exercise
Reps: 10 to 15
Load: 40% to 60% of 1RM
Rest: one minute or less
3. Hypertrophy

Super Set System
Warm-Up
light cardio
Workout
Sets: 2 or more per body part
Reps: 8-10
Load: ~10RM
Rest: exercises are "super set" on each other, working antagonistic
muscles; for example biceps and triceps; quadriceps and hamstrings; lat
pull down, seated row, and bent over row. Very little rest is used
between super sets.
4. General Fitness

Multiple Set System
Warm-Up
light cardio
Workout
Sets: 2-3
Reps and Load: 10-12RM
Rest: 1minute
V. Assessment: Must be objective (measurable) Choose TWO:

RM testing

Max testing

Girth Measurements

Body Composition Measurements

Individual Training Logs

Power testing (vertical or horizontal jumps, double or single leg bounds, etc)

Other
____________________________________________'S PROGRAM
Date: January 31, 2002
My goals are:
1. ___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The system(s) I am choosing is: ___________________________________________________________
The exercises I will be including are:
Body Part Worked
Muscle Group(s)
Exercise
My assessment tools are: ________________________________________________________________
My first assessment will be on: __________________________________