Whatever you say about technique and its importance (certainly not small, of course), physical strength should not be underestimated either. As they say, technique is good, but strength doesn't hurt either. However, there are a great variety of exercises designed to increase the strength of an athlete... How to choose the most effective ones for yourself? This short list will help you here.
How to increase strength tips
- It has been noted that one color or another can influence a person. Thus, it has been proven that the color red increases the performance of an athlete training in the gym. To do this, you need to choose a training suit that is bright red, which is especially helpful when bench pressing. This shade stimulates the working motor skills of the body. By the way, champions of different levels in weightlifting most often perform in scarlet tights.
- Those who only want to increase muscle strength so that they acquire relief need to train intensively. To do this, you need to perform exercises not with a lot of weight, but with one that is 75-80% of the maximum possible. Thus, you can perform from 6 to 10 repetitions. It is necessary to do the exercises until muscle tremors occur. The more approaches you perform, the more glycogen will be processed in the muscles. However, after each series of movements performed, it is necessary to give the body a rest so as not to exhaust the muscles and provoke muscle tissue tears.
- You can also significantly increase your strength through proper nutrition. In addition to meeting the minimum needs of the body, it is necessary to supply it with more calories than are consumed per day. In this case, the amount of protein should exceed the amount of unsaturated fatty acids. Thus, it is optimal for an athlete’s body to consume at least 3 grams of protein and at least 5 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight every day. Products in the diet should be natural and fresh.
- In order to increase arm strength, like professional boxers, you will also need to rest properly, among other things. It is necessary to properly plan time intervals for resting strained muscles. It is imperative to rest not only between sets of exercises, but also to properly organize your daily routine. In order for muscles to become stronger and have time to recover after training, the number of hours allocated to sleep per day should be at least 8. In addition, hormones that make the body stronger function at night, namely androgens (testosterone, etc.). Without proper sleep, the body will not be able to rest sufficiently and recuperate for subsequent workouts, which means building muscle mass will be more difficult. In addition to night sleep, you can also rest for 1.5-2 hours during the day.
Five Factors Affecting Muscular Endurance
1. Strength. If a muscle is just strong enough to lift a given weight, then all its fibers will contract to perform the movement. A stronger muscle uses only part of them. When fewer fibers are used, blood flow to the muscle remains higher.
2. Capillarization. Proper endurance training can increase the number of capillaries by 5 times.
3. Biochemical processes. At the cellular level, metabolism in the muscle improves: it begins to better remove waste products and absorb substances that ensure its functioning.
4. Work of the cardio-respiratory system. Improving oxygen transport in the lungs and blood vessels improves local endurance.
5. Psychological factors. It is well known that the limits of strength and anaerobic endurance are largely dependent on the level of inhibition, which limits maximum effort. There are many factors behind this inhibition, but one of the most important is the athlete's reluctance to endure the discomfort of maximal effort, especially when he thinks he is already tired and in an oxygen debt zone.
Exercises for training at home without exercise equipment
For the first time, you have a wonderful inventory: whether you knew it or not... This is your own body weight. With it (+ a little creativity) you can do all sorts of exercises. Even the very first thing that comes to mind:
- Push-ups (and all kinds of variations);
- Pull-ups (and all kinds of variations);
- Horizontal pull-ups;
- Reverse push-ups;
- Headstand push-ups;
- Biceps curl;
- Bodyweight triceps exercise;
- Lunges (and all kinds of variations);
- Squats;
- Bulgarian squats;
- Pistol squats;
- Lying leg curl;
- Romanian deadlift on one leg;
- etc.
This is by no means a complete list of exercises. You'll find a bunch more.
But this is enough to create one of your workouts. There are enough exercises in this list to make working out at home truly effective for building muscle. And it will be without any additional equipment and without exercise equipment or going to an expensive gym.
Add, for example, a resistance band, and now you can do dozens of other exercises (close-grip rows, presses with a band, swings of arms forward and to the sides, biceps and triceps exercises, etc.) ...
So, the more exercise, the better. This is good news. Now for the less good news...
Peculiarities
To develop strength, you should use exercises that are performed cyclically . They can consist of push-ups, cross-steps. The initial load should be minimal and increase as you achieve results from the exercises, as soon as your physical condition allows you to cope with heavy loads. Previously, an article was reviewed on the issue of common mistakes of beginners in fitness. If individual muscle groups are not sufficiently developed, special attention should be paid to their training, but the overall load should be reduced.
Muscular strength is one of the conditions for the development of such quality as power , since in combination with speed, strength increasing due to training increases power. The greatest success in combat can be achieved by simultaneously developing high speed, strength and endurance.
Strength exercises with weights on the pectoral and shoulder muscles should be performed using equipment weighing half the weight of the trainee plus 5 kilograms, for the legs - 75% of body weight plus 5 kilograms.
Games to develop speed and strength abilities
The game method of child development is more suitable for preschoolers and primary schoolchildren. Outdoor games and relay races are often used here. During them, the child develops various skills in basic movements. You can use the following games:
- Swan geese. Children should gather on one side of the site, and benches should be placed on the other. As soon as the teacher says “let’s fly,” the students scatter throughout the entire area. At the signal, the “hunters” and “birds” must run to the benches and climb onto them. The game is repeated 2-4 times.
- Tug of war. Children are divided into two teams. At the driver’s signal, they take the rope and try to pull it to their side. If a team crosses the line, it is considered a loser.
- Jumping in a hoop. Several sports equipment lie on the floor at a short distance from each other. You only need to jump on two legs, while your hands are on your belt.
- "Hit the target." A basket is placed opposite the child, and sandbags are placed next to him. The kid must try to hit the target with them.
Complex relay races with changing rhythm and load on the muscles, for example, run - crawl - hit the target with the ball - return quickly to the team, have a good effect on the development of speed and strength characteristics. The older the kids are, the more complex the components (exercises, purposeful actions) of game chains can be. A good example for developing coordination and strength in older preschoolers and schoolchildren is the playful passage of a ropeway with obstacles in the park.
With proper use of exercises and games, you can quickly achieve results without harm to health. But in order to avoid negative consequences, the load even here needs to be dosed.
You can engage in strength and speed training from early preschool age, dosing their duration and pace, but special attention should be paid from primary school. This will certainly have a beneficial effect on both the physiological development and health of the baby, and the development of his strong-willed and personal qualities!
