2.3. QUESTIONS - ANSWERS

Question: What is cardiopulmonary capacity?

Answer: It is the body's ability to absorb, transport and utilize oxygen. It includes the functional ability of the heart and lungs to exchange and transport oxygen to the muscles working during continuous movement. In other words, it is the ability to produce work by employing aerobic energy metabolism (in the presence of oxygen). Very simplified, aerobic endurance.

Question: What Are The Benefits Of Cardio Respiratory Training For Someone Who Works With Bodybuilding?

Answer: Cardio-respiratory training improves aerobic fitness, which in turn shifts the time for fatigue (more workout time), reduces recovery time, improves muscle blood supply, prevents fat build-up and improves fatigue energy sources.

Question: Here are some examples of cardiopulmonary - aerobic exercises?

Answer: Walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, aerobics and cardio exercises such as treadmill, static bike, elliptical, step, rowing, climbing etc. These exercises are characterized as cardiopulmonary or aerobic, in that they mobilize large muscle groups in a repetitive rhythmic manner, with an intensity of effort within a specific range of heartbeats for at least 10 consecutive minutes.

Question: What are the main ways to improve cardiopulmonary resistance?

Answer: Improvement of cardiopulmonary resistance (aerobic capacity) is achieved mainly by prolonged intermittent work (interval method) or continuous high volume and low intensity work (continuous method).

Question: What do the terms "frequency", "intensity" and "duration" mean in cardiorespiratory training?

Answer: The term frequency indicates how often someone is exercising with cardio respiratory programs (how many workouts he / she does per week), the term intensity of the effort he / she makes when exercising (eg, how many heartbeats), and the term duration indicates how long. it takes a training unit (training program) in total, without taking into account the time spent on warm-up and recovery.    

Question: What is the relationship between respiratory and heart rate?

Answer: In cardiopulmonary exercise breathing is an indicator of measuring intensity (speech test) and by monitoring it (control) we can identify and adjust the intensity experienced by the practitioner. For example, when the practitioner is over-breathing, breathing difficult and unable to speak, then the intensity of the exercise is very high and should be reduced. Over-ventilation or excessive breaths per minute during exercise can irritate the airways and also cause dizziness or fainting.

Question: Why after some physical effort do we not measure the pulses for 1 minute but for less time?

Answer: When we measure pulses as soon as an attempt is stopped, then we want to get their value as soon as possible. This is because with stopping exercise, and especially in training individuals, heart rate is starting to fall. So if you count for a whole minute, the value you get will not represent your heart rate during exercise. It will have already fallen during the measurement. That is why we choose to stop trying to count down in 10 seconds for 6, or 6 seconds for 10. On the contrary, to find the heart rate at rest, there is no need to count for a few seconds, that is, we can take the pulses for one (1) whole minute.

Question: What is the ideal frequency and duration of cardio-respiratory training?

Answer: Unfortunately an absolute answer cannot be given. Most fitness organizations, however, recommend that cardio breathing be performed 3-5 times a week and, depending on the intensity, take between 20 and 60 minutes.

Question: What is muscular strength?

Answer: The muscular strength is the ability to act through the contraction of the muscles against an external resistance and to overcome it or resist it.

Question: What we define as resistance in fitness?

Answer: As resistance is defined a load which the muscle is called to face – overcome. The concept of resistance in fitness includes anything that can provide the concept of "load" in an exercise, e.g. additional weight (barbell, dumbbell, weights, etc.), the weight of the trainee, the weight of the individual members of his body, a partner etc.

Question: "What is maximum strength and what is the ultimate power?"

Answer: The maximum strength is the magnitude of strength that is able to develop the neuromuscular system through the maximum deliberate contraction (conscious will) against external forces. Absolute strength is the maximum value of strength produced by the stimulation of the muscle, regardless of the will (conscious will) of the individual, such as in cases of danger, in high frequency electrical irritation of the muscle, in hypnosis etc.

Question: How is the maximum strength measured on an exercise?

Answer: Typically the maximum strength is measured based on the magnitude of external resistance that can be overcome, e.g. how much weight does the trainee lifts during bench presses for a single repetition without being able to perform another repetition. The maximum strength in an exercise is characterized as 1 MAE or as 1 RM and represents the greatest resistance that the muscle can overcome for a single repetition in this exercise (specific movement) and at a given speed.

Question: What is the power deficit?

Answer: Power deficit is called the theoretical difference between the absolute power that we can attribute independently of our will minus the maximum power we exert with conscious willpower. Theoretically, the absolute strength is estimated to be the 90% of a person's power potential, the maximum power the 60% up to 85% of the power ability, while the power deficit is estimated to be the 15% -30%. Several times the power deficit is referred as the power reserve or standby power and shows the margins of improving its muscular strength of the particular person (the larger the deficit, the greater the margins and vice versa).

Question: What is the relationship of intramuscular connection and power deficit?

Answer: The better the intramuscular connection a person has, the better fit he/she is and the less power deficit he/she has. The term of the intramuscular connection expresses on the one hand, the ability of a person to activate as high percentage of available motor units as possible and on the other hand, the ability to possess the motor units of a muscle graded to achieve the best desired result.

Question: What is the relevant power?

Answer: It is the reason that arises from the division by numerator the maximum strength in kilograms and the denominator of the mass (weight) of the body.

Question: What is neuromuscular coordination?

Answer: The neuromuscular coordination(or neuromuscular connection or simply connection) is the ability of muscle groups to function in a controlled and harmonious way, in order to produce, under various conditions, effective movements with high execution quality, based on specific kinetic standards. The neuromuscular connection is distinguished in the intramuscular and middle-muscular connection.

Question: What is intramuscular connection?

Answer: The intramuscular connection isthe ability of the person to activate as high percentage of available motor units as possible, but also the ability to possess the motor units of a muscle graded to achieve the best desired result.

Question: What is middle-muscular connection and on what does it depend?

Answer: The middle-muscular connection is the ability of the muscles or muscle groups involved in one movement (e.g. fighters and as competitors) to collaborate effectively and achieve the best possible result. The middle-muscular connection depends on the quality of the collaboration between the muscles that carry out the movements (fighters) and their competitors (the muscles responsible for the opposite movement). The more complex the movement, the more the importance of the middle-muscular connection.

Question: How can the neuromuscular coordination be improved?

Answer: The neuromuscular coordination is a complex ability that requires the harmonious muscle and nervous system collaboration, including the brain. In order to improve, we must systematically work on all the individual assembly capacities, increase the complexity and difficulty of the exercises, gradually introduce new elements in the training, change the conditions of execution frequently in movements/exercises that the trainee already knows well and performs excellent and combine movements/exercises that the trainee possesses and knows individually and technically excellent but has not tried in combination.

• Kinesthetic differentiation Capacity: the execution of movements with precision and refined mobility in conditions of increased difficulty (without instruments and using/manipulating equipment).
• Ability to Balance – Proprioception: the maintenance or regain of balance in a static or dynamic state. For example, such exercises can be performed on a trampoline, beam, balance platform, etc., with reduced visual information and/or reduced support.
• Ability to perceive and guide the area: It is achieved through observation and processing of optical and acoustic information.
• Reaction Capacity: the rapid and effective response to different stimulants (visual, acoustic or a combination of them).
• Ability to learn and perform rhythmic movements: The rhythm of a movement, such as jumps, roads of predetermined distance, gymnastic – dance exercises.

Question: Which factors associated with muscular strength can we influence and improve through appropriate systematic strength training?

Answer: The diameter of the muscle fibers (hypertrophy-increase of volume), the structure of oxidants and oxidative glycogen muscle fibers, the intramuscular connection (reduction of power deficit), middle-muscular connection (more efficient muscle cooperation), the ability to reconstruct energy reserves, the increase of energy reserves and the density of the capillary muscles. With the scientific data so far, it does not appear that we can influence the number of muscle fibers or change the type of the muscle fibers, e.g. from slow to rapid contraction.

Question: What are the most favorable conditions of encumbrance for the development of muscle strength?

Answer: For the development of the maximum strength a high effort intensity and a relatively low number of repetitions (1-5) with the corresponding resistance is required. For the development of the general force, a variety of exercises and moderate to high intensity exercises are required. For the development of muscular endurance a prolonged duration (many repetitions) performance is required using or not additional resistance.

Question: What is the muscular pretension and how does it help to develop strength?

Answer: The muscles look like tires. When the elastic is "loose" (resting length) it has only minimal strength, while when stretched it builds up elastic strength and becomes "stronger". The muscular pretension is exactly what the deliberate stretching/distention of the muscles at the beginning of each repetition of an exercise push aims to improve strength. The muscular distention helps to perform maximum isotonic contraction of muscles because it increases the elastic strength and reduces delay with which the muscle fibers are contracted, therefore it contributes to overcoming a greater resistance. But when the pretension exceeds certain limits, then we may have opposite effects and the ability to produce power will be reduced.

Question: What is muscular hypertrophy and what is its relationship to muscular strength?

Answer: The term muscular hypertrophy describes the degree of development of the vertical cross section of the muscle or, simplified, how bulky a muscle is. The muscular hypertrophy is consistent as a point with the development of muscular strength, but their relationship is not directly proportional, meaning that someone who has a high degree of hypertrophy has high strength.

Question: What are the main categories of external resistances used in exercise?

Answer: It is the constant dynamic resistances based on gravity and where the magnitude of the resistance does not change (its numerical value remains constant, e.g. 10 kg), such as the dumbbells, the barbells and kettle bells, and the progressively increasing dynamical resistors(or modulating). The progressive dynamic resistance equipment is not based on gravity but provides its own resistance, which resistance increases as the power that is applied to the equipment or the stretching of it increases – classic example the various kinds of gym bands and various special types of fitness balls.

Question: How the relation of speed and power can be improved?

Answer: It can be improved by increasing strength, by the increase of speed of the muscular contraction or the increase of both factors together. The improvement of neuromuscular coordination also plays a primary role in the increase of the relation of speed and power, because on the one hand it improves the ability to relax the competitors of the muscle movement, on the other hand it leads to the overcoming of comparatively larger resistances with greater fluency and logical consistency at a higher speed. It also helps greatly on the application of pretension. In this method we combine an exercise that activates the nervous system with one or two exercises that require the relation of speed and strength. Few examples may be:

• Pre-activation with weights + relationship of speed and power of lower body: 3-5 reps of squats with almost maximum weight (pre-activation exercise) and with no breaks 5-8 jumps of maximum height.
• Pre-activation with weights + relationship of speed and power of lower body: 3-5 reps of squats with almost maximum weight and with no breaks sprint of 20-30 meters.
• Pre-activation with weights + relationship of speed and power of upper body: 3–5 reps of bench presses with a barbell with almost maximum weight and immediately after that 8-10 castings with medicine ball on a wall (with maximum speed).
• Pre-activation + relationship of speed and power of upper body: 4-6 barrier passes with maximum jump and with no breaks sprint of 20-30 meters at maximum speed.
• Pre-activation + endurance of the relation of speed and power: 3-5 reps of squats with almost maximum weight, continuing with no breaks with 5-8 jumps of maximum height and finish with a sprint of 20-30 meters on maximum speed.
• Double pre-activation + endurance of the relation of speed and power: 3-5 reps of bench presses with almost maximum weight, continuing with no breaks with 8-10 castings of the medicine ball to the wall (maximum power-maximum speed) and end with punches in a punching bag for 30 seconds (maximum speed).

In each training unit (1-2 times a week) we perform 2-4 combined exercises with a 2-4 set per combination and a break between the full recovery sets, from 2 to 8 minutes.

Question: Is it true that speed depends mainly on genetic factors?

Answer: It is 100% true. Speed is the most genetically dependent ability because it mainly depends on the central nervous system and the mobility of the neural processes. In classic sports, e.g. athletics, it is estimated that speed in sprints can be improved after many years of training up to 20% (more improvement can be found in sports with more involvement of technique, where the increase can reach up to the point of 30%).

Question: How can the speed of the movement be improved?

Answer: In order to improve the speed a high effort intensity and rapid movements lasting from 1-20 seconds depending on the nature of each sport, the improvement of technical and special cultivation of reaction time, the speed of each individual movement, the frequency and range of movements are required. More specifically:

• The training of speed is placed on the beginning of the training unit. The muscles must be well prepared and they must not be tired in any case.
• The main method used is the repeatedly one and it can be supplemented with intense intervalin indirect speed training (HIIT).
• The intensity of the stimulants is maximum – over 95%.
• The duration is as long as that the fatigue will not lead to a reduced speed. The individual stimulant lasts from 1-20 seconds or 20-40 seconds when the target is the resistance of speed.
• Only as many repetitions as can be performed without reducing speed are allowed. If the speed is reduced, then the exercise must be quitted.
• A high number of repetitions in training of speed (amount/volume of training) or excessively frequent training of speed, typically creates speed stereotypes ("dam" of speed) and several times its "reduction".
• The strength exercises temporarily reduce speed. So do endurance workouts.
• Long-term continuous performance of slow-paced/slow-speed exercises, e.g. in strength training, can reduce the speed of execution.
• The execution of movements and exercises on a high speed can create problems in their proper technique of execution, thus reducing athletic performance.

Question: Can the theory of training, especially the theory of sports training, be applied to recreational training?

Answer: Unfortunately there is a huge gap between scientific theory and practice, especially in the practice of practicing recreation training in the gym. As a rule, the performance, e.g. new types, methods and training equipment, precedes the documentation theory and verifies or denies it retrospectively, as investigations delay or rarely deal with fitness, wellness or bodybuilding workouts. Further to that, the training process in recreational sports, especially in personal training, it is based decisively on the knowledge contained in other sciences, such as anatomy, biomechanics, physiology, biology, pedagogy, psychology, etc. This means that it is very difficult to have such a wide range of knowledge and on the same time to possess specialized knowledge while also it is not easy to keep informed about the latest developments, results of new surveys, to be able to understand and compare them to older ones to see what has changed, to revise things we have seen in the past, to get familiarized with the new organizational guidelines and to translate all this into training performances every day. However, a trainer has to be a 100% professional which means that he/she must always try to do his/her best, he/she must look and search all the time, to has his/her eyes, ears and brain wide open, not to be narrow-minded and not be stuck in the past or in his/her own sporting experiences and coaching habits or in the statement of "that is what everybody does".

Question: What is the muscle stretching?

Answer: Muscle stretching are a mild type of exercises, in which with proper technical handling ("execution"), we try to elongate ("stretch") one or more muscle groups, within the normal range of movement of the joint or joints surrounding the specific muscle group or specific muscle groups.

Question: Which are the main objectives/goals of the stretching?

Answer: Stretching is performed in order for the trainee to avoid muscle shortness, maintain or increase (if necessary) muscle elasticity as well as to deal with any joint stiffness (limited range of movement in comparison to normal).

Question: Which is the main difference in pliability and flexibility?

Answer: Pliability is a quality that refers to the ability of bending and extending the joints in full range of motion (proportional to each joint), while elasticity is a quality that refers to the ability of muscles to stretch and return to their normal length.

Question: Which is the correlation/interaction of pliability and elasticity?

Answer: Pliability is the joint skill that depends significantly on muscle elasticity and neuromuscular slinging. Muscle elasticity is the muscle capacity that depends significantly on synovial flexibility.

Question: How does pliability can be distinguished/classified?

Answer: It can be generally distinguished in static, dynamic and special. Static pliability is the ability to flex and extend a joint in a particular position (the body immobile), while dynamic is the pliability that is shown by the joints during movements. The term "specific" refers to the pliability which it is required to perform to specific movements and activities, e.g. in performing the technique of various races.

Question: What do we mean by using the term "stretching safety"?

Answer: The term "safety" means the prevention of various situations which, if not checked, may result in an injury or the deterioration of a pre-existing health problem. Based on this reasoning, stretching is safe when performed by people who need it, which means that they must do stretching, if the appropriate exercises are selected and provided, they are performed in the appropriate way. For example, if a person has loose ligaments or over-increased, above normal, range of motion in some joints, he should avoid stretching for the muscles and joints where loose of the ligaments or excessive range of motion is observed and until this problem is successfully addressed.

Question: Which condition is considered to be absolutely necessary for the execution of stretching safely?

Answer: In order to carry out the stretching safely, the trainee must first warm-up adequately his/her muscle system (or be already "warm"). Otherwise, the trainee will either injure his/her muscles if they are stretched hard or abruptly, or his/her stretching will be less than desired, so ineffective.

Question: Which is generally the safest way to perform stretching?

Answer: The safest ways is the one in which stretching is performed with slow movements, rhythmically repetitive or – with even greater safety – static. Sharp and forced movements should be avoided as they can cause muscle injuries and other kinds of injuries.

Question: In which general cases can stretching increase the risk of injury?

Answer: In cases where they are done without warm-up and/or with technically incorrect way. In theory, too, stretching could increase the risk of injury when performed by people with ultra-flexible joints and/or with naturally very loose joints. In such cases, the right thing to do is to increase muscle strength instead of pursuing further flexibility. Strengthening of the muscles helps to stabilize loose joints and this - to a certain extent - can reduce the chances of injuries.

Question: Which general muscles need most for stretching?

Answer: The muscles that tend to be easily shortened, such as neck muscles, excretion (orthotic) muscles of the spine, thigh muscles (especially posterior femur) and posterior muscles of the tibia (gastrocnemius, soleus).

Question: In which part of the daily training program should stretching be performed?

Answer: Stretching should always take place at the end of the training program, in cooling down, whatever it is. If stretching occurs during warm-up, it is advisable to do them in a rhythmic way (dynamic type stretching). Rhythmic stretching contributes increasing body temperature and muscle bleeding, properly and more dynamically preparing the joints that will work best in the core program, accelerating oxygen transfer to the tissues, gradually they prepare the cardiovascular and muscle system for the main exercise and may reduce the likelihood of injuries if they are naturally and properly done.

Question: What do the terms "active stretching", "passive stretching" and "mixed stretching" mean?

Answer:

• Active is the stretching that is performed with the muscle strength of the trainee, without external aids. It depends on the strength of the primary muscles (the muscles that contract and create movement) and the elasticity of the competitors (the muscles that stretch / relax - brake – the movement).
• Passive is the stretching that is carried out with the help of another person, other body members of the trainee (e.g., extending one hand with the help of the other). The range of movement depends on the strength of the leading muscles, the elasticity of the competitors muscles and the ability of the non-contraction elements of the joint, such as its ligaments, but which do not have the ability of contraction and relaxation - in which case in order to be extended, in order to achieve movement across the orbit, must be stretched passively.
• Mixed is the stretching that is performed both energetically and passively, for example first with the strength of the trainee and then with the help of a co-trainee or an equipment.

Question: To whom is each type/kind/method of stretching most appropriate to?

Answer: Static type stretching is generally safer and due to this they are recommended to everyone, but especially for beginners and unfitness. Dynamic type stretching, especially those which are done in a rhythmic manner, are indicated primarily as part of warm-up and in addition to athletes and individuals who train particularly dynamically. P.N.F. stretching and the fascia stretching are more advanced techniques and are suitable mainly for people who have special requirements of high fitness and/or recover from an injury – a condition of their effectiveness is the existence of experience both on the part of the trainee and on the part of the exercise professional.

Question: Which are the main advantages of static type stretching?

Answer: Due to their slow and controlled mode of execution, static type stretching have a lower chance of injury or muscle pain, less energy charge and relieve and relax tired muscles better – for this is the ideal type of stretches mainly for recovery.

Question: What are the main advantages of rhythmic stretching?

Answer: Dynamic type stretching made in rhythmic mode (rhythmic stretching) improve dynamic elasticity and flexibility, protect against injuries during sports movements, form part of warm-up, can in themselves be a program for the overall improvement of fitness and can also be better integrated and adapted to the needs of all specific training programs, e.g. operational programs (e.g. operational programs (functional training).

Question: Which are the dangers of purely ballistic stretching which is being performed violently?

Answer: The execution of ballistic stretching with high intensity and/or speed and arrhythmic way, creates abrupt "surprise" in muscle and connective tissues that can cause muscle pulling, crushing or ruptures. Also, abrupt and violent movements make the myotatic reflex more active, resulting in shortening instead of stretching.

Question: What is myotatic reflex?

Answer: It is a protective mechanism that is enlisted whenever the brain receives the signal, through the nerves, that the muscles are at risk of injury. It is activated when the muscle fibers of a muscle are stretched excessively (either as a result of intense stretching or by sudden movement), causing muscle contraction, i.e. tightening and shortening, to avoid the possibility of a strain of muscle fibers due to excessive stretching. Myotatic reflex is not only activated when the trainee stretches, but also every time he performs a sharp, strong and full-range effort.

Question: It is true that the P.N.F. stretching can give the trainee a special feeling of well-being?

Answer: Probably, for two main reasons. The first reason is that the strong contraction of the primary muscles is always accompanied by intense relaxation of the competitor muscles. The second reason is that when applying the techniques of P.N.F. the tendency of the contractile elements and connective tissues of the joint to become stretched decreases, making the practitioner feel more relieved, sometimes similar to when you are "relieved" of a heavy load carrying on it.

Question: When someone works out on his/her own, should he/she keep a timer to keep track of the stretching time?

Answer: It is not necessary and is generally not recommended. The trainee may instinctively stop and/or calculate the length of each stretch by slowly measuring from "1001, 1002, 1003 and so on" until he/she completes the required time (each count equals 1 second). This particular measurement technique has the added advantage of being able to help the trainee concentrate and relax even more.

Question: When we perform a stretching program, can we use training systems and techniques similar to those we use in weight training?

Answer: Of course! Some illustrative examples are the following:

• Technique of super-sets: Stretching of the primary muscle of one motion and immediately after the competitor, e.g. first a stretch of the quadriceps and immediately after a stretch of the bicep’s femurs.
• Double-set technique: Perform a stretching for a muscle group and immediately after performing a somewhat different stretch for the same muscle group. For example, stretching of the calf with a outstretched leg (emphasis on the gastrocnemius) and then a calf stretch with the knee bent (emphasis on the soleus).
• Combination of muscle techniques: Perform 2 - 4 different stretches for the same muscle group before moving into a next muscle group. This technique is ideal for muscle groups and muscles belonging to two or more joints, such as the biceps femur, the rectal femur and the biceps, or they are large and have different degrees, e.g. trapezius, deltoid, and wide dorsal.
• Circular/circuit execution of stretching: The trainee makes a number of stretches from once each (one cycle) so that he stretches with all of them all his/her body and repeats once again from the beginning – usually a stretch is used for each muscle group.
• Interfering stretching: Insert stretching ("intercalary") between the sets of an exercise or between exercises.
• Method of doubling, tripling, etc.: A stretch you consider essential and necessary for a trainee, you integrate it in such a way that the trainee can perform it two (doubling) or more times (tripling, etc.). Part of the repetitions of this stretch should be performed on the beginning of the main program and the rest repeats in the middle and / or towards the end of training.

Question: How many should stretching last during recovery and during the main program?

Answer: It depends. However, one general rule for cooling down is at least one stretching exercise for all the core muscle groups and in addition, one for the muscle groups that were most active / trained in the main part of the program. If stretching is the main subject of a workout, then it is advisable to perform at least two (2) different stretching exercises for the shortened muscle groups of the trainee and at least one exercise for the rest of them. Each stretching shall last from 15 - 30 seconds or 8-12 repetitions if done in a rhythmic manner and repeated, depending on the level of the trainee, from one to three times, sometimes longer.