Exercising Muscles

Everybody moves throughout the day, and to move, we use muscles. Dancing, snapping your fingers, waving to your neighbor outside washing your car all of these activities use muscles. However, to build strength in specific muscles, you must be sure to give them appropriate exercise. You can exercise muscles to build strength in three ways:

With isometric exercises
With isotonic or dynamic resistance exercises
With isokinetic exercises

Muscle Movement

Every time a nerve impulse stimulate a muscle, the muscle contracts. However, a contracting muscle isn't necessarily getting shorter along its whole length. A concentric contraction, also called a positive contraction, shortens the muscle and develops tension. An eccentric contraction or negative contraction develops tension while actually lengthening the muscle. In either case, the muscles are moving against external resistance. If the force of the contraction is greater than the external resistance, it's a concentric contraction. If the force of the contraction is less than the external resistance, it's an eccentric contraction.

Intensity

Exercise intensity measures the workload or how hard the heart is working.

The Low Carbohydrate Trend

The trend in the nutrition industry in recent years has been toward low carbohydrate dieting. With such a diet a person eats no or very few calories from bread, pasta,potatoes, fruits, and dairy while eating more meat, eggs, and other high protein foods. Despite their current popularity, these diets are problematic in several ways, especially for those participating in a regular exercise program.

Without carbohydrates that can be used as an energy source, the body shifts into a state called ketosis. Ketosis is when the body burns fat and fat like compounds called Ketones as an energy source. Ketosis increases fluid loss, resulting in an initial weight loss of five or more pounds during the first few days of the diet. Dieters encouraged by this initial weight loss often continue dieting without realizing that their weight loss can be attributed to water loss.

Reducing Fat Mass

When a person's fitness goal is fat loss it often is necessary for her to make changes in her diet to achieve her goal most efficiently. Calorie reduction, when doing incorrectly, can result in nutrient deficiencies and fatigue, making it essential that the client is educated regarding healthy weight loss practices. Think back to Jessie's statement to Carrie about how low carbohydrate diets left her feeling tired. Jessie's body simply wasn't getting what it needed  to give her energy.

The Interaction of Proteins and Carbohydrates

Whether at rest or during exercise, the body relies on protein, fat, and carbohydrates to function at its best. These three components must interact in various ways to provide the body with energy and to ensure proper maintenance and repair of tissue. When the body is at rest, it takes about 70 percent of its energy needs from fats and the remaining 30 percent from carbohydrates. During activity, the body shifts to carbohydrates as its main energy source. In fact, carbohydrates almost exclusively fuel exercise done at a high intensity.






The body turns to protein as its energy source when workouts last longer than 90 minutes.             

The Low Carbohydrate Trend

The trend in the nutrition industry in recent years has been toward low carbohydrate dieting . With such a diet a person eats no or very few calories from bread, pasta, potatoes, fruits, and dairy while eating more meat, eggs, and other high protein foods. Despite their current popularity, these diets are problematic in several way, especially for those participating in a regular exercise program.      




Without carbohydrates that can be used as an energy source, the body shifts into a state called ketosis. Ketosis is when the body burns fat and fat like compounds called Ketones as an energy source . Ketosis increases fluid loss, resulting in an initial weight loss of five or more pounds during the first few days of the diet. Dieters encouraged by this initial weight loss often continue dieting without realizing that their weight loss can be attributed to water loss






Low carb diets can have adverse effects on the body.




When a person is not eating enough carbohydrates, the brain also is forced to find an alternate energy source. Unlike the body, the brain cannot fuel itself on fat and instead must break down muscle tissue into its amino acid components. The amino acids are then converted to glucose and used to fuel the brain. Muscle breakdown depletes a person's muscle mass, resulting in a slow metabolism. The decreased muscle mass and slowed metabolism that result from low carbohydrate dieting explain why people tend to gain weight quickly when they quit this diet.