Knowing Correct Training Velocities For Bodybuilding By Benedict Smythe At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The anatomy of bodybuilding movement should be first understood before training velocities can be implemented. First, proper movement in bodybuilding is categorized as “concentric contraction”.

“Concentric contractions” are called such because muscles move accordingly in a balanced manner around an axial point. The axial point, which is often located centrally in relation to the concentric movement, provides support.

The support given by the axial point during muscle building is important in maintaining overall health. Skeletal muscles are able to shorten and expand during concentric contractions without tearing themselves apart due to the force.
Range motion of the human body

According to John Downing, a researcher for The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance:

“Concentric contractions cause muscle shortening. They generally require greater initial acceleration to overcome inertia (bar weight) and facilitate movement of the resistance through the "sticking point" of the exercise.”

“As a result, more effort is required to overcome strength disadvantages in the weaker angles of the range of motion (Harman, 1994; Lander, 1991b; Lombardi, 1989).”

We discover here that the basic premise of human movement during bodybuilding. The body is dependent first on the inherent strength of the skeletal muscles involved in the concentric movement.

Second, the body and consequently the concentric contraction are also dependent upon the angle of the body during the movement. The angle of the body in relation to a flat surface changes with each kind of exercise.

For example, exercises that require training mats place the body in a parallel position to the floor and immobilize the back. Standing exercise place the strain on the back and the hamstrings.

Each angle presents its own challenge- finding the right angles for safe concentric movement, to build muscle mass and strength.

On the use of muscular effort

Many people would ask, “when should the highest amount of force be expended during a particular movement?”. The researcher, John Downing explains clearly:

“Since a muscle's ability to generate torque--as when the bicep rotates the forearm around the elbow in a curl--changes considerably throughout the range of motion of an exercise, one must attempt
to expend maximal effort at the beginning of a lift.”

“This will provide the acceleration or momentum needed to move the resistance through its sticking region and through the full range of motion of an exercise, assuming one is training with as much resistance as fatigue allows--in other words, overloading the muscle (Harman, 2000; Lander, Bates, Sawhill, & Hamill, 1985).”
Training velocity

Application of force and training velocity go hand in hand in producing desired results. There are generally two angles present during any kind of exercise. The first angle is weak while the second angle is the more manageable strong one.

The importance of the sticking point is explained once again by Downing:

“A typical error relating to low concentric-contraction velocity occurs when an individual attempts to perform an exercise such as a bench press, but fails to move the barbell through the "sticking point" of the lift.”

The follow-through movements also become important:

“Lowering the bar weight and training via overload principles will eventually allow this individual to increase the working load, but strength gains will be limited to the weakest angle in the range of motion of his or her strength curve.”

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