KinX Learning

Weight training can result in an increase in joint flexibility or it can have the opposite effect – a decrease in flexibility. It depends not only on how the exercise is done, but on how much weight is used and the range of motion over which the weight is moved. Also, adaptations to weight training with beginners are different from the level or kind of adaptation by more experienced trainees. If you use relatively light weights so that you go through a full ROM, you will be able to increase your flexibility. In exercises such as lateral arm raises when you go through a full ROM so that the arms end up directly overhead you can increase shoulder flexibility. You can do the same in front arm raises, lateral prone raises, back raises, etc. Exercises such as reverse trunk twists are excellent for increasing rotational flexibility of the spine, as well as strengthening the internal and external obliques. To increase the ROM in supination and pronation, use a Strength Bar at full length. There are many other exercises -- if not most -- that can be done through a maximum ROM that will result in an increase in flexibility or maintenance, once an optimal range of motion is established. As you increase repetitions, sets and/or use greater resistance, your weight training will result in a loss of flexibility. There are several reasons for this: 1.The greater the number of repetitions and/or sets, the greater is the tendency to shorten the ROM. 2.The greater the total number of repetitions the greater is the tendency for the muscle to tighten up and shorten after the work. 3.When you handle very heavy weights you rarely fully extend the limbs because of the loss in mechanical advantage of the muscles. 4.The use of heavy weights brings about residual tonus in the muscles, which, when sufficiently strong, keeps the muscles in a shortened state after the workout. When you use a greater number of repetitions and/or sets, you will invariably find that as you approach the last repetitions or sets, ROM will be decreased. This typically occurs when fatigue begins to set in or when the muscles begin to tighten from the amount of work being done. The more work you do, the greater will be the likelihood of a decrease in flexibility in the joints affected. Because of this, all heavy or intense weight training programs should be supplemented with stretching, preferably after the workout and that the stretching is active in nature. This is especially important when the spine is involved in weight bearing and may become compacted, as for example, when holding weights on the shoulders or overhead. Active stretching at this time can be done to regain the normal ROM in the involved joints. For example, if you do multiple sets of the biceps curl, you can do a straight arm hang on a high bar to regain the straight arm position. For the lower back, hanging is also very beneficial, whether it be on a high bar to get a full stretch of the spinal vertebrae, or on the Yessis Glute-Ham-Back Machine in which you hang down from the hips with the trunk vertical (inversion). Keep in mind that the stretching at this time is not for an increase in flexibility; it is merely to regain the normal ROM in the joints that you had prior to the exercise. Stretching after the workout is also effective for the prevention of muscle soreness or to decrease the severity of muscle soreness.

If a survey were taken of athletes asking them what they thought their major weakness was, I feel confident that most would say the quadriceps, hamstrings, or pectorals. Very few, if any, would say the fingers or the hands. This is understandable because most people take their hands for granted when doing weight training or in their daily work. However, the hands play a critical role in regard to the development of other parts of the body and in execution of many skills. The reason for this is that your grip is the key to how much weight you can lift and how well you perform in sports. The fingers (hands) must be able to hold the weight you wish to use or to withstand or utilize and direct the forces created in sports such as football, baseball, tennis, golf, and so on. Another major reason for strengthening the fingers and hands is to prevent injury. Of all the injuries that athletes sustain, injuries to the hands and fingers are the most common. They are probably responsible for putting more athletes on the disabled list than any other type of injury. This is understandable when you closely examine what the hands and fingers must do during gameplay especially in sports in which different kinds of equipment, especially balls and hitting implements, are used. Thus, you should work your fingers and hands. One of the best pieces of equipment with which to do this is the Exer Rings (round and flat rings that provide different amounts of tension and resiliency). With them you can duplicate and isolate almost all actions of the fingers. This includes flexion, extension, adduction, and abduction. The best exercise to develop finger grip is Exer Ring finger flexion.

Kinesthesis is the ability to perceive your position and movement of the body and/or limbs in space. Kinesthesis relies on the use of various receptors in the joints, muscles and tendons. For example, the muscle spindle that lies in parallel with the muscle fibers is activated when the muscle is stretched during an eccentric contraction (This is known as the stretch reflex). The Golgi tendon organs are other receptors located at the junction of the tendon and the muscle. They respond to the amount of stretch taking place in the tendon and the muscle. It is important to understand that when a muscle stretches, the tendon also undergoes stretching. It is very elastic tissue and can withstand great tension. When activated, the Golgi tendon organs trigger the antagonistic muscle groups to stop the movement and to inhibit the agonist muscle contraction. This is done to avoid possible injury to the muscle-tendon complex. Because of their actions, it is much easier to fully stretch a muscle when the Golgi tendon organs are shut down. There are also receptors located in the joint capsules and in the ligaments that relay information to the brain. This includes a change in position, speed of movement, or the acceleration of the limbs that occur at the joints. These receptors are very sensitive and fire when there is a small change (up to two degrees) in joint position. There are also many pressure receptors that are very active in posture. When there is any deviation in position, they are fired so that a correction can be made to bring you back into the normal position.