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Machine of the Month – A1
When switching to a new programme, the A1 is a demanding alternative to the back machine, F3. Whereas the F3 trains the erector muscle of the spine (musculus erector spinae) in isolation, the A1 trains this muscle and the greatest gluteus muscle (m. glutaeus maximus). When doing the A1 (hip extension exercise), you feel both muscles, particularly in the final phase. In addition, the A1 also uses the thigh biceps (m. biceps femoris), the semitendinous muscle (m. semitendinosus) and the semimembranosus muscle (m. semimembranosus).
Lie on your side and then push against the weight to extend the legs as far possible to the rear. Make sure that the hip is positioned on the machine’s axis of rotation. Almost no arm strength should be required in order to stop the upper body from swinging to and fro. If your body position is correct, the exercise will be effective.
Expert’s Tip
Frank Rothe
Research Department Kieser Training
The first twenty sessions at Kieser Training serve to correct strength curves and improve range of motion. During this phase, it is important that customers learn how to do each exercise in high training quality (neuro-muscular adaption = interplay of nerves and muscles). At the same time, we also provide customers with the basic theory of strength training. During the introductory phase, the focus is on single-joint exercises for agonists and antagonists in the main muscle groups. After about 20 training sessions, coordination between nerves and muscles is improved and so there is a gradual transition to the build-up phase. Your 2nd training programme will include more exercises that train individual muscle groups rather than just single muscles.
In terms of the load on muscles during the build-up phase, you should strive for local fatigue. Try to do each exercise for more than 90 seconds and increase the weight by 5% at each session. This equates to the dynamic growth potential of healthy muscles. The buildup of muscle and strength is strenuous. However, it is also rewarding as muscles tone up and strength increases.
After several weeks of rewarding work to build up muscle, progress will slow and your motivation will be put to the test. Don’t be discouraged. Turn your training into a routine, i.e. train on specific days and at specific times. In this way, training soon becomes a habit. Once you have established the training habit, it will soon become easier.
When you have achieved you own aims in terms of strength build-up, it takes much less training to maintain that level and avoid future problems. Ask your instructor for a control session, and learn how to switch to maintenance training.
Latest research – Strength for use in daily life
Feeling lighter is one of the main benefits of a trained body. Regular strength training significantly improves physical performance and has a positive effect on quality of life – just two of the findings from a recent study by the Kieser Training Research and Development Department.
The study involved 531 individuals who trained at Kieser Training under normal conditions for six months, training on average twice a week. The result: 87.2% noticed an increase in physical performance, which in turn had a positive effect on their daily life: More than half of participants reported higher productivity at work and four out of five felt better prepared for their particular sport. With a well trained body, everything feels easier: this is because the muscles cope better with the stresses and strains of daily life. As earlier studies have shown, strength plays a crucial role in how we cope with many everyday activities. The results of the recent Kieser Training R&D study support this finding: strengthening the body provides strength for use in daily life.
Background: when you train, you work a muscle until it reaches its limit and so fatigues. However, if you train regularly, the muscle responds and adapts to the effort in excess of its stimulus threshold. As a result, the muscle can cope with a higher load; you achieve more and fatigue less quickly.
In addition to the effect on pure physical performance, strength training also affects the psyche – another finding of the recent study: 83.3 % of participants found that training was a good counterbalance to daily life, 58.3 % found they coped better with stress and more than one in three reported that they were sleeping better. In other words: the quality of life of participants had improved significantly – and not just because they felt lighter.
5 questions... on osteoporosis
Dr. Weiß, your latest book is called ”Osteoporosis can be cured”. What are the main ingredients of successful treatment?
When treating osteoporosis, you first need to ensure that the patient is getting sufficient vitamin D and calcium with vitamin D being much more important than calcium. Specific medication will only be required if the osteoporosis is advanced. However, in almost all cases, it is also essential that the patient does strength training for the systematic build-up of muscles. In medical circles, the effect of strength training is still undervalued.
Why is strength training so important?
Strength training stimulates bones and triggers the associated bone construction processes. When you use a muscle to lift a weight, a tensile, compressive and in particular bending load is transferred via the muscle origin and insertion to tissue in the bone. If the load is sufficiently intense, the body creates new bone tissue and more mineral salts are deposited. This in turn increases both bone mass and bone density. Provided that strength training is done to the right level and done regularly, patients can increase their bone density by as much as 15% in just 12 months – a sensational result and something no medication can achieve.
What is your recommendation to patients with osteoporosis?
For patients already suffering from osteoporosis, I recommend – in addition to conventional treatment – Medical Strengthening Therapy under the direction of a medical professional and accompanied on a 1:1 basis by a therapist. The use of Medical Strengthening Therapy ensures that patients train at the right intensity and at right level. When patients do muscle training, they also strengthen their bones. We know, from empirical evidence, that complication rates are very low and so the use of Medical Strengthening Therapy is very safe, even for patients with advanced or severe osteoporosis. In addition, muscle coordination is improved and this reduces the risk of falls and the associated bone fractures. In addition, general performance increases. The overall effect is that patients retain or even restore their mobility and quality of life. Of course, patients must undergo a complete medical examination before starting therapy.
Are there any particular points to watch out for doing training?
In order to avoid vertebral sintering, programme modifications are required for elderly customers and those with additional risks. Axial compression loads on the vertebral body and loads on the anterior edge through forced flexion are potentially dangerous. E1, E3, G1 and E2 are contraindicated until after the next bone density scan – usually after 1 - 2 years. B6, F2 and A2 may only be used if training quality is excellent. Assuming a target training time of 90 - 120 seconds, patients may train on all training machines to local fatigue. Instructors and therapists have a particular responsibility when dealing with customers with osteoporosis and so it is essential that entries in the main customer file are clear and unambiguous. Customers/patients must be reminded to check machine settings very carefully before starting training!
(Dr. Weiss’ book, “Osteoporosis can be cured”, is due to be published in English in 2011).
