A Christian Guide to Body Stewardship, Diet and Exercise

Chapter 7: Training for Mobility 151 • Extreme muscle hypertrophy. One of the primary goals of strength training is muscle hypertrophy. However, excessive amounts of muscle hypertrophy can affect ROM. In some cases, the desire for muscle mass may supersede the need for full ROM (e.g., bodybuilding, powerlifting, strongman). Figure 7.3 depicts the relationship between flexibility and injury risk. As depicted in the figure, either extreme of flexibility increases an individual’s risk for injury. The takeaway message is that individuals with extremely poor flexibility would likely benefit from some amount of flexibility training. Conversely, individuals who are hyperflexible would likely benefit from some amount of strength training. Figure 7.3. Relationship between Flexibility and Injury Risk Warm-Up and Cool-Down Purpose and Recommendations It is recommended that each training session begin with a proper warm-up and end with a proper cool-down. The purpose of a warm-up is to prepare the body for the more intense and demanding activity to follow. A proper warm-up increases the temperature of and the blood flow to the muscles thereby improving their elasticity and plasticity. Collectively, these actions help to improve ROM and decrease the risk of injury. In addition to improved muscle elasticity and plasticity, performing a proper warm-up has also been shown to increase force and power development, coordination and reaction time (Peterson & Rittenhouse, 2019). A proper warm-up should begin with gentle movements focusing on ROM then gradually progress to movements that are more dynamic (e.g., jumping, bounding, plyometric). Additionally, movements in all three movement planes (i.e., sagittal, frontal, transverse) should be incorporated. Figure 7.4 depicts the three different planes of movement.

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