Swell 191 Spring Exam Study Guide

Kinetic Chain
The Body is a Human Kinetic Chain. Certain joints are primarily structured for mobility while
others are for stability. Some joints perform both functions depending on the demands placed
on the body. Remember to always look above and below the joint to address the area of
pain/discomfort as many times one joint will manifest a symptom but the root cause is at
another dysfunctional joint. Remember, the body likes to compensate and take the path of
least resistance!

Refer to the diagram to know which joints primarily do which function.

Joint-by-Joint Concept and Other Helpful Things

When pain is experienced at one part of the body, it is helpful to look at other areas of the body
and assess for any dysfunction that may be causing the symptoms felt at a particular joint.
Using the example of pain at the knee. The knee is often an area that experiences a lot of pain.
However, unless a direct injury is sustained at the knee joint (i.e. meniscus tear), many times
the root of the issue has stemmed from the foot, ankle, hip, spine etc. So don’t get hung up on
just your knee hurting. It may be suffering because of dysfunction elsewhere. This does not
always apply to injury either. Many times we have trouble doing certain exercises because of a
dysfunction and subsequent weakness, tightness, block etc. at a joint that doesn’t allow us to
do a certain exercise well or with good technique.
Some others examples
Back pain can many times be a result of poor hip mobility
A poor front-rack position in the front squat can be due to poor thoracic spine extension ability
Tight Latissimus Dorsi muscles can restrict your overhead shoulder mobility
An anterior pelvic tilt can lengthen out your hamstrings which can lead them to being weak and
not necessarily short of stiff

Movement Patterns

Muscles can be grouped according to their function. Muscles along your back are Pulling
muscles while others on your front push such as the chest.

Push – Force exerted away from the body

Pull – force exerted toward the body
Squat – In hip and knee flexion, exerting force to bring hips and knees to full extension
Hinge – Hips act as a fulcrum. Hinge at the hips, not the low back.
Rotation/Anti-rotation – Rotation (typically at the trunk) and resisting rotation against a
resistance
Loaded Carry – Moving a load for distance or time. Example: Farmer Carry
Ground Work – crawling, quadruped movements, integrity with the environment

Movement Patterns and Associated Exercises

Examples of Push Movement Pattern Exercises

Bench Press, Overhead Press, Tricep Push-downs, Skull Crushers

Examples of Pull Movement Pattern Exercises

Barbell Row, Kettlebell Rows, Pull-ups

Examples of Hinge Movement Patterns

Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift

Examples of Squat Movement Pattern Exercises

Back Squat, Front Squat, Overhead squat

Examples of Anti-Rotation Movement Pattern Exercises

Suitcase carry, Pallof Press

Example of Loaded Carry Movement Pattern Exercises

Farmer Carry

Important Things You Should Know

The Sport of Powerlifting

 Consists of 3 exercises in competition
 o Bench Press
o Back Squat
o Deadlift
The sport of Olympic Weightlifting
 Consists of 2 exercises in competition
o Snatch
o Clean and Jerk

Principles of Weight Training & Physiology

Muscular Power: force x (displacement in the direction of force/ time))
Power is the ability of muscles to produce force quickly. The more force that can be produced in
a shorter time period the greater the power output.
Examples of exercises that improve power output are: snatch, clean and jerk, depth jumps,
vertical jumps, sprints

Muscular Strength: the ability to exert force against resistance or the amount of force that can
be produced in a single maximum effort.
Examples of exercises that improve strength: Back squat, front squat, overhead squat, bench
press, deadlift, hexbar deadlift

Muscular Endurance: the ability of a muscle to perform repeated submaximal contractions or

sustain a submaximal contraction for prolonged periods
Examples of exercises that improve endurance: running, jogging, sprinting, jump roping, high
repetition weight exercises (>12 reps)

Flexibility: The ability of soft tissue structures, such as muscle, tendon and connective tissue to
lengthen
Examples of how to improve flexibility: yoga, static static stretches (holds >20 sec)

Training/Basic Programming Principles

Order of Exercises
When programming, careful consideration needs to be made to the sequential order of the
exercises. When energy is high and fatigue low, it is prudent to do compound lifts that require
the greatest energy and focus.
Compound lifts are those that use multiple joints such as the ankles, hips and knees all working
together. Examples of compound lifts are: squats, snatches, deadlifts, overhead press.
After doing compound lifts it is typically better to then do your isolation work. Isolation work
are exercises that focus on primarily using one joint (such as the elbow) to create movement.
Examples of isolation exercises are: lateral raises, bicep curls, skull crushers, calf raises. These
exercises require less energy as multiple joints are not working together to create movement.
However, when hypertrophy is desired (such as how bodybuilders train) it is not uncommon to
do an isolation exercise prior to a compound lift to “pre-fatigue” the muscle in order create
metabolic overload (new stimulus to muscle to spark growth). So programming needs to be
tailored to your individual goals as there is no “right or wrong” way to program (okay there is
but we won’t get into that), but there are definitely “good, better, best” ways of programming.

Helpful Definitions

Law of Specificity: specific body systems require specific overloads to achieve desired results.
The minimum resistance that a person can use and still be confident of obtaining strength gains
is approximately 60% of the maximum force (1 RM) that a muscle group can exert.
Isometric contraction: muscle contraction with little or no movement
Concentric contraction: Shortening of muscle against resistance
Eccentric contraction: a lengthening of the muscle against resistance

Periodization Phases: the dividing of training into major phases or cycles. Training is
manipulated by varying volume and intensity; hypertrophy (volume high
and intensity low- lean body mass stimulate tissues) , basic strength (intensity high, volume
moderate, increased lean body mass) , strength/ power (increase strength and power, intensity
high and volume low), peaking/ maintenance (volume is low, intensity is high or low) , active
rest (low
volume and low intensity, combat overtraining which leads to decreased performance).
Free weights: include barbells, dumbbells and other related equipment
Machines: a type of resistance exercise equipment in which the weight is fastened to a machine
or pulley-type device
Recovery Period: the rest you take between sets.
Muscular endurance: the ability of a muscle to perform repeated submaximal contractions or
sustain a submaximal contraction for prolonged periods
Progressive Resistance Training:
increasing the amount of weight lifted as one becomes stronger
Dynamic action: Muscle contraction with movement
Forced Reps: Your spotter helps assist you in lifting beyond normal fatigue.
Sets: a given number of repetitions
Reps: the number of times an exercise is performed
Hypertrophy: an increase in cell size