Using Biomechanics in Bodybuilding Program Design

MedTech Outlook | Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Finding a clientele is part of the process of establishing a reputable trainer. Staying educated and aligned with all the research in the fitness industry is also key to success.

FREMONT, CA: As biomechanics relates to exercise, this means that a person must properly align joints, joint angles, and movement patterns to elicit the proper muscle contraction and aim the desired muscle fibers when strength training.  For a sport like bodybuilding, which stresses heavily on the aesthetics of the human body, understanding biomechanics is vital to fine-tuning the right muscles. Here is more to know.

Several internal factors have been found to influence the growth and breakdown of muscle tissue, but the needed stressor to promote fiber growth an

d remodeling is the addition of an external force. Research shows that the subsequent repair of the tissue results in thicker muscle fibers versus more fibers in the same tissue. The aesthetic training for bodybuilding needs careful attention to the angles of movement. Unlike functional training, where the idea is to train heavy and functionally move weight, bodybuilding is a subjective sport. Therefore the focus in the fitness center is making specific muscle groups appear larger or prominent.

For bodybuilding program design, multi-joint lifts that aim at larger muscle groups, and interval cardio training are the preferred ways for hypertrophy and maximum strength. Isolation or single-joint movements hone in on muscles and, this is where biomechanics will have the largest effect. The usual movement patterns in a bodybuilding program are squat, push, and pull. One can associate many exercises with more than one pattern based on how that person uses them. A bench press is a push pattern, while a dead lift could be a pull for the back or a squat variation for the legs.

Athletes will have lagging muscle groups. A personal trainer well-versed in biomechanics can use angles to target them in both multi-joint and single-joint movements. A well-designed program can also incorporate a training cycle that changes the percentage of max weight and number of reps an athlete uses, the amount of interval cardio included, and the complexity of the movements in exercise. The length of time spent in each phase of training will rely on the athlete and their objectives and how their body responds to training.