Lifting To Improve Respiration

1.25.2014

Blog|Conditioning

Lifting To Improve Respiration

A lot goes on in our physiological system during heavy exercise that we may or may not think about or be aware of. In normal breathing the latissimus dorsi or commonly referred to as lats are active briefly during very deep inhalations and inhalation against resistance. During exhalation they become active again when air is expelled with great force. When swimmers and climbers experience latissimus fatigue their respiration changes and they notice it.

Pendulum Lat Combo Pull

The sternocleidomastoid neck muscles support inhalation when lung volume nears 100% of vital capacity in deep breathing or when exercise is very rapid. The scalene neck muscles help by lifting our ribs to get more air in our lungs. In a 2013 study in Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology researches looked at the electromyographic activity of a series of muscles involved in respiration to fatigue. They found that early signs of respiratory fatigue could actually be found by examining the fatigue rate of the sternocleidomastoid and scalene. In other words when the musculature of the neck begins to fatigue due to heavy breathing soon the athlete will falter.

Pendulum 5-Way Neck

A well organized athletic program must include the development of the upper back and neck to maximize performance whether you are running or doing any activity that requires heavy breathing.

6.2.2023

Closed And Open Chain

Open kinetic chain exercises of the lower limb are movements, where the distal segment is unloaded and free to move. The opposite is true of closed kinetic chain exercises, whereby there is enough resistance to prohibit free motion.

Closed kinetic chain exercises are movements such as squats, Pendulum Squat Pro, leg presses and lunges, while open chain exercises are actions like leg curls, leg extensions and the Pendulum Reverse Glute Ham.

The kinetic chain can be understood as interrelated joints and body parts working with one another during motion. This creates a chain of events that affects the movement of neighboring joints and segments.

The advantage of open chain movements is that they tend to be better at isolating muscle and often are selected for specific rehabilitation and used to accentuate performance. While closed chain movements in general would be classified as more functional and closely approximating movements that are used in sport and daily life.

Open Chain Reverse Glute Ham

Closed Chain Pendulum Power Squat Pro

Closed Chain Pendulum Power Squat Pro XT

5.11.2023

Arkansas Baseball Weight Room

5.11.2023

2-for-2 Method

Some trainers, coaches and athletes use what is called the 2-for-2 Method for increasing training load. The rule is if the trainee can perform two or more repetitions over one’s ‘repetition goal’ in the last set of an exercise, for two consecutive workouts, the weight is added for that particular exercise the next training session.