Leigh Brandon - Anatomy : for strength and fitness training for speed and sport

Anatomy for Strength and Fitness Training for Speed and Sport is a visual, anatomical and textual analysis of effective exercises that will help you in your chosen sporting field. It is also a guide on how to do the exercises and how to safely and effectively develop speed for your particular sport. The book has three distinct parts: the first is a basic introduction to anatomical definitions, terminology and an overview of the development of speed. Essentially it helps to demystify the language used in part two, making it easier to follow the instructions in that section. Part two contains five sections: section one covers stretching and warm-up, section two covers the core, section three covers Primal Pattern Movements, section four covers maximal strength and power development and section five covers agility, plyometric and speed drills. Within each section, the individual exercises or drills featured are defined and given some background.

There is a how to guide for doing the exercise, as well as a visual and technical exercise analysis of the main muscles that are working. The start or finish position is usually depicted and training tips may be included. Part three helps you to understand how you might put these exercises together into a programme over a season to achieve optimal speed and performance. The adult human body has 639 muscles and 206 bones; this book illustrates approximately 92 muscles involved in movement and stabilization. Many smaller muscles, including the deep, small muscles of the spine and jaw and most muscles of the hands and feet are not given specific attention, in order not to confuse the reader. This book has been designed to help you to improve your speed in your chosen sport.

Before introducing speed training, the body has to be prepared to handle the loads or stress put on the body during such training. Therefore, it is advised that the sections are completed in the following order: 1. Primal Pattern Movement beginner exercises2. Primal Pattern Movement intermediate exercises3. Primal Pattern Movement advanced exercises4. Maximal strength training5.

Power training6. Speed/agility/plyometric drills The length of time spent in each phase is dependent on your level of training experience. The more experience you have in training and the stronger you are, the less amount of time you need to spend in each phase. It is advised that you should have one to two years of resistance training before commencing maximal strength training. Many of the exercises have a degree of risk of injury if done without adequate instruction and supervision. We recommend that you have a thorough assessment with a certified strength and conditioning coach, C.H.E.K practitioner or personal trainer before undertaking any of the exercises, and that you seek qualified instruction if you are a complete beginner.

This book does not constitute medical advice and the author and publisher cannot be held liable for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by anyone using this book or the information contained in it.

Anatomy has its own language and whilst technical, it has a basis in logic, originating from Latin and Greek root words that make it easier to learn and understand the names of muscles, bones and other body parts. Whether youre an athlete, personal trainer or strength and conditioning coach, using the correct terminology enables you to interact with other professionals and professional materials. Like most medical terms, anatomical terms are made up of small word parts, known as combining forms, that fit together to make the full term. These combining forms comprise roots, prefixes and suffixes. Knowing the different word parts allows you to unravel the word.

Most anatomical terms only contain two parts: either a prefix and a root or a root and a suffix. For example, if you take the terms subscapular and suprascapular, the root is scapula, commonly known as the shoulder blade. Supra means above, hence suprascapula means something above the shoulder blade and sub means below indicating in this instance something below the shoulder blade. Common prefixes, suffixes and roots of anatomical terms

The human body can be viewed as an integration of approximately 12 distinct systems that continuously interact to control a multitude of complex functions. These systems are a co-ordinated assembly of organs, each with specific capabilities, whose tissue structures suit a similar purpose and function. This book illustrates and analyses the systems that control movement and posture namely the muscular and skeletal systems, often referred to jointly as the musculoskeletal system.

The other systems are the cardiovascular, lymphatic, nervous, endocrine, integumentary, respiratory, digestive, urinary, immune and reproductive systems.

The muscular system facilitates movement, maintenance of posture and the production of heat and energy. It is made up of three types of muscle tissue: cardiac, smooth and striated. Cardiac muscle forms the heart walls, while smooth muscle tissue is found in the walls of internal organs such as the stomach and blood vessels. Both are activated involuntarily via the autonomic nervous system and hormonal action. Striated muscle makes up the bulk of the muscles as we commonly know them.

The skeletal system includes the tendons that attach muscle to bone, as well as the connective tissue that surrounds the muscle tissue which is called fascia. A human male weighing 70 kg (154 lbs) has approximately 2535 kg (5577 lbs) of skeletal muscle.

Muscles attach to bone via tendons. The attachment points are referred to as the origin and the insertion. The origin is the point of attachment that is proximal (closest to the root of a limb) or closest to the midline, or centre of the body. It is usually the least moveable point, acting as the anchor in muscle contraction.

The insertion is the point of attachment that is distal (furthest from the root of a limb) or furthest from the midline or centre of the body. The insertion is usually the most moveable part, and can be drawn towards the origin. Knowing the origin and insertion of a muscle, which joint or joints the muscle crosses and what movement is caused at that joint/joints is a key element of exercise analysis. There are typical features on all bones that act as convenient attachment points for the muscles. A description of typical bone features is given in the table on page 13.

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