Topics covered in this snack-sized chapter:
Strength anatomy is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles.
It provides significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health.
There are many different methods of strength anatomy.
- The most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle contraction.
Technique used to target specific muscle groups include:
- Incremental increases of weight.
- Elastic tension or other resistance.
It differs from:
Strength anatomy used in sports: football, rugby, lacrosse, basketball, hockey, and track and field.
Skeletal structure frames the overall shape of the body and does not alter much over a lifetime.
Males are generally taller, but body shape may be analyzed after normalizing with respect to height.
Broad shoulders and expanded chest (in males).
- Males generally have broad shoulders and expanded chests, allowing them to inhale more air to supply their muscles with oxygen.
- Widening of the shoulders occurs as part of the male pubertal process.
Being overweight or underweight causes change in the human body's shape as well as posture and walking style.
The fats and carbohydrates in food constitute the majority of energy used by the body.
Proteins mostly aid the growth and repair of tissues and muscles and have comparatively little effect on weight.
We have adipose tissue all over the body. This tissue is made of adipocytes (fat cells) whose sole job is to store energy in the form of fat.
Body fat distribution differs from person to person.
Types of fat storage:
- Visceral
(surrounding organs).
- Subcutaneous
(beneath the skin - about 80% of all body fat).
Body shape is affected by body fat distribution, which is correlated to current levels of sex hormones.
Muscles and fat distribution may change from time to time, unlike bone structure, depending on food habits, exercises and hormone levels.
Fat distribution in Women:
- Basic areas - generally around the buttocks and thighs (gluteofemoral): "pear-shaped".
- Estrogen causes fat to be stored in the buttocks, thighs, and hips in women.
Fat Distribution in Men:
- Basic area - generally around the abdomen: "apple-shaped".
- Males have less subcutaneous fat in their faces due to the effects of testosterone; testosterone also reduces fat by aiding fat metabolism.
Testosterone helps build and maintain muscles through exercise.
Males have around 20 times more testosterone than females.
Prominent muscles of the body include:
- Biceps and triceps in the arms.
- Quadriceps in the thighs.
| Knee
| Fat often builds up on the inside region of the knees in women.
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| Upper Arm
| Fat build up can occur in the middle to upper area of the upper arm - typically covering the triceps area.
Common in women.
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| Abdomen
| Fat buildup around the navel area.
Common in both men and women.
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| Inner Thigh
| Fat storage between the thighs.
Common in women - but also occurs with men.
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| Outer Thigh
| Sometimes called "Riding Breeches" - this area is the most likely place for the pitted or 'quilted' appearance of cellulite.
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| Buttocks
| Without fat here sitting would be quite uncomfortable.
If significant fat is lost from the buttock, then only appropriate training can prevent the buttock from sagging down against the thigh.
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| Chest
| Breast tissue comprises the mammary gland (one's 'endowment') surrounded by fat.
Men also have atrophied glands and fat in this area.
Both sexes gain fat in this area.
In men this can sometimes be mistaken for the condition of gynecomastia - a condition that includes not only fat build up, but growth in gland tissue.
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