Excerpt from Introduction
The Encyclopedia of Exercise Anatomy features a comprehensive range of exercises for the whole body, along with detailed anatomical drawings to show exactly which muscles are being worked during each exercise. Whether you are interested in improving your sporting performance or toning specific parts of your body, this format allows you to target your exercise routines to achieve the desired results. To help you formulate an all-round routine, the book also includes workout routines that focus on improving performance in a number of popular sports as well as some to follow to help your body cope with particular stresses or build strength where it is lacking.
Building Strength Where It's Needed Today nearly every sport across the globe uses resistance training to improve performance — long gone is the idea that weight training is only for those looking to increase muscle bulk. A quick peek into any gym will bear witness to how well stocked and versatile training facilities have become in recognition of the importance of strength and stamina in any fitness program. Sporting performance is improved, like most things in life, with repetition and practice. But the human body's musculature is complex, so the question is: what exercises should you be doing and what is best practice for your particular sport? Encyclopedia of Exercise Anatomy is designed to answer that question. Whether you're a novice at tennis picking up the racquet for the first time, or a seasoned rugby player wishing to brush up on strengthening the particular muscles that provide much needed power in the scrum, this is the book for you.
Part 1 of the book includes detailed anatomical illustrations highlighting all the major muscles in the upper body and all the major muscles of the lower body. Don't worry, you don't need to learn all the anatomical terminology, but the information is there for you to refer back to at any time. The more you work out, the more you will begin to understand about the way the human body works — and that can only be a good thing when your ambition is to achieve peak fitness.
Part 2 introduces over 100 exercises divided into four sections: upper body exercises, lower body exercises, core exercises and stretches. There is an in-depth guide for each exercise, including the muscle groups used, step-by-step instructions and pertinent performance tips. Once again, anatomical illustrations highlight the key muscle groups involved in the exercise and annotation identifies the individual muscles being worked.
Part 3 of the book combines the individual exercises into highly effective programs. This section is divided into two subsections: the first dealing with fifty popular sports; the second dealing with functional workouts for specific non-sporting activities.
Following a brief overview of each sport and the muscles called into play, the sports programs are organised into three levels of intensity to meet the demands of every athlete, from beginner to advanced, and to provide those all-important goals to work towards — whatever your level of fitness. An alternative set of programs is provided to add interest and variety to your workout.
The remaining programs in the book focus on real-world scenarios such as workouts to help back or knee problems. This final exercise section also helps you target specific body areas that you want to enhance for purely aesthetic reasons, whether you're looking to build bigger, more powerful arms or sculpting a glorious derriere. As with the sport-specific section, there is an introductory paragraph that gives a brief overview of the muscles used; the exercise programs themselves are set at three different levels of intensity — in most cases an alternative program is provided for variety.
