RESISTIVE EXERCISE MACHINES

Abstract

The relationship between resistance exercises and muscle strength has been known for centuries. In ancient Greece, Milo, the wrestler, used progressive resistance exercises to improve his strength. His original method consisted of lifting a calf each day until it reached its full growth, and this technique provides probably the first example of progressive resistance exercises. Today, it is well documented in the literature that the size of skeletal muscle is effected by the amount of muscular activity performed. Increased work by a muscle can cause that muscle to undergo compensatory growth (hypertrophy) while disuse leads to wasting of the muscle (atrophy). This information has stimulated the medical and sports professions, especially coaches and athletes, to try many combinations and techniques of muscle overload. These attempts to produce a better means of rehabilitation or a physiological edge in sporting activities have only scratched the surface of the cellular mechanisms and physiological consequences of muscular overload. The 434 voluntary muscles in man constitute 40 to 60 percent of his total body weight. These muscles are responsible for human motion, which is the most fundamental function of the musculoskeletal system.