An average person has 10 gallons of water in his body, plus enough fat for 7 bars of soap, enough lime to whitewash a small shed, enough phosphorus to make over two thousand matches, and enough iron to make a small one-inch nail.
  
 The normal person in the course of a life time consumes approximately 50 tons of food and 11,000 gallons of liquid. (This includes protein drinks!!)
 
 The skeleton can be considered as an arrangement of levers. These levers (bones) are moved by MUSCLE. The range by power and type of movement is governed by the nature of the joints and length of the bone levers, the arrangement of the muscles, and the weight of the load to be shifted.
  
 The structure of bones and muscle is such that terrific strains are able to be withstood. The long bones are constructed of concentrated CANCELLI which add great strength whilst minimizing their weight.
 
 An example the durability of the body is the fact that tendons anchoring muscles to the bone are strong enough to withstand a stress of 8 tons.
  
MUSCLES: YOU HAVE MORE THAN YOU THINK!
We have approximately 650 muscles, made up of pairs of muscles which, together with their tendons account for about 40 percent of a person's bodyweight. Each muscle has a FULL RANGE, INNER and OUTER range of movement.
  
The FULL RANGE is when a muscle carries out a movement from its extreme stretched position of its extreme contracted position. 
 
The INNER RANGE is when a muscle works midway between its two extremes of movement to its full contracted position.
 
The OUTER RANGE describes the muscles movement from extreme stretched position of the midway point of its range.
  
Muscle tissue consists of 3 forms...
 

STRIATED VOLUNTARY MUSCLE present in all the common muscles of the skeletal system, and all under the control of the WILL.

Nonstraited INVOLUNTARY MUSCLE occurring in those muscles NOT under the control of the WILL, i.e. those carrying out AUTOMATIC functions of the vital organs such as the veins, arteries, alimentary canal etc.
 

CARDIAC muscle; an INVOLUNTARY muscle specific to the HEART.
Muscle is composed of approximately 72 percent water and 28 percent protein and minerals. A muscle contracts in three different ways; they are.... ISOMETRICALLY (statically) CONCENTRICALLY and ECCENTRICALLY.
  
(i) ISOMETRIC CONTRACTION is a static i.e.... unmoving contraction. When antagonistic muscles contract against each other with equal tension, resulting in NO MOVEMENT this fixation or static contraction is known as ISOMETRIC contraction. If you hold your arm with the elbow half bent and unmoving with the BICEPS tensed, then this would be an ISOMETRIC contraction.
  
In recent years much research has been carried out with evidence that brief isometric contractions maintained for short periods of 5 or 6 seconds endeavoring to achieve maximum contraction, can actually result in measurable STRENGTH increase.
  
Most muscle controls are isometric contraction, combined with controlled isolated RELAXATION.
  
(ii) CONCENTRIC contraction consists of the muscle fibres working against RESISTANCE throughout any of the normal muscle ranges as in everyday weight training exercises.
  
In concentric work, about 30 percent of the energy set free by the oxidation processes is used on actual work, the remainder of the energy going to raise the temperature of the muscle, and if large muscle groups are involved, the general temperature of the body.
  
(iii) ECCENTRIC work is also carried out by performing against resistance, except in this instance the resistance OVERCOMES the action of the muscle fibres, pulling the origin and insertion points apart, and although under contraction, the fibres are lengthened.
  
Muscular tissue is the only issue having the power to contract. Muscles provide the motive power of the body, moving the bones to which they are attached by lengthening and shortening, passing over the joints.
 For a muscle to be DEVELOPED, it has to be exercised using both CONCENTRIC and ECCENTRIC work in the inner range.
  
Muscles work as (a) PRI-MOVER, (b) ANTOGONIST or (c) FIXATOR or SYNERGIST. To illustrate these terms, if you were curling a dumbell to the shoulder, you would employ the BICEPS (and Brachialis) muscles, these being the PRIME MOVERS.
  
The ANTAGONIST muscle in this example would be the TRICEPS whilst the need to maintain the position of the arm in the curling position would involve the contraction of the shoulders, these being the FIXATORS.
 All movements made by the body are of leverage with muscles PULLING.
  
The muscles are always known by their LATIN names; however, for convenience bodybuilders often shorten Latin names for muscle groups, for example 'pecs' for pectoralis major, 'lats' for latissimus dorsi and so on....
 Your best way to learn them, and thereby help you with your training when you wish to concentrate, is to obtain a good muscle chart, one of which is obtainable from George Greenwood.
  
The movements of the body have specific names. When one part is bent upon the other it is called FLEXION, when they are straightened out it is termed EXTENSION.
  
Only about 100 pairs of muscles are used in general posture and movement of the body and limbs, with the majority of muscle pairs being smaller and involved in the nose, throat, mouth, eyes, etc.
Exercise breaks down tissue, rest builds it up. The rest interval required for a body builder's muscles to recuperate after a heavy workout, ranges from between two to four days.
  
Experience shows that best results occur when you train each muscle group on average three times a week, with rest periods spaced in between training sessions.
  
 Naturally, certain individuals will break this rule, according to their genetic advantages. You will need to experiment to find your own unique requirements.
  
A muscle will HYPERTROPHY with exercise, i.e. grow, and ATROPHY with disuse, that is lose size. HYPERTROPHY or growth in muscle results from an increase in the size of each individual muscle fibre.
  
You cannot increase the NUMBER OF muscle fibres, as this is controlled genetically (meaning fixed at birth). Muscle HYPERTROPHY results form an increase in INTENSITY of work, i.e. only when a muscle is OVERLOADED will it respond by undergoing hypertrophy (growth).
  
The AMOUNT of work has no significance.

Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding
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