Welcome to Unique Physique…

Aerobic Exercise…
Aerobic exercise refers to exercise that is of moderate intensity, undertaken for a long duration. Aerobic means "with oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen in a muscle's energy-generating process. Many types of exercise are aerobic, and by definition are performed at moderate levels of intensity for extended periods of time. The two types of exercise differ by the duration and intensity of muscular contractions involved, as well as by how energy is generated within the muscle.

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Strength Training…
When properly performed, strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being including increased bone, muscle, tendon and ligament strength and toughness, improved joint function, reduced potential for injury, improved cardiac function and elevated good cholesterol. Training commonly uses the technique of progressively increasing the force output of the muscle through incremental increases of weight, elastic tension or other resistance, and uses a variety of exercises and types of equipment to target specific muscle groups. Strength training is primarily an anaerobic activity, although some proponents have adapted it to provide the benefits of aerobic exercise through circuit training. Strength training differs from bodybuilding, weightlifting, power lifting and strongman, which are sports rather than forms of exercise. Strength training, however, is often part of their training regimen. The benefits of strength training include increased muscle, tendon and ligament strength, bone density, flexibility, tone, metabolic rate and postural support.

Types of exercises…
Isometric Exercises…
These terms combine the prefix "iso" (meaning "same") with "tonic" (strength) and "metric" (distance). In "isotonic" exercises the force applied to the muscle does not change, and in "isometric" exercises the length of the muscle does not change. Some forms of weight training use isometric contractions to further stress the muscles after or during a period of isotonic exercise. In this case the muscles flex and hold a stationary position, and no movement of a load takes place.

Isotonic Exercises…
Weight training is primarily an isotonic form of exercise, because the muscles are used to push or pull weighted objects. Any object can be used for weight training, but dumbbells, barbells and other specialized equipment are normally used because they can be adjusted to specific weights, and are easily gripped. However, some exercises are not strictly isotonic because the force on the muscle varies as the joint moves through its range of motion, even though the force of the exercise remains constant.

Plyometric Exercises…
Plyometric exercises exploit the stretch-shortening cycle of muscles to enhance the myotatic (stretch) reflex. This involves rapid alternation of lengthening and shortening of muscle fibers against a resistance. The resistance involved is often a weighted object such as a medicine ball, but can also be the body itself as in jumping exercises. Plyometrics is used to develop explosive speed, and focuses on power instead of maximal strength, and may be used to improve the effectiveness of a boxer's punch, for example, or to increase the vertical jumping ability of a basketball player.

Isolation Exercises…
The leg extension is an isolation exercise. An isolation exercise is one where the movement is restricted to one joint. Those who seek to improve the look of their body without necessarily maximizing their strength gains (including bodybuilders) would put more of an emphasis on isolation exercises. Isolation exercises are useful for "rounding out" a routine, by directly exercising muscle groups that cannot be fully exercised in the compound exercises. Those who seek to increase their performance in sports would focus mostly on compound exercises, with isolation exercises being used to strengthen just those muscles that are holding the athlete back.

Compound Exercises…
The leg press is a compound exercise. Compound exercises build the basic strength that is needed to perform everyday pushing, pulling and lifting activities. Those who seek to increase their performance in sports would focus mostly on compound exercises. Compound exercises work several muscle groups at once, and include movement around two or more joints. For example, in the leg press movement occurs around the hip, knee and ankle joints. This exercise is primarily used to develop the quadriceps, but it also involves the hamstrings, glutes and calves. Compound exercises are generally similar to the ways that people naturally push, pull and lift objects, whereas isolation exercises often feel a little unnatural.

Progressive Movement Training
Progressive movement training attempts to gradually increase the range of motion throughout a training cycle. The lifter will start with a much heavier weight than they could handle in the full range of motion, only moving through the last 3-5” of the movement. Throughout the training cycle, the lifter will gradually increase the range of motion until the joint moves through the full range of the exercise. Super slow repetitions are performed with lighter weights. The lifting and lowering phases of each repetition take 10 seconds or more.

Exercises for specific muscle groups…
The body's individual muscles are commonly divided into ten major muscle groups. These do not include the hip, neck and forearm muscles, which are rarely trained in isolation. The most common exercises for these muscle groups are listed below. The core muscles of the torso are trained before the shoulder and arm muscles that assist them. Exercises often alternate between "pushing" and "pulling" movements to allow their specific supporting muscles time to recover. The stabilizing muscles in the waist should be trained last.

1. Pyramid sets
   In a pyramid the weight is first increased, and then decreased over a series of sets. A full pyramid typically includes five sets of approximately 12, 10, 8, 10 and 12 reps. The first two sets are performed with light to medium weights to warm up the muscles. The middle set is the work set, and uses the heaviest weight possible. The last two sets are drop sets, and further fatigue the muscle with progressively lighter weights.



2. Burnouts
   Burnouts combine pyramids and drop sets, working up to higher weights with low reps and then back down to lower weights and high reps. The diminishing set method is where a weight is chosen that can be lifted for 20 reps in one set, and then 70 repetitions are performed in as few sets as possible. Rest-pause heavy singles are performed at or near 1RM, with ten to twenty seconds of rest between each lift. The lift is repeated six to eight times. It is generally recommended to use this method infrequently.



3. Supersets
   Supersets combine two or more exercises with similar motions to maximize the amount of work of an individual muscle or group of muscles. The exercises are performed with no rest period between the exercises. Push-pull supersets are similar to regular supersets, but exercises are chosen which work opposing muscle groups. This is especially popular when applied to arm exercises, for example by combining biceps curls with the triceps pushdown.



4. Pre-Exhaustion
   Pre-exhaustion combines an isolation exercise with a compound exercise for the same muscle group. The isolation exercise first exhausts the muscle group, and then the compound exercise uses the muscle group's supporting muscles to push it further than would otherwise be possible. By preceding the bench press with the pec fly, the pectorals can be pre-exhausted so that both muscles fail at the same time, and both benefit equally from the exercise.



5. Forced Reps
   Forced reps occur after momentary muscular failure. An assistant provides just enough help to get the weight trainer past the sticking point of the exercise, and allow further repetitions to be completed. Weight trainers often do this when they are spotting their exercise partner. With some exercises forced reps can be done without a training partner. For example, with one-arm biceps curls the other arm can be used to assist the arm that is being trained.



6. Cheat Reps
   Cheating is a deliberate compromise of form to maximize reps. Cheating has the advantage that it can be done without a training partner, but compromises safety. Rest-pause (post-failure) After a normal set of 6-8 reps (to failure), the weight is re-racked and the trainer takes 10-15 deep breaths, and then performs one more repetition. This process can be repeated for two further repetitions. The twenty-rep squat is another, similar approach, in that it follows a 12-15 rep set of squats with individual rest-pause reps, up to a total of 20 reps.



7. Negative Reps
   Negatives are performed with much heavier weights. An assistant lifts the weight, and then the weight trainer attempts to resist its downward progress through an eccentric contraction. Alternatively, an individual can use an exercise machine for negatives by lifting the weight with either arms, or legs (both), and then lowering it with only one.



8. Partial Reps
   Partial reps, as the name implies, involves movement through only part of the normal path of an exercise. Partial reps can be performed with heavier weights. Usually, only the easiest part of the repetition is attempted.



9. Burns
   Burns involve mixing partial reps into a set of full range reps in order to increase intensity. The partials can be performed at any part of the exercise movement, depending on what works best for the particular exercise. Also, the partials can either be added after the end of a set or in some alternating fashion with the full range reps. For example, after performing a set of biceps curls to failure, an individual would cheat the bar back to the most contracted position, and then perform several partial reps.



10. X-reps
    X-reps are a variation of burns, but X-reps always occur after momentary muscular failure. After the last full repetition, an isometric contraction at the point of maximum force is combined with a series of small pulsing movements to further stress the muscles. Once you achieve fatigue overload, you slowly lower the weight through the eccentric range of motion, and the set is complete.