First of all, strength is a good thing, isn't it? That's the most important part. You need strength to walk, run, play sports, jump, move objects, breathe...
So could we say that a person is strong if he produces enormous muscular tension but his body still remains still and doesn't move? In practical sense not or maybe yes? Most of us (younger generations) watched a anime called Dragon Balls. In this anime-movie the main characters produce huge amounts of energy focusing all strength in one point. The result of the enormous energy consumption procedure is a energy ball that has devastating power. I say in most cases, sometimes the energy focusing force releases all power consumed and result in demolition and destruction of everything living and unliving, even planets get incrusted.
Hey, hey... would you please stop talking about some anime cartoon, I want to get stronger?
Yes of course. I wanted to tell you that this is no nonsense. The old Japanese and Chinese people already knew about a force deep inside the human body. Not only the anime Dragon Ball which was produced in the early 1980's (with that thematic including energy balls and force) testify the knowledge and skills of the old Eastern culture. Every other cartoon of this type is a cheap copy of this one. I took the most trivial example which that flew trough my head. You already know and heard about the ancient East. There are tons of books and docu's that testify about their Chi power. I will talk later one more about this.
There is a adage that says: "Strength does not come from physical capacity it comes from indomitable will"
Mahatma Gandhi.
So if strength has to do with muscular tension how could a female lift a truck to save her child? OK now I turned from the road. I will write about this later, you can read about adrenaline and superhuman strength here. On this page I will only explain the role of strength and define it.
At least but not last I'll say that strength is a ability.
To be strong is to have ability. In life, in the gym, and in relationships. The ability to overcome the physical, emotional, or subjective obstacles that hinder our progress as human beings. That is strength.The author of this wonderful definition of Strength is Chip Conrad. Visit his hub for modern physical culture here.
Finally we solved the definition for strength, what now. Now we can enter the world of strangely compelling questions. Could a tiger beat up a big grizzly bear? Who has stronger legs Roberto Carlos or Jan Ulrich (Lance Armstrong doping evidence)? Could you measure the strength in Usain Bold's legs?
We could extend the categories of strength in several ways and in several types. Before we do so I just want to make things clear. We can say for weight lifters that they have great lifting strength, for soccer player great kicking strength (I don't prefer to be hit), for runners great running strength, for climbers great hand and finger strength and so on.
Kinds of strength
- static strength
- explosive strength
- dynamic strength
- strength endurance
- strength speed
- reactive strength
- eccentric strength
- isometric strength
- concentric strength
Explosive strength is used when exerting a force in a short, fast burst. This is similar to power. Take as an example throwing a ball or long jump.
Dynamic strength is used when repeatedly applying force, over a long period of time. Similar to muscular endurance (it's similar but not the same). Take as an example when performing reps when doing push ups or pull ups, or some other exercise that require reps.
Strength endurance is used when you resist a force over time or you make repeated muscle contractions against a force. Strength endurance is a measure of the ability of a muscle or muscle group to work continuously. It has a meaning similar to muscle endurance, but with strength endurance there is a greater emphasis on the amount of the force which can be resisted.
Strength speed is used when you do speed training where there is relatively more contribution from force rather than acceleration. For example when you exercise push ups, try to get up as fast as possible using maximal force rather then acceleration.
Reactive strength is used in transition from a eccentric action following a rapid concentric action. For example, jump from a 30 inch chair on the ground and swiftly rise up to execute a powerful jump. If you lack to convert the eccentric power into reactive strength you won't get high.
Eccentric and concentric strength, you can conclude what both mean from the reactive strength explanation above.
With this we finished a chapter about strength. Hope you learned someting about strength.