Exercise Anatomy, Updated Edition

Laurel T. Mackinnon, PhD, FACSM

This interactive course is designed to help you build your knowledge of exercise anatomy. Your understanding of exercise anatomy will help you create and modify exercise programs designed to enhance your client's physical fitness or sport performance or to help a client rehabilitate after an injury or surgery.

Exercise anatomy helps us to understand how the body's structures interact to cause movement and how these respond and adapt to exercise training. The course focuses on the three main structural and functional systems of the body essential to movement:

• The skeletal system of bones, joints, and connective tissue that support the body and provide connections between different body segments
• The muscular system composed of skeletal muscles that produce force and thus movement
• The nervous system that processes information and initiates and controls muscle movements

The course is supplemented by the text Strength Training Anatomy, 2nd Edition, by Frédéric Delavier and by Primal Software. These resources should help you understand the body's three main structural and functional systems and how these support physical activity.

You'll be working as a personal trainer at a university fitness center throughout this online course. Gurig Kumar, the director of the fitness center, will introduce you to clients who will help you apply your exercise anatomy knowledge. Gurig will also help you evaluate your new knowledge and skills. The prerequisite knowledge and skills that you should have before beginning this course are a good understanding of exercise, fitness, or sport and an interest in designing muscular fitness exercise prescriptions.

The Basics

Your first session with Gurig will be a review of the basic terms and concepts of exercise anatomy. By the end of this session you should correctly use the three planes of reference and anatomical position to describe the body position your client should assume during fitness testing and exercise. You'll learn to identify and distinguish between the different spatial positions of body limbs. An understanding of fundamental movements is essential when designing and modifying exercise prescriptions. We'll spend some time learning to identify the three pairs of fundamental movements and applying these to simple movements. Armed with the basic terms and concepts associated with exercise anatomy, you'll be ready to learn about the function and structure of the body's bones, joints, muscle, and nerves. Gurig introduces you to a group of virtual clients. These clients will help you to understand the concepts and principles of exercise anatomy.

Bones

The next session will focus on the function and structure of bone and how this supports human movement. Gurig will describe the basic function and structure of bone. You'll learn to identify the body's basic structural types of bones based on shape. You'll identify the different bones of the body and their spatial relationship using the concepts of the appendicular and axial skeletons. This session ends with a discussion of how bones adapt to exercise training.

Joints

Session 3 focuses on the function, structure, and movement of joints. Gurig helps you learn to identify the different types of synovial joints. During fitness testing and exercise prescription design, you'll also need to understand joint flexibility, stability, and laxity. You'll learn to identify the different joints of the axial and appendicular skeletons. You'll assess the movement of these joints as you work with your virtual clients.

Muscles

When designing exercise prescriptions, you'll need to understand the function and structure of the muscular system and how this supports human movement. Gurig will describe the basic function and structure of the muscular system and muscle cell. You'll learn to identify and give examples of the different types of muscle actions. It's important to be able to identify the key factors influencing muscular strength; you'll learn to apply this knowledge to simple movements. This session concludes with a discussion of the structural adaptations of skeletal muscle to exercise training.

Actions & Movement

Session 5 provides you with an opportunity to build on your knowledge of the muscular system by focusing on muscle actions and body movement. You'll examine simple movments and learn to identify the different roles of muscle groups in relation to each other. You'll also identify different muscle groups by describing the location and action performed. You'll be able to identify the specific muscle groups used in basic movements and generate a simple exercise training program to target those muscle groups.

Nerves

The final session of the course provides you with an opportunity to examine the function and structure of the nervous system and how this supports human movement. You'll apply your knowledge about the different types of skeletal muscle and the size principle of motor unit recruitment as you work with the virtual clients. Gurig will help you learn to identify the different components of the kinesthetic system and how these help in control of movement. This session concludes with a discussion of neural adaptations to exercise training.

Course Test

When you finish the course, there is a final course exam. This is a timed exam. You've learned about the body's main structural and functional systems and have applied your knowledge to the exercise programs of five different clients. You should review your notes and the resource materials before accessing the exam.

System Requirements

This course is designed to work best when your computer and Internet browser are configured to the following technical requirements and setup specifications:

• Internet Explorer 5.5+ (Windows), Netscape Navigator 7.1+, Mozilla 1.7+, or Firefox 1.0+.
• Computer monitor preferences set for 800 X 600 resolution or larger.
• Adobe Flash Player version 7+. To download the free Flash Player, click on the button below.
• Adobe Reader version 7+. To download Acrobat Reader, click on the button below.
• Browser pop-up blockers disabled.