LESSON 1

MUSCLE AND BONE-

STRENGTHENING
ACTIVITIES
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, the students can:

 identify the components of musculoskeletal system;
 familiarize the different types of strengthening
activities;
 point out the important considerations in developing
muscle and bone fitness; and
 promote an active lifestyle by creating a resistance
training program.
 Introduction
People who are physically active for 7 hours a week have a 40%
lower risk of dying early than those who are active for less than 30
minutes per week. You can put yourself at lower risk of dying early by
doing at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic
activity.
 
Muscle function is necessary to permit movement and maintain
posture. Sensory receptors in the muscles monitor the tension and
length of the muscles and provide the nervous system with crucial
information about the position of the body parts. Bone health includes
bone quality that refers to the capacity of bones to withstand a wide
range of loading without breaking. Bone health also includes bone
mineral content, structure, geometry and strength.
Activity
Directions: Identify the muscles and bones in the body that we commonly used to perform daily
activities. Use the illustration as your guide to answer the questions below.
A. Give at least three (3) muscles involved when lifting and carrying heavy
loads such as a box.
 
1. ______________ 2. _______________ 3.
________________
 
 
B. Give at least three (3) muscles involved when running.
 
2. ______________ 2. _______________ 3.
________________
 
C. Give at least three (3) muscles involved when you do push-ups.
 
3. ______________ 2. _______________ 3.
________________
 
D. Give at least three (3) muscles involved when you squat.
 
4. ______________ 2. _______________ 3. _______________
ACQUISITION OF NEW
KNOWLEDGE
What is Muscle and Bone-Strengthening Activity?

This kind of activity, which includes resistance

training and lifting weights, causes the body’s muscles
and bones to work or hold against an applied force or
weight. These activities often involve relatively heavy
objects, such as weights, which are lifted multiple times to
train various muscle and bone groups. Muscle and bone-
strengthening activity can also be done by using elastic
bands or body weight for resistance (climbing a tree or
doing push-ups, for example).
 Muscle-strengthening activity also has three
components:
 Intensity, or how much weight or force is used relative
to how much a person is able to lift;
 Frequency, or how often a person does muscle
strengthening activity; and
 Repetitions, or how many times a person lifts a
weight (analogous to duration for aerobic activity). The
effects of muscle-strengthening activity are limited to
the muscles doing the work. It’s important to work all
the major muscle groups of the body: the legs, hips,
back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms.
How can we strengthen our muscles and bones?

Muscle-strengthening activities make muscles and bones do more

work than they are accustomed to doing. That is, they overload the
muscles. Resistance training, including weight training, is a familiar
example of muscle-strengthening activity. Other examples include
working with resistance bands, doing calisthenics that use body
weight for resistance (such as push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups),
carrying heavy loads, and heavy gardening (such as digging or
hoeing).
Muscle-strengthening activities count if they involve a moderate to
high level of intensity or effort and work the major muscle groups of
the body: the legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders, and arms.
Muscle strengthening activities for all the major muscle groups should
be done at least 2 days a week (courses.lumenlearning.com).
What factors can help the body to perform
strengthening activity?
Your musculoskeletal system includes your bones,
cartilage, ligaments, tendons and connective tissues which
are helpful in doing activities such as strengthening
exercises of resistance training. Your skeleton provides a
framework for your muscles and other soft tissues.
Together, they support your body’s weight, maintain your
posture and help you move.
 
The musculoskeletal system works to help you stand,
sit, walk, run and move. Adult bodies have 206 bones and
more than 600 muscles, connected by ligaments, tendons
and soft tissues.
What are the parts of the musculoskeletal
system?
The parts of the musculoskeletal system are:
 Bones: Bones of all shapes and sizes support
your body, protect organs and tissues, store
calcium and fat and produce blood cells. A bone’s
hard outside shell surrounds a spongy center.
Bones provide structure and form for your body.
They work with muscles, tendons, ligaments and
other connective tissues to help you move.
 Cartilage: A type of connective tissue, cartilage cushions bones
inside your joints, along your spine and in your ribcage. Firm,
rubbery cartilage protects bones from rubbing against each other.
You also have cartilage in your nose, ears, pelvis and lungs.
 Joints: Bones come together to form joints. Some joints have a large
range of motion, such as the ball-and-socket shoulder joint. Other
joints, like the knee, allow bones to move back and forth but not rotate.
 Muscles: Each muscle is made of thousands of stretchy fibers. Your
muscles allow you to move, sit upright and stay still. Some muscles help
you run, dance and lift. You use others to write your name, fasten a
button, talk and swallow.
 Ligaments: Made of tough collagen fibers, ligaments connect bones
and help stabilize joints.
 Tendons: Tendons connect muscles to bones. Made of fibrous tissue
and collagen, tendons are tough but not very stretchy.
What is Muscle Strengthening Activity?
 
Muscle strengthening activities are exercises in
which groups of muscles work or hold against a force
or some weight. Muscle strengthening activities help
build good muscle strength. When muscles do more
work, it becomes stronger. Therefore, having strong
and healthy muscles enable us to perform everyday
physical tasks. With strong and capable muscles, we
can rearrange the furniture in our living room and
carry heavy grocery bags from the market to our
home.
During muscle strengthening activity, muscle contraction
occurs. The repetitive contractions during exercise can cause
damage to the muscle fibers. Our body repairs these muscle
fibers when they get damaged. The repair happens after
exercise while muscles are at rest. New muscle fibers are
produced to replace or repair those that were damaged. The
muscles in our body then start to grow larger and stronger.
This stimulation and repair process is called muscle
hypertrophy. It is important to note that these muscle-
strengthening activities—short high intensity exercises—
should be alternately scheduled in a week allowing rebuilding
of muscles during rest periods. Ideally, one to two days of rest
lets our muscles rest and recover.
 Types of Muscle Contractions
 
Isotonic contractions are more familiar to most of us. These
contractions are literally the same as “tone or tension,” when the muscle
shortens and movement occurs. Bending the knee, rotating the arms, and
smiling are examples of isotonic contractions.
Isometric contractions are contractions in which muscles do not
shorten. They tend to slide, but the muscle is pitted against an immovable
resistance. When you push against a wall, the elbows bend but the triceps
muscles do not shorten to straighten the elbow. Thus, the muscles contract
isometrically.
Isokinetic contractions are similar to isotonic contractions but the
muscles are exposed to fixed machine with variable degrees of resistance.
Exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and lifting weights are some
examples of muscle strengthening activities that you can do if you want to
have strong and lean muscles. Remember that before you start doing these
activities, be sure to do dynamic warm-up to avoid injury.
What is Bone Strengthening Activity?
Bone growth is stimulated by physical stress
brought about by physical activity. As skeletal muscles
contract, they pull their attachment on bones causing
physical stress. This consequently stimulates bone
tissue, making it stronger and thicker. Such bone
strengthening activities can increase bone density
throughout our skeletal system. This is called bone
hypertrophy.
 There are several forms of muscles and bones resistance training
programs and each one creates a unique adaptation on the individual
muscle fiber. Resistance training programs are commonly classified based
on the goal of the individual. The individual can choose from strength,
endurance, hypertrophy or power program (Callo, 2016).
Strength programs – emphasizes in increasing the force production
capability of the muscle.
Endurance program – is characterized by high repetitions because it
emphasizes on the ability of muscle to resist fatigue.
Hypertrophy program – emphasizes on increasing muscle size without
being concerned with increasing strength.
Power program – trains the muscle to increase speed and
explosiveness of movement.
There are two schools of thought for developing power. In the first
philosophy, power is increased by emphasizing speed of movement
against light resistance. In the second philosophy, power can be
increased by focusing on generating forces against heavy resistance.
 
What are other forms of muscle and bone
strengthening activities?
 
Muscle-strengthening
 Games such as tug of war
 Resistance exercises using body weight or
resistance bands
 Rope or tree climbing
 Climbing on playground equipment
 Some forms of yoga
Bone-strengthening
 Hopping, skipping, jumping
 Jumping rope
 Running
Sports that involve jumping or rapid changes in
direction
How do muscle and bone strengthening vary across the life course?

Journal of Frailty, Sarcopenia and Falls 3(2): 74-84Muscle and bone

strengthening and balance activities for general health benefits in adults and
older adults 29 Opportunities for promotion of and enactment of strength and
balance activities may be beneficial at the following specific times in life:
 
 ages 18 to 24 years to maximize bone and muscle mass gains;
 ages 40 to 50 years to maintain strength and slow the natural decline; and
 over 65 years to preserve balance and strength and maintain
independence.
 
It also highlights specific transition points/events in life as being optimal times
to instigate strength and balance exercises in order to improve future health
outcomes: pregnancy, menopause, onset of/on diagnosis of disease, retirement,
on becoming a career or following hospitalization.
Assessment:
Create a video performing the Muscle
And Bone strengthening exercises. (Five
Exercises 12 repetition in 3 sets with
30 – 40 seconds rest in between sets)

Sample
Exercise Repetitions Sets Rest Interval
       
Push up 12 3 30 – 40
seconds
       
 Elastic band 12 3 30 – 40
Pulls seconds
       
 Jumping Jacks 12 3 30 – 40
seconds
 
     
 Arms hung pull 12 3 30 – 40
ups seconds