DOMAIN ONE

Basic and Applied

Sciences
EXAM WEIGHT 22% / CHAPTERS REFERENCED 1-7
 DOMAIN ONE

Basic and
Applied Sciences
Basic and Applied Sciences includes foundational information from which all other personal fitness training
applications are built. In it, you will learn the structure and function of different bodily systems like the
skeletal and muscular systems. This domain will also include information on kinesiology and biomechanics,
the study of human movement.

Basic and Applied Sciences are important for you to pass your final exam given it’s 22% of the questions on
your test. However, it’s also important for your ongoing career so you can easily learn new trends and styles
of training by applying the cornerstones of exercise science to them.

INTRODUCTION
To create change in your client’s body means knowing the concept of homeostasis, the body’s automatic
tendency to maintain a constant internal body environment through various processes. You also need to
know kinesiology, which is the study of physical movement, and the active and passive structures involved.
• 98% of the body is composed of only six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and
phosphorous. Its hierarchy is structured:
°° Chemicals > Cells > Tissues > Organs > Systems > Organism
• One of the most talked about parts of the cell is “the powerhouse of the cell”, mitochondria. It’s the
organelle responsible for energy production.
• For training purposes, you’ll focus on:
°° Skeletal system (about 206 bones all together)
°° Axial skeletal system - 80 bones including the skull, spine, and ribs
°° Appendicular system - all other extensions of the axial skeletal system (126 bones)
»» 60 in upper extremities
»» 60 in lower extremities
»» 2 in pelvic girdle
»» 4 in shoulder girdle
°° Muscular system
»» Muscle tissue that connects to bones for movement to occur
°° Nervous system - specifically the somatic system as it is responsible for voluntary actions

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°° Cardiorespiratory system
»» Circulatory system - the heart, arteries, and veins that act as a transport
system
»» Respiratory system - the lungs and air passageways which supply oxygen to the
body and remove carbon dioxide
°° Digestive system
»» Responsible for breaking down food and eliminating waste
°° Endocrine system
»» Releases hormones and responsible for metabolic activities (e.g., growth
hormone is most abundantly produced by the pituitary gland)

SKELETAL SYSTEM
Some things you should know about the skeletal system include structure and function. The skeletal system
includes the bones and joints that make up the structure or framework of our body. There are five main
categories of bones.

Bone Classification Characteristic Example

Curved surface and provide Ilium, ribs, sternum, clavicle,
Flat bones
protection scapula
Short bones Small, cube-shaped Carpals and tarsals
Long, cylindrical shaft and provide Tibia, fibula, femur, radius, ulna,
Long bones
structural support humerus
Small bones in the tendon of a Patella, flexor tendons of the toe
Sesamoid bones
musculotendinous joint and thumb
Serve a variety of purposes;
Irregular bones Bones in the ischium, pubis
include the bones of the spine

Ligaments are connective tissue which connect bone to bone to form joints. Joints are the points where two
bones connect. Specifically, synovial joints allow movement. They are the most important to fitness trainers
and are classified into the following six categories.

Type of Joint Example

Gliding Tarsals of the foot
Condyloidal Wrist between the radius and the carpal bones
Ball and socket Shoulder and hip
Hinge Elbow, ankle, and knee
Saddle Thumb
Pivot Pivotal radius at the radioulnar joint

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MUSCULAR SYSTEM
The muscular system is what most people tend to think of when considering exercise programs. You need
to know structure, function, role, and anatomy for this section. There are three types of muscle tissue based
on their structure and function. They include:

Muscle Tissue Type Characteristic Example

Cardiac Muscle Striated and involuntary Makes up the wall of the heart
Smooth Muscle Smooth and involuntary Found in other organs like those
of the digestive system
Skeletal Muscle Striated, voluntary, and fatigue Attaches to bone, responsible for
easily all movement

• Muscles are made up of sarcomeres. A sarcomere is a structural unit of a myofibril (muscle fiber).
°° Myofibrils have overlapping strands of protein polymers called actin (thin) and myosin
(thick). An electrical trigger stimulates the release of calcium which binds to actin. This then
allows the interaction with the other contractile protein, myosin. This series of interactions,
the myosin pulling across the actin, is what causes shortening in the muscle and ultimately
a muscle contraction.
• Muscles connect to bones, via tendons, at the origin and insertion.
°° Origin - the proximal (closer to the midline of the body) attachment
°° Insertion - the distal (farther from the midline) attachment
°° Action - the specific movements that each muscle is responsible for
°° Innervation - the specific distribution of nerves to a particular part of the body.
The arrangement of muscle fibers, or the directions in which they run, will help you learn the directions they
pull on the skeletal system to produce movement. The different types of muscle fiber arrangements include:

Type of Muscle Fiber Example

Parallel Run parallel to longitudinal axis of muscle; the stylohyoid (neck muscle)
Fusiform Run parallel to the longitudinal axis of the muscle; the biceps brachii
Triangular Spread over a broad area; pectoralis
Unipennate Arrangement is only on one side of tendon; flexor policis longus
Bipennate Arrangement on both sides of tendon; soleus
Fibers are arranged obliquely or diagonal and have several tendon attachments;
Multipennate
deltoid

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• There are two main types of muscles:

°° Type I - slow twitch fibers and aerobic (good for endurance)
°° Type II - fast twitch and anaerobic (good for power)
• A muscle produces different types of contractions
°° Concentric - muscle shortens to produce movement
°° Eccentric - muscle lengthens to allow movement
°° Isometric - the joint angle and muscle length do not change during movement
• Muscle mechanics for the major joints and muscle groups are an important concept for the personal
trainer to know. Muscle mechanics look at joint action, joint makeup, muscle involvement, and the
associated relationships between various muscle groups in the body.
°° Some muscles will cross one or more joints. For example, the hamstrings are a two-joint
muscle that crosses both the knee and the hip
Muscles are classified according to what they do during a movement. A high development of
agonist-antagonist function is necessary for a well-aligned body.

Classification Responsibility of Muscle Type Example

Main muscle responsible for movement;
Agonist Biceps brachii during bicep curl
prime mover
Muscle that plays a secondary role in
Assistant Shoulders during a chest press
movement
Muscle with an action directly opposite of
Antagonist Triceps during elbow flexion of biceps curl
the agonist

There are different types of movement:

• Sustained force movement is where continuous muscle contractions occur in order to keep moving a
weight
• Dynamic balance movement is where constant agonist-antagonist muscle contractions occur in order
to maintain a certain position or posture
• Ballistic movement is where inertial movement exists after an explosive or quick, maximum-force
contraction; here is pre-tensing of the muscle in the eccentric contraction so the muscle can
contract concentrically with maximum speed and quickness
• Guided movement occurs when both the agonist and the antagonist contract to control the
movement

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Receptors in the joints, muscles, and tendons help you know where your body is in space.
This is called kinesthesis.
• Golgi tendon organs are one of the receptors in kinesthesis, they’re located at the junction of
muscle and tendon and respond to mechanical stress such as pressure. Golgi tendon organs are
located in the tendons and sense excessive stretch to protect the muscle.
• Muscle spindles are sensory receptors within the belly of a muscle that primarily detect changes in
the length of this muscle. Muscles responsible for fine movements contain more muscle spindles
than do muscles responsible for gross movements.

PRINCIPLES OF BIOMECHANICS
Biomechanics is the specific study of movement and includes key concepts like:
• Stability - the ability to maintain a balanced state
• Force - interaction that creates work, action, or physical change; it is broken down into magnitude,
direction, application, line of force, and exhibited in push- or pull-type motion
• Angle of muscle pull - the angle at which a muscle pulls relative to the long axis of the bone on
which it pulls
• Work - what happens when a force is applied to an object
°° Defined by the equation: W = F x D
°° W=work, F=force, D=distance or displacement of object being moved
• Power - the work done in a unit of time
Newton’s Laws of Motion - three laws of motion which contribute key principles of biomechanics by
describing inertia, relationship between force/mass/acceleration and relationship between equal and
opposing forces
• Newton’s first law states that an object stays at rest or moves unless compelled to do otherwise by
outside force.
• Newton’s second law deals with force and its relationship to mass and acceleration.
• Newton’s third law states that objects in contact exert equal and opposite forces on each other.
Force is the interaction that creates work or physical change and its components are:
• Magnitude
• Direction
• Point of application
• Line of action

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Thermodynamics is the branch of science concerned with heat and energy and their conversions, one into
the other through mechanical work.
• According to the law of thermodynamics, energy is never created nor destroyed, it’s just transferred
between entities.

TYPES OF MUSCLE CONTRACTION

• Eccentric is the type of contraction that occurs as the muscle is lengthening, for example, during the
downward motion of a biceps curl, the biceps brachii is eccentrically contracting. When applying
tempo training, this is the part of the movement which should be the focus and, therefore,
the slowest portion of the repetition.
• Concentric is the type of contraction that occurs as the muscle is shortening, for example, during
the pressing motion of a bench press, the pectoralis is concentrically contracting.
• Isometric is the type of contraction that exhibits strength but the limbs do not move, for example,
when performing a plank.
A lever is a rigid bar that runs about an axis of rotation called a fulcrum. Knowing levers is important be-
cause the rigid bar represents our bones and the fulcrum is the joints. The muscle contractions represent
force. There are three classes of levers to know:

Class Definition Example

Fulcrum between the force and
First class lever Seesaw
resistance
Weight/resistance is between the
Second class lever Wheelbarrow
fulcrum and application of force
Force is between fulcrum and
Third class lever Shovel
resistance

Planes of motion
• Frontal plane of motion divides the body into a front half and back half, creating side to side
movement. Examples include lateral raises, side lunges, and lateral flexion of the spine.
• Sagittal plane of motion divides the body into a left and right half, so the planes slide forward and
back. Lunges, biceps curls, squats, and walking occur in the sagittal plane of motion.
• Transverse plane of motion divides the body into a top and bottom half, where rotation occurs. This
is most commonly seen in any rotational exercise.

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Muscle mechanics of the foot and ankle, knee, spine, shoulder, elbow, forearm, and wrist are important for
you to learn so you know how to make exercises more effective, how to change exercises to bring greater
involvement of specific muscles, and how to add power.
• Foot and ankle
°° Made up of tibia and the talus bones, at the ankle, flexion and extension are possible, and
at the foot inversion and eversion.
°° The foot and ankle are stabilized on the anterior side by the tibialis anterior and, and on the
posterior side by the gastrocnemius and soleus.
• Knee
°° The end of the femur and tibia bones, this joint primarily flexes and extends the lower leg.
°° The knee is stabilized on the anterior side by the quads, on the medial side by the sartorius
and gracilis, on the lateral side by the TFL, and on the posterior side by the hamstrings.
• Spine
°° Includes the vertebral column (the most important functional unit of the body), and the
spinous and transverse processes serve as attachments for deep and superficial muscles
of the back. Forward, backward, and lateral bending and some rotation are possible.
°° The spine relies on ligaments and muscles for support and muscles include rectus
abdominus, internal/external obliques, transverse abdominis.
• Shoulder
°° A multi-axial joint because it’s a ball and socket joint and performs adduction and abduction,
horizontal adduction and abduction, medial and lateral rotation, and circumduction.
°° The four muscles of the rotator cuff can easily be remembered by the acronym SITS and
include:
°° Supraspinatus
°° Infraspinatus
°° Teres minor
°° Subscapularis

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