ACTIVE COMPONENTS

OF STRENGTH
Muscle Activity
Motor Units
Hennemans Size Principle
Tetanic Contraction
muscle force can be modulated by
varying: (1) the number of recruited
motor neurons, and (2) the frequency
of discharge (i.e., stimulation rate) in
motor neurons
a single action potential (S
1
) produces
a twitch contraction, a quick rise and
slow fall in force
a tetanus occurs when a new action
potential (S
2
) arrives before the
previous twitch has dissipated, and
there is force summation
at stimulation frequencies >30/s, there
are no twitch transients (fused tetanus)
Stimulation frequency affects muscle force:
twitch and tetanus
Measuring Muscle Activity
Sliding Filament Theory
Force-Length Relationship
Force-Velocity Relationship
Muscle Force
Joint Torque
Joint Torque
M = F x d
M: Moment (torque) about a joint
F: Force applied
d: moment arm (perpendicular distance from joint centre to location
of force application)
Ways to increase joint torque:
Increased muscular force (F)
Increased moment arm length (d)
One of these variables we can change, the other is fixed.
Force Production
Hypertrophy
Hypertrophy
Hyperplasia
Hypertrophy vs. Hyperplasia
Neural Drive
Neural Adaptations
282 mechani sm for adaptati on
For example, it has been estimated that in triceps
brachii, only about 5% of the motor units are
Type IIb (IIx), but this small number of units
contains about 20% of the total number of muscle
bres in the muscle (Enoka & Fuglevand 2001).
The second way increased activation could occur
is through increased motor unit ring rates (Fig.
15.3, middle panel). By increasing or decreasing
ring rate (also referred to as discharge rate or
rate coding), a motor unit can vary its force out-
put over an approximately 10-fold range, known
as the forcefrequency relationship. The motor
unit ring rates observed in maximal voluntary
contractions appear to be lower than needed for
maximum force output (Enoka & Fuglevand
2001; cf. Bellemare et al. 1983). Training may
allow for ring rates consistently high enough to
be on the plateau of the forcefrequency relation-
ship, where force is maximal. The third way
increased activation could occur is also through
increased motor unit ring rates (Fig. 15.3, bot-
tom panel). When the intent is to contract the
muscle as fast as possible with maximum rate of
force development (so-called ballistic contrac-
tions), motor units begin ring at a very high fre-
quency, followed by a rapid decline in frequency
(Zehr & Sale 1994). The peak ring rates attained
Fig. 15.1 Control of muscle by the nervous system.
Voluntary strength performance is determined not
only by the quantity and quality of the involved
muscle mass, the engine, but also by the ability of the
nervous system, the engine controller, to effectively
activate the muscles. Nervous system adaptations to
strength training may improve the control of muscles
to increase maximum force (strength). These neural
adaptations may occur in higher brain centres or
within the spinal cord.
Strength training
Neural adaptation
Appropriate
synergist activation
HAntagonist
activation
Agonist
activation
HForce and/or rate of force development
HStrength performance
Fig. 15.2 Neural adaptations to strength training
may take the form of increased activation of agonist
muscles, more appropriate activation of synergist
muscles (coordination), and decreased (relative)
activation of antagonist muscles. These adaptations
would act to increase maximum force (strength)
and/or rate of force development.
*DG Sale, Strength and Power in Sport, 2008
Neural Adaptations
neural adaptati on to strength trai ni ng 285
Komi 1983; Aagaard et al. 2000). Thus, caution
should be exercised in extrapolating the results
in one head of the quadriceps to the other three
heads. As examples in addition to the study
depicted in Fig. 15.4, in which an increase in
EMG was observed in only one of three heads
monitored, two studies assessed only the vastus
lateralis and found no increase in EMG after
training (Carolan & Cafarelli 1992; Garnkel &
Cafarelli 1992). Changes may have occurred in
one or more of the other three heads. Similarly,
another study assessed only the rectus femoris
and found an increase in EMG (Komi et al. 1978).
There may have been no changes in the remain-
ing heads. Third, in all studies the results could
have been inuenced by several factors, includ-
ing the intensity, volume, frequency and dura-
tion of training, the movement pattern and type
of muscle action used in training, and similarity
(specicity) between the training and test modes.
An example of specicity, in terms of both test
vs. training mode, and type of muscle action,
is illustrated in Fig. 15.5. In the study shown in
Fig. 15.5 (Hortobgyi et al. 1996a), the test and
training modes were the same (isokinetic con-
centric and eccentric actions). Specicity of train-
ing with either concentric or eccentric actions
was examined. The major ndings were that
EMG increased in the two heads of the quadri-
ceps monitored, the magnitude of increases was
training mode (concentric vs. eccentric) specic,
and that eccentric training produced the greatest
specic increases.
Other muscle groups trained include ankle
dorsiexors (Van Cutsem et al. 1998), elbow
exors (Moritani & deVries 1979; Thpaut-
Mathieu et al. 1988; Ozmun et al. 1994; Martin
et al. 1995; Colson et al. 1999; Macaluso et al.
2000), adductor pollicis (Cannon & Cafarelli
1987), rst dorsal interosseus (Keen et al. 1994)
and hypothenar muscles (Yue & Cole 1992). As
with the studies of the quadriceps, these studies
vary in the features of training, application of
specicity and number of muscles monitored
within an agonist group. All but one (Cannon &
Cafarelli 1987) found an increase in EMG with
training. A few studies have observed increased
EMG early in training programmes followed by
a decrease (Hkkinen & Komi 1983; Keen et al.
1994; Narici et al. 1996). Unique among the stud-
ies, regardless of muscle group, is that of Yue and
Cole (1992), which compared the effect of actual
and imagined isometric training. Imagined
training consisted of subjects imagining making
a series of maximal isometric actions in each
training session, the number being identical to
another group who actually made the isometric
actions. Imagined (and actual) training produced
signicant increases in strength and EMG. It is
notable that muscles displayed EMG silence
during the imagined training, suggesting that a
supraspinal neural mechanism was responsible
for the increased strength and EMG in test con-
tractions (Yue & Cole 1992). The presence of a
P
e
r

c
e
n
t

i
n
c
r
e
a
s
e

i
n

E
M
G
100
80
60
40
20
0
CON
test
Vastus
ECC
test
lateralis
CON
test
Vastus
ECC
test
medialis
*
*
*
*
Concentric training
Eccentric training
Fig. 15.5 Effects of either concentric or eccentric
isokinetic knee extension training on the activation
(from surface EMG) of two of four heads of the
quadriceps femoris. Specicity in the training effect
was observed in both muscles. Eccentric training
produced the greatest increases in activation in the
eccentric test, and concentric training produced the
greatest increases in the concentric test. In respective
specic tests, eccentric training caused the greatest
increase. *, signicant increase pre- to post training;
H, increase in the eccentric test with eccentric training
was signicantly greater than the increase in the
concentric test with concentric training. Pattern
of strength increases was similar (not shown).
(Based on Hortobgyi et al. 1996a.)
Hortobgyi et al. 1996a
Macroscopic Adaptations
10/24/2010
4
Neural and muscular adaptations to
strength training
8 wks
e
n
g
t
h
Short-term training Long-term training
%

c
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n
t
r
i
b
u
t
i
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n

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o

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e
Training Time (weeks)
4 8 16 104
Adapted from Designing Resistance Training Programs
Macroscopic Adaptations
10/31/2010
22
y Speed and agility training to increase impulse
production by moving the force-time curve up and to
!"#$%&"'(')#*)+),"*-)./,#(*(*-$'01234'($"5
6#33(')(7+),"*-).
the left.
Eg. Increase stride rate in
sprinters.
Elite sprinters top speed = 26
mph (12m/s), executing 5
strides/s.
Kramer and Newton.
http://www.gssiweb.com/Article_
Detail.aspx?articleid=25
*DG Sale, Strength and Power in Sport, 2008
Types of Strength
Louie Simmons Definitions:
Maximal Strength
Strength Endurance
Speed Strength
Strength speed
Explosive Strength
Accelerating Strength
Mel Siffs Definitions:
Maximum strength
Relative strength
Speed strength
Explosive strength
Maximum strength
Starting strength
Acceleration strength
Strength endurance
Strength Training
Verkhoshansky Y Special strength training: a manual for coaches
Developing Strength
Post Activation Potential
Training for Power
Applications
Applications
Greasing the Groove
Motor Learning
Deliberate Practice
Practice
1) Repetitive performance of intended cognitive or
psychomotor skills.
2) Rigorous skills assessment
3) Specific information feedback
4) Better skills performance

planning (organize work in a structured way).
concentration/dedication (higher attention span)
repetition/revision (strong tendency to practice)
study style/self reflection (tendency to self-regulate
learning)
Summary
Understand underlying biology of muscle contraction to
understand strength
Force production from muscles
Myofibrillar hypertrophy increases number of contractile elements
Neural drive increases efficiency of muscular contraction
Strength is a skill
Neural adaptations
Short term (Post Activation Potential)
Long term (Synaptic facilitation)
Practice often and the way you intend to use it
Deliberate practice dont practice mindlessly
Summary
Tips to train smarter:
Get in the right mindset (game face)
Set specific goals
Understand the requirements of your goals
Maximal strength, speed strength, strength endurance, etc.
Deliberate practice for goals to train and engrain motor patterns
Upgrading software
Develop peripheries to support high load contractions
Skeletal muscle, tendons, cardiovascular
Upgrading hardware
Practice perfectly at first, then practice under various forms of
duress
Final Thoughts
Strength is specific to a task when a certain set of
characteristics are similar. Would being a strong bench
presser carry over to to being a good puncher?
Gullich and Schmidtbleicher showed the PAP effect using
100% maximal contraction. Charlie Francis used the
same concept with his sprinters, having them squat
maximal weights prior to the pre-race warmup. Is maximal
weight necessary or is it just a tool to achieve maximal
activation?
Given what we know about the various types of motor
units, would it make sense for an Offensive Lineman to do
middle and long distance runs?
Final Thoughts
Training similar motor patterns allows for enhancement of
specific tasks. If this is the case, would shadow boxing
with weights be useful for a boxer, or sprinting with ankle
weights be useful for a track and field competitor?
Increasing neural drive to a muscle allows for greater
activation. But do we always need maximal load for
maximum neural drive?
Will gaining muscle allow an athlete to get faster?
Next Week
Application of todays topic
Take this background knowledge and apply it to getting
stronger
Writing programs
Exercise performance
This Sunday
Plank contest
How long can you hold a plank with PROPER
TECHNIQUE
Winner gets 2 lb whey or fish oil
Sunday at 4:30 5:30 pm in Warrior High Performance
Zone