T

HERE is no strength without

activation and there is no
activation without mental
imagery. But what is muscle
activation? It is highly correlated
with the experience levels of an
athlete rather than training load
variables (load, tempo, etc) and
refers to the ability to use the right
muscles in a specic task.
Muscle activation is a
consequence of motor control at a
conscious level and motor engram
(instructions stored in the brain) at
a subconscious level.
Dr Stuart McGill, professor of
spine biomechanics at University
of Waterloo, Canada, said: The
greatest athletes who are elite
performers and who avoid injury
are very wise in understanding
the process of activating muscles
and group of muscles. They are
masters at using imagery to
control the motor unit recruitment
process. Motion may occur from a
conscious thought in the brain that
instigates muscle activation or the
activation may result from a more
subconscious process involving
an encoded pattern thought to
reside in the spinal cord. Traumatic
events can recode these patterns
to perturbed states, as can chronic
and acute pain.
This is what is called neural
integration or the ability to use the
right muscles in the right motor
pattern without compensation
patterns.
Compensation patterns are
changes or adjustments in muscle
activation made by the body
(central nervous system).
Sometimes the body adapts to
using dierent muscles to work
around an injury; other times it
puts new muscle in a particular
movement pattern because the
muscles that are needed to be
used are too weak. It is therefore
very important to teach the body
(central nervous system) how to
use the muscles in the correct
manner and in the correct sequence.
A fundamental tool for
this purpose is the surface
electromyography (sEMG) a
non-invasive technique for
measuring muscle electrical
activity that occurs during muscle
contraction and relaxation cycles.
John Basmajian in Muscle Alive
writes: Electromyography is an
experimental technique concerned
with the development, recording
and analysis of myoelectric signals.
Myoelectric signals are formed
by physiological variations in the
state of muscle bre membranes
.... Electromyography is unique
in revealing what a muscle
actually does at any moment
during movement and posture.
Moreover, it reveals objectively
the ne interplay or coordination
of muscles this is patently
impossible by any other means.
On a physiological standpoint,
surface electromyography looks
at the action of potential signals
from a number of innervated
muscle bres located near the
pick-up electrodes. In the sEMG
signal these action potentials from
dierent muscle bres appear
together, all on top of each other.
Contraction intensity is controlled
by how often the nerve impulse
arrives and innervates the muscle
bres. Each action potential
generates a certain amount of
energy in the sEMG signal. As the
action potentials arrive more often,
the muscle contracts harder and
the sEMG signal level increases.
A powerful device useful
for this purpose is Physioplux
from Portuguese company
Plux Biosignals (plux.info). It
consists of a lightweight, four-
channel electromyograph, a
portable tablet with software
installed, four sensors for surface
electromyography and a series of
detection surfaces (electrodes).
The device can be used in many
applications, such as physical
rehabilitation, biomechanics,
ergonomics or psychophysiology
(focusing on muscle activity
in response to emotions). The
application involved in this short
article applies to the real-time
feedback monitoring of correct
sequence of muscle activation
during sport-specic tasks.
Having the opportunity to see
in real-time how to activate and
how to relax the muscles during a
squat or an Olympic lift in a gym
can provide us with important
information on how to improve
technique, movement dysfunctions
and intermuscular coordination.
The resulting advantages are that
a better muscle activation can give
us increases in strength, power and
speed.
The Physioplux is very simple
to use and has a very intuitive
interface. It makes the acquisition
of the signals received in the users
body by sensors and transmits
them via bluetooth to a computer
where they are processed and
displayed in real time during
exercises shown on the computers
monitor. On electromyographic
biofeedback, electric signals
resulting from muscle activity
are translated by the software in
graphics and animation; in this
manner the user learns in real time
how to control both the physical
and mental processes to move the
body better and enhance physical
performance.
The Physioplux begins collecting
biosignals from the sensors placed
on the skin of the user that are
connected to the signal acquisition
bioPLUX device. The software
oers visualisation of the training
session and the opportunity
to view or print reports from
previous sessions, and set goals
to be achieved by the user in each
consequent session.
It is strongly believed that
the use of sEMG and biological
sensors represents a fundamental
technology to enhance
performance and prevent injuries,
allowing the users to look directly
into the muscles and to measure
muscular performance from a
completely new and dierent point
of view.
Antonio Robustelli is an expert
in monitoring and management
of recovery and physical stress
(training@antoniorobustelli.com)
ATHLETICS WEEKLY | 39
Training info on Twitter: @AW_Performance
Getting activated
SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY AND MUSCLE ACTIVATION CAN IMPROVE
PERFORMANCE AND RECOVERY, WRITES ANTONIO ROBUSTELLI
Technology
Massimiliano Mandia, an elite-level
Olympic archery athlete, using the
physioplux device
The Physioplux transmits signals from the user via Bluetooth to a computer
AW June 19 Performance 36-43.indd 39 17/06/2014 03:19:37