FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DE GYMNASTIQUE
Av. de la Gare 12 1003 Lausanne Suisse Tél. (41-32) 494 64 10 Fax (41-32) 494 64 19 e-mail: [email protected] www. fig-gymnastics.com FIG ACADEMY Physiology of Strength & Flexibility Level 1 Lecture 2 Muscle fibre OVERVIEW TRAINING Muscle fibre types THEORY LECTURE Strength-Hypertrophy 1 Level 1 Strength - Neural
Summary
✓Review Lecture 1
Contraction states LECTURE 2 Power
Flexibility Each ??? is made up rod-like proteins (contractile proteins) The ??? is the “functional” unit of a muscle fibre.
Z - line Z - line
From Martini A contraction = thousands of sarcomeres shortening (actin sliding over the myosin)
From Martini For a muscle to contract, it needs a “drive” mechanism - a ??? Each “motor” nerve innervates many muscle fibres & is called a ???
From Martini Partner A explain to Partner B “Stretch Reflex”
From Martini Review of Lecture #1 Since all physical preparation is focused on muscle tissue, and since all skill learning Is neuro-muscular… It follows, that if we understand how muscle tissue responds to training, then, we understand the essence of physical preparation & skill learning Review of Lecture #1
• Muscles are driven by neural impulses -
• Muscle force can be neurally enhanced - Increase firing frequency - Recruit more motor units - Synchronize the firing of motor units - Reduce inhibitory firing - improve inter-musclular coordination - utilize stretch reflex Review of Lecture #1
That is, via increased motor unit activation & use of reflexes we can gain strength. This appears to be the main form of strength gain in:
• early stages of strength training (1st month) • prepubertal athletes. Review of Lecture #1
Muscle force can also be enhanced by: • increasing the amount of contractile protein (hypertrophy). • The opposite is atrophy Muscle fibre OVERVIEW TRAINING Muscle fibre types THEORY LECTURE Strength-Hypertrophy 1 Level 1 Strength - Neural
Summary
Review Lecture 1
✓ Contraction states LECTURE 2 Power
Flexibility Contraction States
Do muscles always shorten when they are being contracted?
• No. They can stay the same length
• Or, they can lengthen. Contraction States
Static Strength (Isometric)
• When muscle force equals the load, the muscle will not change in length Contraction States
Dynamic Strength (Concentric)
• When muscle force exceeds the load, the muscle will shorten. • The load is moving same direction as contraction • Usually raising weights or moving body upwards. Contraction States
Dynamic Strength (Eccentric) • When muscle force is less than the load, the muscle will lengthen (even though the actin & myosin are “contracting”). • The load is moving in opposite direction to the contraction. • Usually lowering weights or lowering body • All gymnastics landings. Contraction States
Which contraction “state” produces the greatest force?
• Eccentric = greatest force production • Isometric = 2nd greatest force • Concentric = least force production
Which contraction “state” produces the greatest hypertrophy? • Eccentric = greatest hypertrophy Contraction States Can you see that a very complete exhaustion of muscle tissue would involve exhausting muscle: 1st - concentrically, and then 2nd - isometrically, and 3rd - eccentrically With a partner, discuss how you could use the above loading pattern doing chin ups :
Do as many chin ups as possible… Then, hold (isometric) 1/2 way up - as long as possible Then, have someone lift you up, and then you lower yourself slowly - as many times as possible. Contraction States
Which contraction “state” produces the greatest muscle soreness?
• Eccentric = greatest delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) Contraction States With a partner analyse what type of contractile state is used in the following 4 skills. Design 2 strength training exercises to specifically train each skill. 1. Shoulder flexion as in straight arm press to handstand. 2. Hip flexion as in beginning of straddle Stalder Circle. 3. Landing from double bkwd salto. 4. (lecturer’s choice) Contraction States There is a complex contractile state when the muscle is quickly stretched (eccentric) just before it is quickly shortened (concentric) which is referred to as plyometric.
Can you see that plyometric contractions utilize the stretch reflex as well as the elasticity of connective tissue. Contraction States
With a partner:
1. Discuss some examples of plyometric contractions during execution of some gymnastics skills.
2. Plan plyometric physical preparation exercises for 2 gymnastics skills. Strength Overview When designing Strength Training for Gymnastics… Remember to train: • Chains of muscles (not isolated joint actions) • Movement patterns (similar to actual skills) Remember: The Central Nervous System rapidly adapts to repeated stimuli - therefore errors in movement patterns during strength training can be detrimental to skill learning. Strength Overview
Remember: We can selectively recruit fast twitch muscle fibres by designing exercises that demand: • Maximum force or • Maximum speed Strength Overview • Absolute Strength is the maximum force muscles can generate. • Relative Strength is the maximum force divided by body weight (your strength relative to your body weight). • We get stronger as we hypertrophy muscle, but as we get bulkier, our relative strength begins to decrease. • It is important for gymnasts to keep their relative strength very high. Strength Overview
• gymnasts should increase strength using both hypertrophy training & neural training in order to keep relative strength high. • As females pass through puberty their relative strength usually decreases as adipose tissue (fat) naturally increases. Muscle fibre OVERVIEW TRAINING Muscle fibre types THEORY LECTURE Strength-Hypertrophy 1 Level 1 Strength - Neural
Summary
Review Lecture 1
Contraction states LECTURE 2 ✓Power
Flexibility In lecture 1 it was stated:
Neuro-muscular function forms the basis of these Physical Attributes: • Strength • Power • Flexibility • Muscular Endurance Strength versus Power
• Strength is the maximum force a muscle can generate in a single contraction - no time limit. • Power (speed strength or explosive strength) is the maximum force a muscle can generate in minimum time (rate of force development) Strength versus Power
• For most elite athletes (gymnasts for sure) the rate of force development is more important than absolute force development (except for rings). • Most gymnastics skills are done too quickly to have time to generate maximum force (strength) Strength versus Power
Before we begin “Power Training” with young athletes we first MUST train: • muscular endurance - low resistance with fairly high repetitions. • contraction speed - low resistance with fast movement speed. • muscular strength to prepare the tissues for subsequent power training. Muscle fibre OVERVIEW TRAINING Muscle fibre types THEORY LECTURE Strength-Hypertrophy 1 Level 1 Strength - Neural
Summary
Review Lecture 1
Contraction states LECTURE 2 Power
✓Flexibility In lecture 1 it was stated:
Neuro-muscular function forms the basis of these Physical Attributes: • Strength • Power • Flexibility (mobility) • Muscular Endurance
Flexibility Terminology
Active Passive Range Range ------Static Stretch ------Dynamic Stretch ------Flexibility Active ROM versus Passive ROM
Static Methods versus Dynamic Methods What Limits ROM ?
1. Joint structures • bone, ligament, cartilage 2. Connective tissue • tendon, ligament, fascia 3. Muscle tissue 4. Neural reflex activity • stretch reflex Tissue Responses to Stretching 1. Joint structures • for the most part, flexible joints are healthy joints but… • cartilagenous labrum can be damaged in excessive ranges such as hip flexion, shoulder extension • intervertebral disks can be damaged in excessive range - trunk extension Tissue Responses to Stretching 2. Connective Tissue (tendon, ligament) • tissue has wave-like molecular structure with slight elastic response. • tissue will “creep” or elongate when regularly stretched - plastic response. • tissue resists fast stretches more than slow stretches. (strain rate dependency) • tissue responds to vibratory stretches. Tissue Responses to Stretching 2. Connective Tissue (tendon, ligament) • Collagen protein (main component) has increased molecular cross bridging as it ages. • Thus young tissue has inherently greater elasticity than older tissue. • Regularly stretched tissue will hypertrophy (Stretch hypertrophy) Tissue Responses to Stretching 3. Muscle Tissue • The body desires that muscle tissue has an optimal overlap of actin & myosin in the resting state. • If we stretch muscle tissue & disturb this state (stress), then the muscle adapts by adding sarcomeres, thus making the fibre longer, thus reducing the stress by bringing the actin & myosin overlap back to optimal. Tissue Responses to Stretching 3. Muscle Tissue • This lengthening of muscle tissue in response to stretching is the same process as “growth”. • That is, when bones grow in length, the muscles are stretched, and in response to this stretch, sarcomeres are added and the muscle becomes longer. Tissue Responses to Stretching 3. Muscle Tissue • Can you see that stretching Connective Tissue & Muscle Tissue will mainly increase the Passive ROM. • In order to increase Active ROM, you must also increase the STRENGTH of the muscles that move the limb. add slide Tissue Responses to Stretching 4. Neural Response to Stretching • Fast stretching = reflexive muscle contraction &, therefore, affects the range of movement. • Fast stretching also makes tissues vulnerable to injury, but the nature of gymnastics demands fast limb movement near end ranges of movement. •Therefore we must use controlled dynamic stretching. Flexibility Active ROM must be trained by combining stretching with strength (power) training.
Passive ROM shows that tissues are elongated…
But poor Active ROM indicates strength of muscles moving limb has NOT occurred. Flexibility By training for Active ROM (stretch & strength) we can achieve dynamic flexibility without over-stretching joints as shown below. Flexibility
With a partner design Stretching & Strengthening exercises to increase the Active ROM of the following skills.
1. Stride Splits for split leap. 2. Shoulder flexion (lying prone) 3. Hip extension (standing Arabesque) 4. Hip flexion in V-sit position bring legs to chest without using arms Flexibility
Is stretching a good warm up for dynamic activity?
Are you warming up to stretch, or Are you stretching to warm up ? Principles of Conditioning and of Biological Adaptation
Review
A full discussion of these concepts is presented in Academy Level 2 But it is important to be aware of them from the beginning. CONDITIONS AFFECTING BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION
1. Adaptation is SPECIFIC to DEMAND (stimulus) 2. The magnitude of the stimulus must PROGRESSIVELY OVERLOAD. 3. Adaptations are REVERSIBLE. 4. Adaptations vary amongst INDIVIDUALS. 5. VARIATION. A continual stimulus results in plateauing adaptation (ACCOMMODATION). 6. Insufficient RECOVERY reduces adaptation 7. Adaptation decreases-DIMINISHING RETURN
A full discussion of these concepts is presented in Academy Level 2 But it is important to be aware of them from the beginning. TRAINING THEORY for FIG ACADEMY Gymnastics Level 1 Lecture 2
CONTRIBUTORS
Keith RUSSELL, PhD (CAN) principle author The FIG appreciates the collaborative Hardy FINK (CAN) efforts by expert individuals who have worked to develop these presentations.