Muscle Training

All muscle training falls into three categories:

Isotonic Training
Isometric Training
Isokinetic Training

Isotonic

In isotonic contractions, the muscle contracts and shortens, giving movement. Nearly all the training you do is isotonic.

Advantages

Strengthens a muscle throughout the range of movement
You can choose isotonic exercises to match the actions in your sport

Disadvantages

Can make muscles sore because of stress while they shorten
The muscle gains most strength at the weakest point of the action, rather than evenly throughout

Isometric

In isometric contractions, the muscle contracts but does not shorten, giving any movement. The Plank is a good example of an isometric contraction.

Advantages

Isometric exercises develop static strength - the strength you need to push or pull a heavy object or hold it up
They are quick to do and don't hurt
They do not need expensive equipment
You can do them anywhere

Disadvantages

The muscle gains strength only at the angle you use in the exercise
During an exercise, the blood flow to the muscle stops, blood pressure rises, and less blood flows back to the heart. It could be dangerous if you have heart problems

Isometric training is not sufficient on its own. You need to combine it with isotonic training.

Isokinetic

In isokinetic contractions, the muscle contracts and shortens at a constant speed. An isotonic contraction is different to an isokinetic contraction because it is usually slowest at the start.

For isokinetic training, you need special equipment that detects when a muscle is speeding up and increases the load to slow it down again.

Advantages

The muscle gains strength evenly all through the range of movement
It is the fastest way to increase muscle strength

Disadvantage

The equipment is very expensive, so most gyms cannot afford it

Concentric & Eccentric Contraction

Concentric contraction occurs when a muscle shortens in length and develops tension e.g. the upward movement of a dumbbell in a biceps curl or as you spring back from a jump landing, extending your knees and jumping back up in the air, the quadriceps are shortening as they create a force to push you off.

Eccentric contraction involves the development of tension while the muscle is being lengthened, e.g. the downward movement of a dumbbell in a biceps curl or when you land on two feet from a jump and bend your knees, the quadriceps are lengthening.

Eccentric movements recruit most fast-twitch fibres

Research, McHugh et al. (2002)^[1], investigated the difference in activation patterns between eccentric and concentric quadriceps contractions. The researchers measured the amount of muscle activity revealed by electromyography (EMG) and the EMG signal's mean frequency. As a rule, the larger the EMG signal recorded, the more muscle fibres are being recruited, while the signal's frequency indicates how fast they are being recruited. Research has shown that higher frequency EMG is consistent with greater fast-twitch fibre recruitment.

They found that the total EMG signal was greater during the concentric phase, suggesting more muscle fibres are active at this time, while the mean frequency of the EMG signal was greater during the eccentric phase, suggesting more fast-twitch fibres are being recruited at this time. They concluded that there is less total muscle fibre recruitment during a maximal eccentric contraction, with fast-twitch fibres recruited in preference to slow-twitch ones. In contrast, all the muscle fibres are used during a maximal concentric contraction.

This finding is significant for power athletes as the research suggests that if you want to train your fast-twitch fibres, it would seem that eccentric contraction movements are more useful than concentric ones. Plyometric exercises, which involve high-force eccentric movements, would be beneficial for this purpose. A good example is the depth jump, which involves jumping off a box, bending at the knee and hip to control the landing softly, and then jumping back up. Power athletes may also consider performing strength exercises using the eccentric phase only. It means you may target the fast-twitch fibres and perform less total work, potentially making the training more efficient. You will need a training partner or coach to assist you with each concentric phase, leaving you to complete the effort on each eccentric phase alone.

Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

Muscle soreness that occurs 24 to 48 hours after intense exercise involves eccentric contractions. This causes increases in intracellular pressure that irritates the nerve endings, producing swelling and local pain. The soreness can indicate potential muscle adaptation to follow, but it could indicate overtraining or considerable muscular tissue damage if it persists or is debilitating.

An appropriate warm-up and cool-down may help to avoid or reduce DOMS.

References

McHUGH, M. P. et al. (2002) Differences in activation patterns between eccentric and concentric quadriceps contractions. Journal of Sports Sciences, 20 (2), p. 83-91

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

MACKENZIE, B. (2000) Muscle Training [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/mustrain.htm [Accessed


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Nearly all the training you do is isotonic. Advantages Strengthens a muscle throughout the range of movement You can choose isotonic exercises to match the actions in your sport Disadvantages Can make muscles sore because of stress while they shorten The muscle gains most strength at the weakest point of the action, rather than evenly throughout Isometric In isometric contractions, the muscle contracts but does not shorten, giving any movement. The Plank is a good example of an isometric contraction. Advantages Isometric exercises develop static strength - the strength you need to push or pull a heavy object or hold it up They are quick to do and don't hurt They do not need expensive equipment You can do them anywhere Disadvantages The muscle gains strength only at the angle you use in the exercise During an exercise, the blood flow to the muscle stops, blood pressure rises, and less blood flows back to the heart. It could be dangerous if you have heart problems Isometric training is not sufficient on its own. You need to combine it with isotonic training. Isokinetic In isokinetic contractions, the muscle contracts and shortens at a constant speed. An isotonic contraction is different to an isokinetic contraction because it is usually slowest at the start. For isokinetic training, you need special equipment that detects when a muscle is speeding up and increases the load to slow it down again. Advantages The muscle gains strength evenly all through the range of movement It is the fastest way to increase muscle strength Disadvantage The equipment is very expensive, so most gyms cannot afford it Concentric & Eccentric Contraction Concentric contraction occurs when a muscle shortens in length and develops tension e.g. the upward movement of a dumbbell in a biceps curl or as you spring back from a jump landing, extending your knees and jumping back up in the air, the quadriceps are shortening as they create a force to push you off. Eccentric contraction involves the development of tension while the muscle is being lengthened, e.g. the downward movement of a dumbbell in a biceps curl or when you land on two feet from a jump and bend your knees, the quadriceps are lengthening. Eccentric movements recruit most fast-twitch fibres Research, McHugh et al. (2002)^[1], investigated the difference in activation patterns between eccentric and concentric quadriceps contractions. The researchers measured the amount of muscle activity revealed by electromyography (EMG) and the EMG signal's mean frequency. As a rule, the larger the EMG signal recorded, the more muscle fibres are being recruited, while the signal's frequency indicates how fast they are being recruited. Research has shown that higher frequency EMG is consistent with greater fast-twitch fibre recruitment. They found that the total EMG signal was greater during the concentric phase, suggesting more muscle fibres are active at this time, while the mean frequency of the EMG signal was greater during the eccentric phase, suggesting more fast-twitch fibres are being recruited at this time. They concluded that there is less total muscle fibre recruitment during a maximal eccentric contraction, with fast-twitch fibres recruited in preference to slow-twitch ones. In contrast, all the muscle fibres are used during a maximal concentric contraction. This finding is significant for power athletes as the research suggests that if you want to train your fast-twitch fibres, it would seem that eccentric contraction movements are more useful than concentric ones. Plyometric exercises, which involve high-force eccentric movements, would be beneficial for this purpose. A good example is the depth jump, which involves jumping off a box, bending at the knee and hip to control the landing softly, and then jumping back up. Power athletes may also consider performing strength exercises using the eccentric phase only. It means you may target the fast-twitch fibres and perform less total work, potentially making the training more efficient. You will need a training partner or coach to assist you with each concentric phase, leaving you to complete the effort on each eccentric phase alone. Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMS) Muscle soreness that occurs 24 to 48 hours after intense exercise involves eccentric contractions. This causes increases in intracellular pressure that irritates the nerve endings, producing swelling and local pain. The soreness can indicate potential muscle adaptation to follow, but it could indicate overtraining or considerable muscular tissue damage if it persists or is debilitating. An appropriate warm-up and cool-down may help to avoid or reduce DOMS. References McHUGH, M. P. et al. (2002) Differences in activation patterns between eccentric and concentric quadriceps contractions. Journal of Sports Sciences, 20 (2), p. 83-91 Page Reference If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is: MACKENZIE, B. (2000) Muscle Training [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/mustrain.htm [Accessed