Chapter 9: Muscular Strength, Endurance, And Power Flashcards
Define muscular strength:
Ability of a muscle to generate force against some resistance
Muscle weakness or imbalance can result in…
- abnormal movement or gait
- impaired normal functional movements
Define muscular endurance:
Ability to perform repetitive muscular contractions against some resistance for an extended period.
As muscular strength increases, there tends to be a corresponding increase in _____.
Endurance
For the average person in the population, muscular _______ is likely more important because …
- endurance
- endurance is more critical in carrying out ADLs
3 types of contraction:
- isometric
- concentric
- eccentric
Describe muscle length with isometric contractions.
Muscle contracts to produce tension, but there is no change in muscle length.
Describe muscle length with concentric contractions.
Muscle shortens in length while tension increases to overcome or move some resistance.
Describe muscle length during eccentric contractions.
Resistance is greater than the muscular force being produced, and the muscle lengthens while producing tension.
Define econcentric contractions.
- Combines both controlled concentric and a concurrent eccentric contraction of the same muscle over 2 separate joints.
- only possible in 2 joint muscles
Example of a econcentric contraction:
Prone OKC hamstring curl: hamstrings cause knee flex while hip flex eccentrically to lengthen the hamstring.
Name 7 factors that determine levels of muscle strength, endurance, and power.
- size of the muscle
- # of muscle fibres
- neuromuscular efficiency
- biomechanical considerations
- age
- overtraining
- fast-twitch vs slow-twitch fibres
Describe how the size of the muscle can influence levels of muscular strength, endurance, and power.
- Muscular strength is proportional to the cross-sectional diameter of the muscle fibres.
- The size of a muscle tends to increase in cross-sectional diameter with resistance training.
Strength is a function of the ______ and ______ of muscle fibres composing a given muscle.
- #
- diameter
The number of muscle fibres in a person is a ______ characteristic; thus, a person with a larger number of muscle fibres has….
- inherited
- greater potential for hypertrophy
Initial increases in strength during the first 8-10 weeks of resistance training can be attributed primarily to:
Increased neuromuscular efficiency
What are the 3 ways that resistance training will increase neuromuscular efficiency?
- increase in # of motor units being recruited
- firing rate of each motor unit
- synchronization of motor unit firing
What are the 2 biomechanical factors that can determine amount of strength?
- position of tendon attachment
- length-tension relationship
Describe how the position of tendon attachment can affect strength.
If the tendon is attached closer o the fulcrum (joint), then it must produce a greater effort to hold weight because the length of the effort arm will be greater.
The _____ of a muscle determines the tension that can be generated.
Length
Describe how the length-tension relationship can affect strength.
If a muscle is shortened or lengthened (not at optimal length), the interaction between actin and myosin through the cross-bridges is greatly reduced, thus the muscle is not capable of generating significant tension.
At what age does muscle strength peak?
20-25 years old
After about ___ years, a person generally loses an average of ____% of his or her maximal remaining strength each year.
- 25
- 1
The loss in muscle strength related to age is related to individual levels of _____ _____.
Physical activity