Muscular system Flashcards
Skeletal muscles
voluntary muscles are the muscles around the skeleton
We have control over them - consciously controlled
They attach to the skeleton by the tendons
E.g. biceps, triceps, quadriceps
Smooth muscles
unconsciously controlled
They are controlled by the nervous system
Control body functions such as the movement of food and blood
E.g. bladder, stomach, blood vessels
Cardiac muscles
Unconsciously controlled
Doesn’t fatigue
Only found in the walls of the heart
Cardiac muscles help circulate blood through and out of the heart
Synergists
Work together to enable the agonist to operate more effectively. They work with agonists to control and direct movement by modifying or altering the direction of the pull on the agonist to the most advantageous position.
Fixators
muscles stop any unwanted movement throughout the whole body by fixing or stabilising the joint or joints involved. Fixator muscles stabilise the origin so that the agonist can achieve maximum and effective contraction.
Concentric muscle contractions
the muscle contractions and shortens, positive phase of the muscle contraction
Eccentric muscle contractions
The muscle interacts and lengthens, this often occurs when the muscle is controlled a movement due to a load or gravity, negative phase of the muscle contraction
Isometric
the muscle contracts but here is little or no movement, muscle doesn’t shorten or lengthen
Type I
Force of contraction - low
Speed of contraction - slow
Resistance to fatigue - high
Aerobic and anaerobic - aerobic
Type IIA
Force of contraction - high
Speed of contraction - medium
Resistance to fatigue - moderate
Aerobic and anaerobic - both
Type IIX
Force of contraction - very high
Speed of contraction - fast
Resistance to fatigue - low
Aerobic and anaerobic - anaerobic
The all or none law
Impulses are sent to the motor neurones. The motor neuron is attached to a number of muscle fibres in the muscle. These are called the motor unit. The muscle fibres will be the same. When the motor neurone receive a signal to contract, all the fibres attached will contract.
Increased blood supply
blood carries oxygen, and is needed for energy, when exercising oxygen and glucose demand increases, blood vessels expand or get wider to allow more blood, vasodilation, blood increases significantly to ensure that working muscles are supplied with oxygen they need as well as to remove waste products
Increased in muscle temperature
exercise produces heat, you need more energy for your muscles, more heat is being produced, amount of heat produced in direct relation to the amount of work they perform, warm-up muscles for exercise by slowly increasing the temperature
increased muscle pliability
the warming up muscles during exercise activity makes them more pliable and flexible, less likely to suffer from injury like muscle strains, improve joint flexibility as warm and pliable muscles are able to stretch further
Lactate accumulation
burning sensation in muscles during high intensity exercise, build up of lactic acid which is waste products such produced using anaerobic exercise, build up in muscle tissue will result in rapid fatigue and will impede muscular contraction if not removed
microtears
when weight training your muscles are put under stress to the point that tiny tear occurs, swelling in the muscle tissue which causes pressure and nerve ending in pain, training improvements will only be made I the body has rest and time to repair these micro tears making the muscle stronger than it was before
delayed onset of muscle soreness DOMS
Is the pain felt in uncles 24-48 hours after taking part in strenuous exercise, the soreness usually occurs at least a day after exercise and can last up to 3 days, caused by the micro tears that occur when you exercise, eccentric muscle contraction
Hypertrophy
regular resistance training where the muscles are overloaded will increase muscle size and strength, increase in muscle size is a result of the muscle fibres becoming larger due to increases in protein in the muscle cells, increase overtime so they can contract with greater force
increased tendon strength
tendons are tough bands of fibrous connective tissue deigned to withstand tension, muscles, tendons adapt to the overloading of equals exercise, ligaments and tendons the connective tissue strengthens around joints will increase in flexibility and strength with regular exercise
increase in mitochondria
tiny structures responsible for aerobic energy production, increased fibre size, larger mitochondria so muscles are able to produce more aerobic energy which will improve aerobic performance
Increase in myoglobin
type of haemoglobin, found exclusively in muscles, can increase the amount of myoglobin stored in your muscles, myoglobin will transport oxygen to the mitochondria, releasing energy, more myoglobin you have, the more energy will be available for the muscle
increase in glycogen store
as your body adapts to long term exercise your muscles are able to store more glycogen, ables you to train for longer as muscle glycogen doesn’t require oxygen to produce energy
improved use of energy sources
experienced athletes are able to use fats more efficiently, breaking them down into fatty acids and energy for oxygen, enables them to use fats as energy source when carbs are scarce, muscles get better at breaking down glycogen so you can exercise at higher intensities
