Enhanced skeletal muscle contractile function and corticospinal excitability precede strength and architectural adaptations during lower-limb resistance training.

Purpose: Evolving investigative techniques are providing greater understanding about the early neuromuscular responses to resistance training among novice exercisers. The aim of this study was to investigate the time-course of changes in muscle contractile mechanics, architecture, neuromuscular, and strength adaptation during the first 6-weeks of lower-limb resistance training.

Methods: Forty participants: 22 intervention (10 males/12 females; 173.

The Effect of Foam Rolling for Three Consecutive Days on Muscular Efficiency and Range of Motion.

Background: Foam rolling (FR) has been shown to alleviate some symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage and has been suggested to increase range of motion (ROM) without negatively impacting strength. However, it is unclear what neuromuscular effects, if any, mediate these changes.

Methods: In a randomized, crossover design, 16 healthy active males completed 2 min of rest or FR of the knee extensors on three consecutive days.

Assessment of Skeletal Muscle Contractile Properties by Radial Displacement: The Case for Tensiomyography.

Skeletal muscle operates as a near-constant volume system; as such muscle shortening during contraction is transversely linked to radial deformation. Therefore, to assess contractile properties of skeletal muscle, radial displacement can be evoked and measured. Mechanomyography measures muscle radial displacement and during the last 20 years, tensiomyography has become the most commonly used and widely reported technique among the various methodologies of mechanomyography.

Reduced Radial Displacement of the Gastrocnemius Medialis Muscle After Electrically Elicited Fatigue.

Context: Assessments of skeletal-muscle functional capacity often necessitate maximal contractile effort, which exacerbates muscle fatigue or injury. Tensiomyography (TMG) has been investigated as a means to assess muscle contractile function after fatigue; however, observations have not been contextualized by concurrent physiological measures.

Objective: To measure peripheral-fatigue-induced alterations in mechanical and contractile properties of the plantar-flexor muscles through noninvasive TMG concurrently with maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and passive muscle tension (PMT) to validate TMG as a gauge of peripheral fatigue.

An approach to identifying the effect of technique asymmetries on body alignment in swimming exemplified by a case study of a breaststroke swimmer.

Despite the importance of maintaining good alignment to minimize resistive drag in swimming there is a paucity of literature relating to the effect of technique asymmetries on rotations of the body about a vertical axis (yaw). The purpose of this paper was to present an approach to analyzing the effect of technique asymmetries on rotations in swimming, exemplifying the process with a case study of a breaststroke swimmer. The kinematics and angular kinetics of an elite female international breaststroke swimmer performing a 'fatigue set' of four 100m swims were derived from digitized three-dimensional video data using a 13 segment body model.

Making the case for mobile cognition: EEG and sports performance.

In the high stakes world of International sport even the smallest change in performance can make the difference between success and failure, leading sports professionals to become increasingly interested in the potential benefits of neuroimaging. Here we describe evidence from EEG studies that either identify neural signals associated with expertise in sport, or employ neurofeedback to improve performance. Evidence for the validity of neurofeedback as a technique for enhancing sports performance remains limited.

Long-term stability of tensiomyography measured under different muscle conditions.

Tensiomyography (TMG) is a technique utilised to measure mechanical and contractile properties of skeletal muscle. Aim of this study was to assess long-term stability of TMG across a variety of muscle conditions. Gastrocnemius Medialis of 21 healthy males was measured using TMG in rested conditions, after a warm-up, after a maximal voluntary contraction and after a fatigue protocol.

Assessment of eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage of the elbow flexors by tensiomyography.

Exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) impairs maximal torque production which can cause a decline in athletic performance and/or mobility. EIMD is commonly assessed by using maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), creatine kinase (CK) and muscle soreness. We propose as an additional technique, tensiomyography (TMG), recently introduced to measure mechanical and muscle contractile characteristics.

The influence of professional expertise and task complexity upon the potency of the contextual interference effect.

The contextual interference (CI) effect has been investigated through practice schedule manipulations within both basic and applied studies. Despite extensive research activity there is little conclusive evidence regarding the optimal practice structure of real world manipulative tasks in professional training settings. The present study therefore assessed the efficacy of practising simple and complex knot-tying skills in professional fire-fighters training.