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Purpose: To compare the physiological and perceptual responses of the upper and lower body to all-out cyclical sprints with short or long rest periods between sprints., Methods: Ten recreationally trained males completed four 10 × 10 s sprint protocols in a randomized order: upper body with 30 s and 180 s of rest between sprints, and lower body with 30 s and 180 s of rest between sprints. Additionally, maximum voluntary contractions (MVC) were measured at pre-sprint and post-sprints 5 and 10. Normalized (% of first sprint) peak power, MVC, heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were compared between upper and lower body within the same recovery period, and absolute values (Watts, bpm, RPE scores) were compared within the same body part and between recovery periods., Results: Trivial differences were identified in normalized peak power, HR and RPE values between the upper and lower body in both recovery conditions (<2%, d ≤ 0.1), but MVC forces were better maintained with the upper body (∼9.5%, d = 1.0) in both recovery conditions. Absolute peak power was lower (∼147 Watts, d = 1.3), and HR was higher (∼10 bpm, d = 0.73) in the 30 s compared to 180 s condition in both the upper and lower body whereas RPE scores were similar (<0.6 RPE units, d ≤ 0.1). Despite the reductions in peak power, MVC forces were better maintained in the 30 s condition in both upper (2.5 kg, d = 0.4) and lower (7.5 kg, d = 0.7) body., Conclusions: Completing a commonly used repeated sprint protocol with the upper and lower body results in comparable normalized physiological and perceptual responses.

The objective of this study was to determine which type of repetitive muscle contractions induces a greater acute impairment of elbow position sense. Eleven male subjects participating in the study underwent (i) an exercise task (ET) consisting of 9 sets of 10 voluntary isometric, concentric, or eccentric contractions randomly performed on three separate sessions, and (ii) a pre- and post-exercise maximal voluntary isometric contraction (iMVC). Prior to and between sets of ET, a proprioception task (PT) consisting of matching the right arm to the left reference arm was performed at three different target angular positions (70 degrees , 110 degrees and 150 degrees). Each ET was immediately followed by 3 PT and 1 min rest. The statistical analysis revealed that post-exercise iMVCs were significantly decreased compared to pre-exercise iMVC in all conditions with a greater drop following the eccentric task. Despite this greater drop, position sense was significantly affected by the concentric exercise task. In addition, the spectral EMG signals significantly shifted towards lower frequencies from the initial values, regardless of exercise task. The results showed that concentric muscle contractions impaired position sense to a greater extent compared to isometric and eccentric contractions., (Crown Copyright 2009. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Maximal muscle power is reported to decrease during explosive cyclical exercises owing to metabolic disturbances, muscle damage, and adjustments in the efferent neural command. The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of inter-muscle coordination in fatigue occurrence during 10 intermittent 6-s cycling sprints, with 30-s recovery through electromyographic activity (EMG). Results showed a decrease in peak power output with sprint repetitions (sprint 1 versus sprint 10: -11%, P<0.01) without any significant modifications in the integrated EMG. The timing between the knee extensor and the flexor EMG activation onsets was reduced in sprint 10 (sprint 1 versus sprint 10: -90.2 ms, P<0.05), owing to an earlier antagonist activation with fatigue occurrence. In conclusion, the maximal power output, developed during intermittent cycling sprints of short duration, decreased possibly due to the inability of muscles to maintain maximal force. This reduction in maximal power output occurred in parallel to changes in the muscle coordination pattern after fatigue.

Abstract: The definition of proprioception in the literature is equivocal, therefore it is desirable for communication and comprehension purposes that all authors who use proprioception and its related terms reach a consensus as to their meaning. This review aims to clarify these terms and to improve the understanding of the proprioceptive system. Over the years, many different views have been put forward on the origin of proprioception. The present-day view is that, in the absence of vision, we are able to determine the location of our limbs by signals of both peripheral and central origin. Nonetheless, recent research findings argue that the centrally generated sense of effort may not be well-suited to signal position sense and suggest revising the sense of effort hypothesis. This paper enlightens the latest views on the role of peripheral afferents and central signals involved in the proprioceptive system. It also describes the most common experimental protocols used to evaluate proprioception. The paper’s final section describes in detail the effect of different muscle contraction types on kinaesthetic sense—in particular, on the sense of limb position. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Most studies have examined pacing strategies with cyclical activities (running and cycling). It has been demonstrated that males employ different pacing strategies during repeated maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) dependent upon a known endpoint. Since different fatiguing mechanisms have been identified between the genders, it is not known if females use comparable pacing strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine if informing female subjects regarding the number of MVCs to perform would affect force and electromyography (EMG). Twenty well-trained females completed 3 fatiguing protocols in a randomized order. In the control condition participants were informed they would perform twelve MVCs and then actually completed twelve. In the unknown condition they were not told how many MVCs to perform but were stopped after twelve. In the deception condition they were initially informed to perform 6 MVCs, but after the 6th MVC they were asked to perform a few more MVCs and were stopped after twelve. During the first 6 MVCs, forces in the deception condition were greater compared to the unknown (p = 0.021, ES = 0.65, 5%) and control (p = 0.022, ES = 0.42, 3%) conditions. No differences were found between conditions in the last 6 MVCs. A main effect for repetitions showed force deficits during the first 6 MVCs (p = 0.000, ES = 1.81, 13%) and last 6 MVCs (p = 0.05, ES = 0.34, 3%). No differences were found between conditions in biceps and triceps EMG. However, EMG decreased during the first 6 MVCs for biceps (p = 0.001, ES = 1.0, 14%) and triceps (p = 0.001, ES = 0.76, 14%) across conditions. No differences were found in the last 6 MVCs. The anticipation of performing fewer MVCs led to increased force, whereas no endpoint led to decreased force production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]