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1) Stretching can be used to improve the range of movement at a joint. Name and describe four different ways of stretching. (8 marks)
2) Define the terms agonist, antagonist, fixator and synergist. (4 marks)
3) Using a sporting example name the muscles that are performing each of the four roles listed above in during a biceps curl. (4 marks)
4) Elite endurance athletes often use altitude to improve performance. Explain why altitude training is considered to be of benefit and describe the adaptations likely to occur. (6 marks)
5) Identify other ways in which an athlete might seek to achieve similar results. (3 marks)
3 comments:
Nathan Dixon
1) Ballistic Stretching - Ballistic stretching uses the momentum of a moving body or a limb in an attempt to force it beyond its normal range of motion. Its is a bouncing stretch. This type of stretch should not be done unless you are fully warmed up as it can lead to injury.
Active Stretching – also referred to as static–active stretching. An active stretch is one where you assume a position and then hold it there with no assistance other than using the strength of your agonist muscles.
Isometric Stretching - Isometric stretching is a type of static stretching (meaning it does not use motion) which involves the resistance of muscle groups through isometric contractions (tensing) of the stretched muscles. The use of isometric stretching is one of the fastest ways to develop increased static-passive flexibility and is much more effective than either passive stretching or active stretching alone.
PNF – proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. PNF stretching is currently the fastest and most effective way known to increase static-passive flexibility. It is not really a type of stretching but is a technique of combining passive stretching and isometric stretching in order to achieve maximum static flexibility. A muscle group is passively stretched, then contracts isometrically against resistance while in the stretched position, and then is passively stretched again through the resulting increased range of motion. PNF stretching usually employs the use of a partner.
2) Agonist – is a muscle that causes a specific movement or several movements to occur through the process of its own contraction. AKA prime movers refer to the skeletal muscles.
Antagonist - a classification used to describe a muscle that acts in opposition to the specific movement generated by the agonist and is responsible for returning a limb to its initial position.
Fixator – a muscle that acts as a stabilizer of one part of the body during the movement of another part
Synergist – is a kind of muscle which perform, or assist in performing, the same set of joint motion as the agonist. Synergist help cancel out extra motion from the agonists to make sure that the force generated works within the desired plane of motion.
3) Whilst performing a bicep curl the agonist muscle is the bicep and the antagonist muscle is the tricep.
1.
Four types of stretching:
Ballistic Stretching: this type of stretching attempts to force the limb beyond its normal range of motion using the momentum of the moving body. (E.g. bouncing down repeatedly to touch your toes.) It is not seen as useful because it does not allow your muscle to relax and adjust. By repeatedly activating the stretch reflex the muscles tighten up, and may result in injury.
Static stretching: consists of stretching a muscle to its farthest point and holding the position. Not to be interchanged with
Passive stretching: you assume a position and hold it with some other part of your body, or with the assistance of a partner or some other apparatus. Good for a ‘cool-down’ to reduce muscle fatigue and aching.
Active stretching: assume a position and hold it there with no assistance and then using the strength of your agonist muscles. E.g. holding your leg up high and keeping in the extended position without using anything other that your leg muscles themselves.
2. Agonist muscles: muscles that causes a specific movement through the process of its own contraction.
Antagonist muscle: acts in opposition to the movement created by the agonist muscle. It is responsible for returning the limb to its initial position.
Fixator: acts as a stabilizer to one part of the body during the movement of another.
Synergist muscles help to neutralize or cancel out extra movement from the agonists muscle to make sure that the force generated works within the desired plane of motion. Assists the performance of the agonist muscle.
3. Bicep curl:
Bicep- agonist
Triceps- antagonist
Synergists/fixator to each other.
4. When training in high altitude the air pressure is lower outside and due to diffusion the pressure inside the lungs is lowered. The athlete will find it harder to train at a high level because there is less oxygen to provide energy to the working muscles. The body adapts to using less oxygen during intense activity and when returned to a normal altitude the adaptations will mean that the athlete is capable of performing for a longer period of time at a higher intensity.
5. Another technique used is Blood doping. Blood doping involves taking blood from the athlete. The body then makes more red blood cells to replace the blood taken. This blood is then put back into the body and the athlete is left with extra red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the muscles. Having increased levels can improve aerobic capacity (VO2 max).
Negative effects:
The blood becomes thicker and can clot more readily. This has shown an increase in the chances of heart attack, stroke, and pulmonary embolism.
There is also a risk of blood contamination during preparation or storage leading to sepsis and or infection affecting the whole body.
Rachel
Nicki Brownlie
1) Stretching can be used to improve the range of movement at a joint. Name and describe four different ways of stretching. (8 marks)
The two main types of stretching which are static and dynamic, static stretching is without motion and dynamic stretching is with motion. These two types of stretching can be broken down further into 4 different types of stretching which are static, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF), dynamic and ballistic.
Static stretching is part of includes stretching the muscle as far as possible without pain and then holding the position for 20-30 seconds. This type of stretching is relaxed and is used to increase a flexibility over a long period of time, during cool downs to return the muscles back to its resting position, as a measure to relieve spasms and prevent adhesions in muscles that are healing after an injury. Passive stretching is very similar and the main different is the use of external force.
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) is a type of static stretching as it does not consist of motion, is a wide assortment of rehabilitative movements which is used to re-educate a muscle, the contract-relax technique takes advantage of the post isometric relaxation in the muscle to increase its range of motion. The muscle is being stretched isometrically, which means that force is exerted but no movements occurs, the muscles contract for 5-10 seconds, in which the muscle is then relaxed for 2-3 seconds, and then immediately after it is subjected to another passive stretch, which stretches the muscle even further that the initial stretch. The final stretch is then held for 10-15 seconds. The PNF process is to trick the muscle spindle fibres to contract a muscle when it’s stretched too far too fast.
Dynamic stretching consists of controlled leg and arm swing that take a person to the limits of their range of motion and not beyond as in ballistic stretching. An example of dynamic stretching would be slow controlled leg swings, arm swings or torso twists of a general warm-up for an activity. A persons proprioception is allowed to keep track of these controlled movements by providing feedback to the central nervous system.
Ballistic stretching uses momentum rather than muscular control to increase range of movements and allows bouncing. This type of stretching uses momentum of a moving a body or a limb in an attempt to force the muscle beyond its normal range of motion and is used with discretion, this is it can cause microscopic tears that tighten the muscle even further. A person’s proprioception loses track of such “uncontrolled” movements and there is no feedback to the CNS to alter the outcome of the stretch.
2) Define the terms agonist, antagonist, fixator and synergist. (4 marks)
Agonist is a classification used to describe a muscle that causes specific movement or possibly several movements to occur through the process of its own contraction. This is typically a term designated for skeletal muscles. Agonists are also referred to, interchangeably, as "prime movers" since they are the muscles being considered that are primarily responsible for generating a specific movement.
An antagonist is a classification used to describe a muscle that acts in opposition to the specific movement generated by the agonist and is responsible for returning a limb to its initial position. Antagonistic muscles are found in pairs called antagonistic pairs. These consist of an extensor muscle, which "opens" the joint (i.e. increasing the angle between the two bones), flexor muscle, which does the opposite to an extensor muscle.
Fixator a muscle acting to immobilize a joint or a bone; fixes the origin of prime movers so that muscle action can be exerted at the insertion.
Synergist is a kind of muscle which perform, or assist in performing, the same set of joint motion as the agonists. Synergists are muscles that act on movable joints. Synergists are sometimes referred to as "neutralizers" because they help cancel out, or neutralize, extra motion from the agonists to make sure that the force generated works within the desired plane of motion
3) Using a sporting example name the muscles that are performing each of the four roles listed above in during a biceps curl. (4 marks)
Agonist Prime mover muscle: Biceps
Antagonist opposing muscle group: Triceps.
Synergist helping muscle group (assists): Brachiradialis
Fixators Prevents unnecessary movement: Abs, Back, Shoulders and wrists
4) Elite endurance athletes often use altitude to improve performance. Explain why altitude training is considered to be of benefit and describe the adaptations likely to occur. (6 marks)
Altitude training can be seen to benefit an endurance athlete because it allows them to work in an area of considerably low oxygen levels, which will help them with long term adaptations of the respiratory system, such as improving VO2 max by helping the body to use the oxygen present efficiently. This will occur because the body is trying to function with lower oxygen levels than normal, it will then adapt to the environment which will mean that it can cope with higher gradient pressures and lower rates of gaseous diffusion within the alveoli, so when the athlete returns to an oxygen rich environment it will then be able to use the amount of inhaled oxygen efficiently.
5) Elite endurance athletes often use altitude to improve performance. Explain why altitude training is considered to be of benefit and describe the adaptations likely to occur. (6 marks)
A similar method that endurance athletes may use could be hypoxic tents this allows the similar effects of altitude training, but this is an artificial way of doing so. It allows them to manipulate the oxygen levels within the tent they will live in or train in and can cause them to have improvements of VO2 max.
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