Factors Affecting Strength
written by Frederick C. Hatfield, Ph.D., MSS,
International Sports Sciences Association
In a recent post on m.f.w, Mr Deadlift said,
"Increased strength can come from two sources...
Increased muscle size, and increased neuromuscular
efficiency. I replied by saying "In my experience,
strength can be augmented in many more ways than this,
and in fact MUST be if you're ever gonna break any
records! I then went on to list 38 factors
(certainly not exhaustive of the possibilities)
that affect strength. Some of the factors I
listed are either so subjective that one can
only ponder their significance, or so new that
hypotheses relating to their applicability
cannot easily be made at this time.
They are there simply to pique interest.
Further, I made it CLEAR that while not all of
the listed factors can be manipulated, most can.
Spector, in his typical tongue-in-cheek
(easily mistaken for caustic sarcasm by some on m.f.w)
fashion, pointed out that he had a problem with
some of the factors. That's ok, considering the
fact that his background is not the same as mine --
we all have our unique contributions to training
methodology that we can make, which is why
the m.f.w newsgroup exists. So, I will attempt
to explain some of them, as I understand that
not all of the people on m.f.w have similar
backgrounds. We all, however, have a similar
PASSION to lift -- and to learn -- no?
FACTORS AFFECTING STRENGTH
"Gotta go train" is a phrase heard by spouses
everywhere. What does it mean? Save for the
crafty pencilneck who uses it as a convincing
excuse to go out carousing
(the spouse is easily duped because his/her spouse
is obviously in desperate need of training),
it typically means going to a gym to lift weights.
Tch tch! Lifting weights is NOT training! It's certainly
an integral part of training, but there's so much more.
Let's lay down some simple guidelines as to how
each of the factors affecting strength can be augmented.
Let's concentrate on the critical factors,
as they are the ones that will give most of
us the greatest returns in limit strength
and speed-strength for both immediate and
long-term sports excellence.
Your job is always going to be to identify --
and apply -- those technologies which BEST
augment each of the respective factors,
and arrange them into a coherent, integrated
training program for your sport. Perhaps then
you'll see the wisdom of the opening paragraph
("Lifting weights is NOT training!").
Let me back up a moment, and consider the word "apply."
How many times have I met lifters who know something
is beneficial, but don't take advantage of it?
This is sick! If you KNOW that massage following
lifting is beneficial, then DO IT! If you KNOW
that eating 5 or 6 meals a day is better for
muscle growth,
then DO IT! Even if it's only good for
5 pounds on total,
it's WORTH it!
That is, IF you have PASSION for what you do.
All of these factors can be augmented,
manipulated or in some way made more
efficient through various and timely
applications of one or more of the
eight "technologies" of training (defined below).
Clearly, some are not alterable
(e.g., fiber arrangement or insertion points of muscles).
That doesn't mean you can't make use of your knowledge
of this limitation in structuring your training,
in avoiding less-than- fruitful practices,
or in some way manipulating them to your advantage.
Bear in mind that many of the factors affecting
strength are inextricably interrelated and may
be directly or indirectly, positively or negatively,
affected by your attempts to augment or
in some way manipulate any of them,
regardless of which technologies are
employed in training. For example, long,
slow distance running (aerobic) will
invariably hamper your efforts to
achieve maximum starting strength.
There are many, many similar scenarios,
and the wise coach or athlete will learn
to avoid this often costly kind of mistake.
The eight technologies of training are the
branches of science of greatest consequence
to athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike.
Each represents a different approach to
solve training problems, and each has
its advantages with respect to how
effectively it will aid in augmenting
any one (or more) of the factors which
affect strength (listed above).
Remember that there are only so many hours in the day,
so prudent use of the technologies that will
yield the greatest returns to you are the ones you must opt for.
The basic rule of thumb in choosing the technologies
that will give you the most "bang for your buck"
is to zero in on the most important training objectives
for the training mesocycle you're in.
Then, through a multiplicative approach
that incorporates the concepts of "integration"
and "synergy," you choose the methods that
will get you to your goals most safely,
quickly and to the greatest extent possible.
THE EIGHT TECHNOLOGIES OF TRAINING
1. Weight Training: Dumbells, barbells, fluids,
pressurized air, elastic devices, springs,
and the host of devices designed to
provide "heavy" external resistance to
one's musculoskeletal effort all
constitute "resistance training."
Tradition has it that exercises designed to
be performed with dumbells and barbells
(and the technologies designed to
simulate traditional dumbell and barbell movements)
constitutes "weight training."
The existing categories of
weight training technologies
are 1) constant resistance devices,
2) variable resistance devices,
3) accommodating resistance devices and
4) static resistance devices.
New technologies will be developed in time.
2. Special Forms of Resistance Training: Running,
swimming, calisthenics, aerobic dance, plyometrics --
there are many more -- all are special
forms of "light" resistance training.
When bodyweight alone is the source of resistance,
tradition and reasons of clarity dictate that
they be referred to by their individual names.
Cycling, rowing, stair-climbers,
and similar forms of training which
utilize "light" external resistance
collectively constitute a second
category of light resistance training
which are also referred to by their respective names.
3. Psychological Techniques: Self-hypnosis,
mental imagery training, transcendental meditation
and a lot of other "mind games" can help improve
your strength output capabilities in
sports and training.
4. Therapeutic Modalities: Whirlpools,
electrical muscle stimulation, massage,
ultrasound, music, intense light,
and a host of other therapies can
have a very positive effect on your
strength training efforts,
both indirectly
(how quickly you can recover from your previous workout),
and directly (greater force output).
5. Medical Support: Periodic checkups,
exercising preventive care, chiropractic adjustments,
and even clinical use of prescription drugs are
sometimes indicated for athletes in heavy training
when medical problems arise.
Only qualified sportsmedicine specialists
are able to prescribe such support.
6. Biomechanics (Skill Training): Performing your skill
perfectly will almost always result in
greater force being applied, whether it
is applied to an object, opponent or the ground.
Good skills execution involves the efficient
sequencing of activation/inhibition of prime mover,
stabilizer and synergistic muscles.
Your sequencing efforts involve factors of position,
direction, timing, rate, speed and effect of
force application.
7. Dietary Practices: Athletes don't eat only to
stay alive and healthy; they eat to excel at their
sport. Their eating is designed to assist in
achieving specific sports/training objectives.
There are many nutritional techniques that
will ensure greater force output capabilities
both immediately as well as over time,
thereby improving your training and competition efforts.
Despite your most dedicated efforts, however,
you will not be able to gain ample nutritional support
from food alone, a point which has been supported
time and time again in sports nutrition research.
8. Nutritional Supplementation: Most often,
eating is not sufficient to give you all
the nutrients you need in order to achieve
your sports/training objectives. This point is widely
disputed among sports scientists and nutritionists alike,
who would have us believe that eating "three square meals"
per day is ample fare for athletes in heavy training.
They overlook at least three important points:
1) many state-of-the-art supplements are
designed to take your body beyond normal
biochemical functioning, 2) no one on Earth
consistently eats "square meals,"
and 3) myriad research reports clearly show
that deficiencies most often exist in
athletes' diets for many well-documented reasons.
MATCHING TRAINING TECHNOLOGIES TO TRAINING OBJECTIVES
In your quest for fitness, your job is always going
to be to identify -- and apply -- those technologies
which BEST augment each of the factors that affect fitness,
and arrange them into a coherent, integrated training program.
Clearly, some factors are not alterable
(e.g., fiber arrangement or insertion points of muscles).
That doesn't mean you can't make use of your knowledge
of these limitations in structuring your training,
in avoiding less-than- fruitful practices, or in
some way manipulating them to your advantage.
Bear in mind that many of the factors affecting
strength and fitness are inextricably interrelated
and may be directly or indirectly, positively or negatively,
affected by your attempts to augment or in some
way manipulate any of them, regardless of which
technologies are employed in training.
For example, long, slow distance running (aerobic)
will invariably hamper your efforts to achieve
maximum starting strength. There are many,
many similar scenarios, and the wise coach
or athlete will learn to avoid this often
costly kind of mistake.
Remember that there are only so many hours in
the day, so you must choose the methods of
training that will yield the greatest returns to you.
Zero in on your most important training objectives,
and integrate the training methods that will get you
to your goals most safely, quickly and to the
greatest extent possible.
Matching Training Methods To Fitness Objectives
1. Muscle Fiber Arrangement: Sorry folks, nothing
you can do about this one. You can, however,
take advantage of your knowledge about how
the fibers of each muscle are arranged.
Some are made for speed, some for great
limit strength, some for stability and
some are made for all three. Train them that way!
(Once in awhile, at least.)
2. Musculoskeletal Leverage: Nothing you can do
short of radical surgical procedures will change
your leverages. But, by knowing how best to take
advantage of your leverage systems' structure,
efficiency in lifting techniques
(and thus your strength output) will be optimized.
3. Tissue Leverage: Interstitial and intracellular
leverage stemming from fat deposits, sarcoplasmic content,
satellite cell proliferation and the accumulation
of intracellular fluid all provide a sort of "bloat"
factor to your body. Believe it or not,
the big boys in sport -- the super-heavyweights --
can benefit in limit strength output from being "bloated."
For the rest of you, it's not a tenable source of
improved fitness.
4. Freedom of Movement Between Fibers: Adhesions
and scar tissue between muscle fibers and between
gross muscles can limit your muscles' ability to
contract fully. Simple massage can reduce
this condition.
5. Tissue Viscoelasticity: All of your muscles
have a certain amount of "elasticity." That is,
when you stretch them, they tend to return to
their resting length. This tendency can be
dramatically increased by rapid stretching,
much the same as rearing back sharply before
throwing a punch. If you rear back slowly,
the muscles' natural viscoelasticity will
not aid in the return movement.
6. Intramuscular/intracellular friction: As the
actin and myosin myofibrils slide over one
another as the result of cross-bridging,
friction is taking place resulting in
heat production. Fast movements create less
friction than slow ones, and eccentric movements
create far more friction than concentric movements.
High friction during muscle contraction has a negative
effect on force output.
7. Ratio of Fiber Types: Explosive athletes have
fast twitch muscle fibers (Types IIa, IIb or IIc),
and endurance athletes have primarily red muscle
fibers (Type I). Proper training can actually
enhance your muscle fibers' ability to do their
respective job, although little can be done to
convert one type to another type.
8. Range of Motion: Impaired flexibility stemming
from either congenital factors, inactivity or poor
training habits can limit the amount of force you
can apply in many sport-related and training-related
settings.
9. Freedom From Injury: An injury can keep you from
your fitness goals. Even miniscule ones can nag you
enough to prevent you from getting more fit.
so avoid them!
10. Connective Tissue Structure: Tendinous and ligamentous
mass and their structural characteristics all contribute
to your potential strength level. Did you know,
for example, that the collagenous matrix comprising
various ligaments and tendons are susceptible to
change through highly specialized training?
11. Stretch Reflex: Your muscle spindles --
highly specialized muscle cells which detect stretch --
react when stimulated by making your muscle
contract involuntarily. This involuntary contraction can,
if applied correctly, augment total force output to a
small but significant degree.
12. The Feedback Loop: Your muscles' force output
potential far exceed the threshold at which your
brain tells them to shut down. It's easily changed --
lowered -- with weight training.
13. Endocrine System Functions (hormones): Your
hormones
ebb and flow according to little-understood
circadian rhythms.
You can indeed control many of them,
and doing so requires a full understanding
of that circadian rhythmicity.
14. Extent of hyperplasia (cell splitting) or
fiber fusion: As yet not totally confirmed is
the notion that fibers (especially Type IIb fibers)
fuse with surrounding satellite cells for greater
hypertrophy. As for hyperplasia, there is no concrete
evidence that it occurs in humans. In either case,
there is no defined connection between either
processes and greater strength.
15. Extent of myofibrillarization: The
contractile elements within your
working muscles are called myofibrils.
Weight training increases the number
of myofibrils inside each cell.
16. Motor Unit Recruitment: Firing as many
muscle fibers as possible instantly is how speed is produced.
17. Energy transfer systems' efficiency
18. Extensiveness of capillarization
19. Mitochondrial growth and proliferation
20. Stroke volume of the left ventricle
21. Ejection fraction of the left ventricle
22. Pulmonary (ventilatory) capacity
23. Efficiency of gas exchange in the lungs
24. Heart rate
25. Max VO2 uptake (ml/kg bwt/min)
Factors 17-25 are affected by training. Remember that
they positively affect the force output -- footfall-per-footfall
-- of the aerobic athletes acquiring them! This same form
of training would NEGATIVELY affect the force output
efforts of explosive athletes.
26. Freedom from disease: PREVENTION includes sound
nutrition and medical support.
27. Arousal Level ("psych"): Psychological and
psychosocial strategies can often aid you in training.
29. Ability to concentrate ("focus"): Your mind is
said to be the master of your body. Again,
psychosocial techniques as well as sound
nutrition can help.
30. Incentive (motivation): In short,
you've gotta WANT it bad enough to work for it!
31. Social learning: Overcoming learned inhibitory
can be a monumental undertaking, especially in
light of the fact than your Mamma scolded you
for years not to lift something, run too fast or whatever --
because it'd hurt you.
32. Coordination ("skill"): Efficient movement involves
carefully planned activation or inhibition of
muscle contraction. Factors of position, direction,
timing, rate, speed & effect of force application
are all part-and-parcel to skill training.
33. "Spiritual" factors: Without becoming embroiled
in a philosophical discussion regarding the merits
of one religeon or another, my strong belief is
that if you are spiritually at peace with your Creator,
all things are possible. If you don't believe in
and practice this in your everyday life,
then how can your life -- and your quest for fitness --
even have meaning?
34. The "placebo" effect: Theories abound on
this phenomenon, most citing various psycho-social
factors. The effect is nonetheless real.
35. Equipment (use of "the best" available tools): Are you
able to take full advantage of your body's leverage with
crummy shoes? A bent bar? Poor equipment? ...the list is endless.
36. Environment (Temperature, humidity, precipitation,
wind, altitude, etc.): Train in a cold gym?
Does the high humidity get you down while training?
Altitude training for aerobic athletes and
hyperbaric training for strength athletes
surely aid in performance.
37. Effect of gravity: Clearly, gravity exerts
its influence on your force output efforts.
You can't change that, but you can certainly
take advantage of it! For example, putting
a shot at around 45 degrees, the shot will
travel further than if you put it at (say)
30 degrees. Another example: When you throw someone
to the ground (wrestling), you do so with greater
force than if you threw him in the air.
Gravity assists (adds to the force of your effort)
in both examples.
38. Opposing and assisting forces
(e.g., opponent's efforts may add to your force
output vis a vis Newton's three laws of motion): Get a guy
moving in your direction, and you will find it more
easy to throw him than attempting to do so while
he is stationary. Myriad examples of this simple
tenet abound in the martial arts and all other
sport endeavors.
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