Balancing Fatigue

5.07.2012

Blog

Balancing Fatigue

Pendulum Leg Extension

If an athlete trains on a bicycle ergometer and significantly reduces the force generating capacity of his or her musculature, you probably wouldn’t be surprised that it would also significantly affect the athlete’s ability to maintain the same level of precision on a balance testing device that they were capable of before they began exercising.

By the same token if an athlete trained utilizing leg extensions and leg curls to fatigue, you might readily accept that this too would effect the ability to perform at the same level on a balance test as the athlete would have in an unfatigued state.

The ability to maintain appropriate balance in a fatigued state is compromised, because muscular fatigue induces a delay in the activation of both the quadriceps and hamstring muscles in response to rapid destabilizing or what is called perturbations. Perturbations are disruptions in function and can be due to external mechanisms outside the body or internal mechanisms within the body itself.

Pendulum Neck Machine

What if your legs remained strong and you dramatically reduced the strength of just your neck extensors? It has clearly been shown that cervical muscle fatigue in itself effects balance. Certainly a reminder that keeping the entire system strong is a balancing act the athlete must follow to excel at the highest level.

6.2.2023

Closed And Open Chain

Open kinetic chain exercises of the lower limb are movements, where the distal segment is unloaded and free to move. The opposite is true of closed kinetic chain exercises, whereby there is enough resistance to prohibit free motion.

Closed kinetic chain exercises are movements such as squats, Pendulum Squat Pro, leg presses and lunges, while open chain exercises are actions like leg curls, leg extensions and the Pendulum Reverse Glute Ham.

The kinetic chain can be understood as interrelated joints and body parts working with one another during motion. This creates a chain of events that affects the movement of neighboring joints and segments.

The advantage of open chain movements is that they tend to be better at isolating muscle and often are selected for specific rehabilitation and used to accentuate performance. While closed chain movements in general would be classified as more functional and closely approximating movements that are used in sport and daily life.

Open Chain Reverse Glute Ham

Closed Chain Pendulum Power Squat Pro

Closed Chain Pendulum Power Squat Pro XT

5.11.2023

Arkansas Baseball Weight Room

5.11.2023

2-for-2 Method

Some trainers, coaches and athletes use what is called the 2-for-2 Method for increasing training load. The rule is if the trainee can perform two or more repetitions over one’s ‘repetition goal’ in the last set of an exercise, for two consecutive workouts, the weight is added for that particular exercise the next training session.