title: Motor unit behavior during submaximal contractions following six weeks of either endurance or strength training.
abstract: The study investigated changes in motor output and motor unit behavior following 6 wk of either strength or endurance training programs commonly used in conditioning and rehabilitation. Twenty-seven sedentary healthy men (age, 26.1 ± 3.9 yr; mean ± SD) were randomly assigned to strength training (ST; n = 9), endurance training (ET; n = 10), or a control group (CT; n = 8). Maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), time to task failure (isometric contraction at 30% MVC), and rate of force development (RFD) of the quadriceps were measured before (week 0), during (week 3), and after a training program of 6 wk. In each experimental session, surface and intramuscular EMG signals were recorded from the vastus medialis obliquus and vastus lateralis muscles during isometric knee extension at 10 and 30% MVC. After 6 wk of training, MVC and RFD increased in the ST group (17.5 ± 7.5 and 33.3 ± 15.9%, respectively; P < 0.05), whereas time to task failure was prolonged in the ET group (29.7 ± 13.4%; P < 0.05). The surface EMG amplitude at 30% MVC force increased with training in both groups, but the training-induced changes in motor unit discharge rates differed between groups. After endurance training, the motor unit discharge rate at 30% MVC decreased from 11.3 ± 1.3 to 10.1 ± 1.1 pulses per second (pps; P < 0.05) in the vasti muscles, whereas after strength training it increased from 11.4 ± 1.2 to 12.7 ± 1.3 pps (P < 0.05). Finally, motor unit conduction velocity during the contractions at 30% MVC increased for both the ST and ET groups, but only after 6 wk of training (P < 0.05). In conclusion, these strength and endurance training programs elicit opposite adjustments in motor unit discharge rates but similar changes in muscle fiber conduction velocity.
authors.affiliation: Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg East, Denmark.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vila-Chã
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Falla
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Farina
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000328:Adult; D004576:Electromyography; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction; D008297:Male; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D018763:Muscle Fatigue; D053580:Muscle Strength; D009431:Neural Conduction; D010807:Physical Endurance; D052097:Quadriceps Muscle / Q000294:innervation*; D055070:Resistance Training; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult