I present you in this article, factors that influence the manifestation of strength. In the first article, we talked about muscle tension and the different types of it. Thus, continuing with the theme of factors that influence or depend on force, we will see that it is the force-time curve and the force-velocity curve, essential factors to know what power or explosive force is.
This is understood as the relationship between force production and the time required for it. To achieve the maximum possible force takes a while. In many activities, it is not necessary to achieve maximum force but it is important to achieve a certain force in the shortest possible time. Therefore, when training, we want to improve this ability and we have to orient the training towards that improvement.
Within the force-time curve, three phases are distinguished
- Initial phase: It is the ability to manifest force at the beginning of muscle tension or contraction.
- Explosive force: The area where there is a good relationship between the increase in force and the time used for it with the best MFI (Force Manifestation Index), understanding the MFI as the relationship between the force in newton and the time in m / s.
- Maximum force: This can be the isometric if the resistance is insurmountable or the maximum dynamic if there is displacement.
With strength training, it is possible to increase the maximum force applied and decrease the time necessary to achieve it. Obviously, depending on the type of training applied, force adaptations will occur. Before training with heavy loads, there is an improvement in strength in large loads, while when training with explosive exercises, there is an improvement in light loads.
This is made up of the force and speed parameters, which are inversely related, that is, the higher the force, the lower the speed. As an example, we can see that when we throw medicine balls, the higher the weight, the lower the throwing speed.
When we train a subject, we are interested in improving strength to achieve the optimum level each moment, taking into account the principles of sports training and the need to alternate periods of work and rest to allow adaptation in the most suitable way. The different athletes and sports specialties make the force-speed curve not the same depending on these specificities, which leads us to carry out strength training taking into account the said differences, to achieve the most appropriate adaptations to the requirements. sports With training, we try to improve the force-time curve in its entirety, that is, to achieve greater speed before different resistances.
Power is associated with this curve and is defined as the product of force and speed at each instant of movement. The greatest power is achieved neither with very light loads nor with very heavy loads, but when the movement is carried out with intermediate loads and speeds. According to Tihany (1998), 3 zones are distinguished in the f-v curve:
- Maximum force and minimum speed zone: Medium or low power.
- Maximum speed and minimum force zone: Medium or low power.
- Intermediate speed and strength zone: High power.
It must be taken into account that the maximum power that an athlete can generate will be in direct relation to the percentage of fast fibers (FT) and slow fibers (ST). The former is more effective at generating power. Fast fibers develop greater power at all speeds than slow fibers. The peak power generated by fast fibers is approximately four times greater.
With the information explained, I complete the two articles on the factors on which the manifestation of force depends. I hope they are useful to you. Do not hesitate to ask.
