Muscle coordination is the key to efficient cycling

What is it about?

In general, muscle coordination is crucial for efficient movements. As a result of this study, we found that the recruitment pattern of quadriceps femoris has a great influence on force transmission to the pedals and on individual cycling performance. The performance-determining mechanism between muscle innervation, force transmission, and the resulting physiological training adaptations is discussed.

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Photo by paolo candelo on Unsplash

Photo by paolo candelo on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The transition from moderate to heavy exercise is characterized by a rapid onset of physical exhaustion. The exact determination of this individual threshold intensity is crucial for setting optimal training stimuli and choosing the highest possible load in competition that does not lead to premature exhaustion. Physiological parameters used in "threshold determination" such as respiratory gas exchange values or lactic acid concentration are cellular end products of a more or less specific neuronal composition process of motor units grouped in muscles with the aim of generating force. Simply, they are the result of "muscle coordination". The reciprocal interplay between intra-/inter-muscular coordination and energy metabolism determines both the task-specific optimization of movement, and the cellular adaptation processes that depend on it. Thus, knowledge of superior performance-related and controllable recruitment patterns can help athletes learn and optimize their sport.

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