Summary
Six sedentary students, six orienteers, and six soccer players were each subjected to 15 tests, comprising 120 s of repeated, maximal isokinetic knee extensions. The tests differed with respect to movement velocity (30°·s−1, 120°·s−1, and 300°·s−1), and movement frequency (5 at each velocity). At a certain velocity, a rectilinear relationship was found between muscular performance intensity (expressed either as average power output or as exercise time ratio) and development of fatigue (expressed either as an absolute or as a fractional decline in work output). Significant inter-velocity differences existed between the slopes of these lines at some combinations of performance and fatigue expressions. Only tendencies towards a difference inx-intercept values were found. Thisx-intercept value can be taken as a measure of the greatest attainable intensity level of performance without the development of fatigue. This suggestion is valuable both in basic physiological research, and as a possible criterion for optimization of muscular performance. At a given exercise time ratio, increasing movement velocity produced increasing fatigue. However, at a given muscular power output — above 15 W approximately — fatigue developed to a greater extent at the low velocity than at the two higher ones, which did not differ significantly. Substantial individual variation was seen in the positions of the low-, medium-, and high-velocity lines. These variations did not depend on the training background. This implies that the validity of using single-velocity, single-frequency tests in determining isokinetic endurance is doubtful.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barnes WS (1981) Isokinetic fatigue curves at different contractile velocities. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 62:66–69
Braune W, Fischer O (1892) Bestimmung der Trägheitsmomente des menschlichen Körpers und seiner Glieder. Abh Mat Phys Klasse Kön Sächs Ges Wis 18:408–492
Brown SL, Wilkinson JG (1983) Characteristics of national, divisional, and club male alpine ski racers. Med Sci Sports Exerc 15:491–495
Campbell RC (1979) Statistics for biologists. 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, London
Clarke DH, Manning JM (1984) Properties of isokinetic fatigue at varying movement speeds in adult males. Med Sci Sports Exerc 16:141
Clarkson PM, Johnson J, Dextradeur D, Leszczynski W, Wai J, Melchionda A (1982) The relationships among isokinetic endurance, initial strength level, and fiber type. Res Q Exerc Sports 53:15–19
Costill DL, Coyle EF, Fink WF, Lesmes GR, Witzmann FA (1979) Adaptations in skeletal muscle following strength training. J Appl Physiol 46:96–99
Dempster WT (1955) Space requirements of the seated operator. WADC Technical Report 55-159. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
Fugl-Meyer AR, Gerdle B, Långström M (1985) Characteristics of repeated isokinetic plantar flexions in middle-aged and elderly subjects with special regard to muscular work. Acta Physiol Scand 124:213–222
Henning J (1985) Evaluation of isokinetic concentric muscular strength in the knee extensors of young men (in danish). Dissertation, Laboratory of Theory of Gymnastics, August Krogh Institute, Copenhagen
Hinson MN, Smith WC, Funk S (1979) Isokinetics: a clarification. Res Q Exerc Sports 50:30–35
Inbar O, Kaiser P, Tesch P (1981) Relationships between leg muscle fiber type distribution and leg exercise performance. Int J Sports Med 2:154–159
Jacobs I, Kaiser P, Tesch P (1981) Muscle strength and fatigue after selective glycogen depletion in human skeletal muscle fibers. Eur J Appl Physiol 46:47–53
Kaiser P (1984) Physical performance and muscle metabolism duringβ-adrenergic blockade in man. Acta Physiol Scand [Suppl 536]:1–53
Komi PV, Tesch P (1979) EMG frequency spectrum, muscle structure, and fatigue during dynamic contractions in man. Eur J Appl Physiol 42:41–50
Komi PV, Viitasalo JT (1977) Changes in motor unit activity and metabolism in human skeletal muscle during and after repeated eccentric and concentric contractions. Acta Physiol Scand 100:246–254
Larsson L, Karlsson J (1978) Isometric and dynamic endurance as a function of age and skeletal muscle characteristics. Acta Physiol Scand 104:129–136
Nilsson J, Tesch P, Thorstensson A (1977) Fatigue and EMG of repeated fast voluntary contractions in man. Acta Physiol Scand 101:194–198
Örlander J, Kiessling K-M, Larsson L (1979) Skeletal muscle metabolism, morphology, and function in sedentary smokers and non-smokers. Acta Physiol Scand 107:39–46
Orr G, Green H (1981) Muscle fiber recruitment, glycogen depletion, and fatigue of Vastus Lateralis during high velocity isokinetic exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc 13:94
Patton RW, Hinson M, Arnold BR, Lessard B (1978) Fatigue curves of isokinetic contractions. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 59:507–509
Sapega AA, Nicholas JA, Sokolow D, Saraniti A (1982) The nature of “torque overshoot” in Cybex isokinetic dynamometry. Med Sci Sports Exerc 14:368–375
Schantz P, Randall-Fox E, Hutchinson W, Tyden A, Åstrand P-O (1983) Muscle fiber type distribution, muscle cross-sectional area, and maximal voluntary strength in humans. Acta Physiol Scand 103:40–46
Tesch P (1980) Fatigue patterns in subtypes of human skeletal muscle fibers. Int J Sports Med 1:79–81
Thorstensson A, Karlsson J (1976) Fatiguability and fibre type composition of human skeletal muscle. Acta Physiol Scand 98:318–322
Winter DA, Wells RP, Orr GW (1981) Errors in the use of isokinetic dynamometers. Eur J Appl Physiol 46:397–408
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was done as an MD dissertation at the August Krogh Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. All measurements were made at the Institute of Physical Education, University of Odense, Denmark.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mathiassen, S.E. Influence of angular velocity and movement frequency on development of fatigue in repeated isokinetic knee extensions. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 59, 80–88 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02396584
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02396584