Cargando…

A quadriceps femoris motor pattern for efficient cycling

In cycling, propulsion is generated by the muscles of the lower limbs and hips. After the first reports of pedal/crank force measurements in the late 1960s, it has been assumed that highly trained athletes have better power transfer to the pedals than recreational cyclists. However, motor patterns i...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hering, Gernot O., Bertschinger, Raphael, Stepan, Jens
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10019633/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36928839
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282391
_version_ 1784908065128054784
author Hering, Gernot O.
Bertschinger, Raphael
Stepan, Jens
author_facet Hering, Gernot O.
Bertschinger, Raphael
Stepan, Jens
author_sort Hering, Gernot O.
collection PubMed
description In cycling, propulsion is generated by the muscles of the lower limbs and hips. After the first reports of pedal/crank force measurements in the late 1960s, it has been assumed that highly trained athletes have better power transfer to the pedals than recreational cyclists. However, motor patterns indicating higher levels of performance are unknown. To compare leg muscle activation between trained (3.5–4.2 W/kgbw) and highly trained (4.3–5.1 W/kgbw) athletes we applied electromyography, lactate, and bi-pedal/crank force measurements during a maximal power test, an individual lactate threshold test and a constant power test. We show that specific activation patterns of the rectus femoris (RF) and vastus lateralis (VL) impact on individual performance during high-intensity cycling. In highly trained cyclists, we found a strong activation of the RF during hip flexion. This results in reduced negative force in the fourth quadrant of the pedal cycle. Furthermore, we discovered that pre-activation of the RF during hip flexion reduces force loss at the top dead center (TDC) and can improve force development during subsequent leg extension. Finally, we found that a higher performance level is associated with earlier and more intense coactivation of the RF and VL. This quadriceps femoris recruitment pattern improves force transmission and maintains propulsion at the TDC of the pedal cycle. Our results demonstrate neuromuscular adaptations in cycling that can be utilized to optimize training interventions in sports and rehabilitation.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-10019633
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2023
publisher Public Library of Science
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-100196332023-03-17 A quadriceps femoris motor pattern for efficient cycling Hering, Gernot O. Bertschinger, Raphael Stepan, Jens PLoS One Research Article In cycling, propulsion is generated by the muscles of the lower limbs and hips. After the first reports of pedal/crank force measurements in the late 1960s, it has been assumed that highly trained athletes have better power transfer to the pedals than recreational cyclists. However, motor patterns indicating higher levels of performance are unknown. To compare leg muscle activation between trained (3.5–4.2 W/kgbw) and highly trained (4.3–5.1 W/kgbw) athletes we applied electromyography, lactate, and bi-pedal/crank force measurements during a maximal power test, an individual lactate threshold test and a constant power test. We show that specific activation patterns of the rectus femoris (RF) and vastus lateralis (VL) impact on individual performance during high-intensity cycling. In highly trained cyclists, we found a strong activation of the RF during hip flexion. This results in reduced negative force in the fourth quadrant of the pedal cycle. Furthermore, we discovered that pre-activation of the RF during hip flexion reduces force loss at the top dead center (TDC) and can improve force development during subsequent leg extension. Finally, we found that a higher performance level is associated with earlier and more intense coactivation of the RF and VL. This quadriceps femoris recruitment pattern improves force transmission and maintains propulsion at the TDC of the pedal cycle. Our results demonstrate neuromuscular adaptations in cycling that can be utilized to optimize training interventions in sports and rehabilitation. Public Library of Science 2023-03-16 /pmc/articles/PMC10019633/ /pubmed/36928839 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282391 Text en © 2023 Hering et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Hering, Gernot O.
Bertschinger, Raphael
Stepan, Jens
A quadriceps femoris motor pattern for efficient cycling
title A quadriceps femoris motor pattern for efficient cycling
title_full A quadriceps femoris motor pattern for efficient cycling
title_fullStr A quadriceps femoris motor pattern for efficient cycling
title_full_unstemmed A quadriceps femoris motor pattern for efficient cycling
title_short A quadriceps femoris motor pattern for efficient cycling
title_sort quadriceps femoris motor pattern for efficient cycling
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10019633/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36928839
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282391
work_keys_str_mv AT heringgernoto aquadricepsfemorismotorpatternforefficientcycling
AT bertschingerraphael aquadricepsfemorismotorpatternforefficientcycling
AT stepanjens aquadricepsfemorismotorpatternforefficientcycling
AT heringgernoto quadricepsfemorismotorpatternforefficientcycling
AT bertschingerraphael quadricepsfemorismotorpatternforefficientcycling
AT stepanjens quadricepsfemorismotorpatternforefficientcycling