Lesson 12: Basic Principles of Sports Physiology (Part 3 of 7)

Condition

1. Adaptation

2. Endurance

3. Strength

4. Flexibility

5. Speed

6. Coordination

Strength

None of the motor skills based on endurance, coordination, speed or flexibility can be achieved without a strength component.

Strength can be categorized into different types: 

• Overall and local strength (based on the proportion of muscles involved)
• Overall and specialized strength (specific to particular sport types)
• Dynamic and static strength (based on the specific type of work of the musculature)
• Maximal strength, speed-strength, endurance strength (based on the key factors of motor function)
• Absolute and relative strength (relative to body weight)

Since Drums Alive ®  is primarily a form of endurance training, but some of its specific modules (such as Drumming Strong) also fall into the category of dynamic strength endurance training, warranting a closer look into this area Dynamic strength is developed by deliberately using one’s own body weight as a counterweight to enact visible changes in the length of the muscle(s). Examples include push-ups, bicep curls or squats.

Dynamic strength endurance is the ability to withstand tiring of the muscles under the strain of long-lasting dynamic expenditures of power.  In short, it’s a muscle’s ability to contract and relax repeatedly. This is usually measured by the number of times (repetitions) an exercise is performed (such as the push-ups, curls or squats mentioned above) in a given time period.

Additional types of dynamic strength are dynamic maximal strength and speed-strength. Criteria for strength endurance are the intensity of the stimulus (as a % of maximal contraction strength) and the capacity of the strain (number of repetitions), whereby the number of possible repetitions is reduced in proportion to the relative size of the load. In other words, the greater the weight (i.e., when using dumbbells), the lower the number of possible repetitions.

Dynamic strength endurance training can improve the body’s muscle buffer capacity (the body’s ability to neutralize and eliminate the metabolic waste such as lactic acid that builds up in the muscles during anaerobic work), increase the capacity of energy stores recovery, and improve neuromuscular coordination.

(cf. Weineck, 2000)

A note on neuromuscular coordination 

The human nervous system (NS) is composed of the central nervous system (CNS), the peripheral and the autonomic nervous systems.

The CNS is composed of the brain and the spinal cord.  The peripheral NS is extraneous to the spinal cord and the brain, which is in turn subdivided into the somatic and the autonomic NS. The somatic nervous system is responsible for the things we choose to do – the conscious perceptions of environmental stimuli, the proprioceptors (internal physical stimuli) and the voluntary control of movements. In contrast, the autonomic NS regulates those physical processes which are involuntary and beyond our conscious control –  the regulation of such essential vital functions as heartbeat, digestion and breathing. This is further divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic NS. The sympathetic NS acts to stimulate and increase organic function. For example, the “fight or flight” response is dictated by the sympathetic NS. The parasympathetic NS works in concert with the sympathetic NS by inhibiting its functions, thereby aiding in the regeneration and buildup of physical reserves. The parasympathetic NS is responsible for restoring the body to a composed, calm state.