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HTKSPORT
The most important thing when training for performance is to understand the
muscular system does not exist or operate in isolation, but rather as a body-wide
system of myo-fascial connective tissue. Fascia is the organ system used for stability
and ‘mechano-regulation.’ Its primary quality is elasticity and tensile strength, which is
what makes it critical to both structural integrity and performance – force
transmission is about tension translation; the body consists of a collection of myofascial
‘slings’ that all interconnect as a single unit responsible for controlling the
forces of compression and tension, for both structure / function and performance.
It’s a common misconception that all joint movement is due to muscle shortening and
the resulting energy that is passed through passive tendons that attach to the bone.
While true for ‘unloaded’ or steady movements – such as cycling – where muscle
fibres change length but tendons and aponeuroses do not (fascial elements remain
passive), it is not the case for ‘oscillatory’ movements. Oscillatory movements are
those that occur back and forth from a constant point of origin – e.g. the ground.
These movements rely on elastic spring in the fascial elements, and little change in
muscle fibre length. Here, the muscle fibres contract in an almost isometric fashion
(they stiffen temporarily without any significant change of their length) while the
fascial elements function in an elastic way with a movement similar to that of a yoyo.
Here, it is the lengthening and shortening of the fascial elements that produces the
actual movement.
Utilising force optimally and explosively means absorbing, transferring and
rebounding as much kinetic energy as possible to propel the desired movement;
requires the elastic quality of the fascial network. Optimising this is the first, but by far
the most important, step to athletic strength training.
1.3 Recruitment, Specificity & Functional
Intensity
06
JUNE 2018 | ISSUE 01
One of the most critical points to recognise is that the body adapts to what you give it,
and therefore if the final performance involves complex dynamic movements (most
dynamic sports, for example) then a lot of attention needs to be paid to ensuring
training methods carry over to the overall goal performance.