BB Flipbook v2-merged

HTKSPORT
2. NEURO-MUSCULAR OUTPUTS
The most fundamental training principle every athlete should know is that the
nervous system controls every cell, tissue and organ in the human body; the nervous
system is the most important factor in performance, not the muscular system. While
movement can be classified into several categories, the singular nervous system is
the common element to all types of movement, and there are therefore different
neural inputs that create different performance outputs at the muscular level. Even
more than this, as mentioned above, it can be seen that a group of slow twitch muscle
fibres can change into fast-twitch fibres if the neuro-muscular input consistently
demands fast-twitch characteristics at the muscular level. The critical point is that
training should focus on developing the desired performance from the inside out, i.e.
by primarily focusing on the neuro-muscular demand.
Critically, however, we must still understand what the outside manifestation of neuromuscular
stimuli looks/feels like, because most athletes will not have the
technological equipment to measure neural impulses.
The focus will therefore turn to explaining the different neuro-muscular inputs, and
then how these inputs manifest themselves in physical performance. The explanation
below is based on the old Inno-Sport methods of describing neuro inputs / outputs.
There are three general inputs: sustained neural tension and application of
force/muscular contraction (DUR), maximal motor unit recruitment /magnitude of
neural input (MAG) and rapid motor unit recruitment (RATE).
DUR is generally associated with strength activities; MAG is generally associated the
maximal power output and tension creation in the muscle; and RATE is the most
rapid neural transmission/quickest contraction.
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JUNE 2018 | ISSUE 01
While it is possible to visualise and organise these inputs in terms of speed of neural
transmission and muscle contraction (DUR being the slowest, RATE being the quickest
and MAG somewhere in between), it is important to recognise that these neuromuscular
inputs exist on a continuum (see below) and are not strictly separated. It is
also important to understand that these inputs are not mutually exclusive – as will be
shown below, many performance outputs are combinations and varying
contributions of different neuro-muscular inputs.