Abstract
Muscle power is of great importance in most sports, and its development is one of the most fundamental physiological adaptations for improving physical performance. In order to optimize competition performance, athletes usually decrease training load before competition, the so-called tapering, to allow physiological and psychological recovery from accumulated training stress. Tapering could be conducted through changes in training volume, intensity and/or frequency, but training volume seems to be most effective in optimizing muscular power. There are two main types of tapering: progressive tapering and one-step tapering. Currently, there is no general conclusion on tapering duration. The physiological mechanisms regarding tapering effects on neuromuscular system are largely unknown. Generally, it is believed that sustained maximal muscular power after tapering is obtained through maintaining adaptations in muscle fiber size, fiber type and neural adaptations whereas increased maximal muscular power after tapering is assumed mainly through both physiological and psychological recovery. We believe that increased maximal muscular power after tapering may also rely on higher neural drive and increased muscle fiber cross sectional area (CSA), especially in type IIA muscle fibers. Complete rest is a special form of tapering and it usually only leads to sustained maximal power. This effect is believed to be associated with decreased muscle CSA and a transformation of muscle fibers from type IIA to type IIX.
Highlights
The development of muscular power is one of the most fundamental physiological adaptations for improving physical performance
The results indicate the importance of periphery muscular system adaptation in maximizing muscle power during tapering as suggested by Tortora and Derrickson[19]
Andersen et al [28] reported that 3 months of complete rest following 3 months resistance training resulted in increased maximal unloaded knee extension velocity and power; isokinetic muscle strength gains at slow and medium velocities returned to pre-training levels, which might attributed to the loss in gains of muscle cross sectional area (CSA) and increased electromyogram after the training
Summary
The development of muscular power is one of the most fundamental physiological adaptations for improving physical performance. The ability to exert force earlier in a movement and throughout a greater range of motion is of great importance in most athletic movements [1]. These movements apply to most sports including sprinting, jumping, changing direction, throwing, kicking and striking [2]. We are going to take the recent studies on these issues into consideration and aiming to reveal 1) the general tapering methods used currently and 2) the effects of these tapering methods on maximal neuromuscular power and 3) the muscular and neurological mechanisms contributing to the adaptations in maximal neuromuscular power in tapering. Search key words included: tapering, detraining, muscle fiber type, cross-sectional area (CSA), neuromuscular power, maximal power and different combinations of the key words
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