Abstract

Acute effects of fatigue produced by a maintrained 60 isometric loading on force production and relaxation characteristics of the leg extensor muscles were studied in male endurance (n=9), power (n=6) and strength athletes (n=9). The initial non-fatigued isometric force-time curves differed considerably between the groups so that the times of force production were the shortest and correspondingly the maximal rate of force production the greatest in the power athletes but the longest and the smallest in the endurance athletes. The endurance time of 70.7 +/- 32.9 s at the 60 fatiguing loading was in the endurance athletes longer than in the power and strength groups. The present fatiguing loading resulted in all athlete groups in significant worsening in maximal force, in the times of force production and in the maximal rates of force production and relaxation. However, this worsening in the endurance athletes in maximal force as well as in the maximal rates of force production and relaxation were significantly smaller than the corresponding decreases in the power athletes and in the strength athletes. After a short recovery of 3 min the relative maximal force level in the endurance group was the greatest, while the power group demonstrated the smallest relative values in the maximal rates of force production and relaxation. The present findings among the different athlete groups about the differences observed in acute effects of fatigue and recovery support the concept of specificity of prolonged training stimuli. Verf.-Referat