Myorelaxation Research

[shawnjm23]

I took the Second Wind Express course some time back now and I am still having a hard time understanding some aspects of the relaxation chapter. Hoping someone can simplify it for me. Researchers demonstrated that speed of muscle relaxation correlated more with level of athletic achievement than strength indices in 17 out of the 20 sports that were studied and that this was especially true at the highest level. Furthermore there were a number of sports that showed no correlation or slightly negative correlation between strength and achievement. Myorelaxation in the training process of skilled athletes
The authors also showed that there are 3 types of "long term adaptation" categories that athletes fall into. hypertrophic, transient and relaxation. This is estimated by calculating ones strength to relaxation speed ratio. The relaxation type adaptation is the most beneficial: "The relaxation type of individual development is the most profitable in all intents. For relaxation type persons the CNC exciting and inhibitory processes' balance, high rate of muscles' relaxation, excellent regulation and movement coordination, perfect reaction to moving objects, that guarantees the sport, everyday and street traumatism minimization, are specific. The most economical - eukinetic circulation type prevails in them, the cardiac performance high economical efficiency, the minimal level of energy consumption, a decreased concentration of energy exchange metabolites in blood, a high rate of reparative processes and resynthesis of energy resources, excellent physical performance and stamina prevail in them. They excel with an increased stress tolerance, twice or trice as seldom they are subject to overwork and diseases, as compared to the hypertrophic type persons. Relaxation type sportsmen, as contrasted with hypertrophic type ones, enjoy considerably greater sport longevity, stand physical and psychological stresses far easier, are subject to various overworks, traumas and diseases 8-10 times as seldom and achieve the highest sport results' " Myorelaxation in Increase of Efficiency of Training Process of Athletes

With all of this information in mind, my main question is how beneficial is it for an athlete, especially an athlete where there was no correlation between level of achievement and strength (hockey, boxing, skating, decathlon, swimming, soccer) to gain strength? Please consider as well that a gain of strength would also push their long term adaptation away from relaxation, if relaxation speed remains the same due to the adjustment in strength to relaxation speed ratio.

I feel as though in a perfect world one could raise there strength to a moderate level and raise there relaxation speed to a high level to obtain an ideal ratio however I feel like raising relaxation speed substantially is less straight forward than strength training.

Thanks for any insight on this and please note that I enjoy strength training. I am trying to gain a better understanding of athletic performance.

 

[North Coast Miller]

Speed of relaxation ties into speed of change of direction Motor locked or task fixation are no-starters. So, rate of force development vs speed of relaxation vs inertia drag. Spiderman?

If you don't need mass for collision considerations, speed and control of movement become primary attributes - a dancer and a cornerback with identical height to weight and bf%. If you need some mass or need to maniplate external loads...

 

[Training for Life]

Excellent questions and considerations. Some observations around this can be found in Supertraining (Verkhoshansky and Siff) - people with higher vertical jumps (IIRC) have a quicker turnaround from half squatting (loading up to jump) to jumping, compared to the ones with lower verticals, meaning that the better jumpers are quicker to stop and relax (and thus redirect force).

…Please consider as well that a gain of strength would also push their long term adaptation away from relaxation, if relaxation speed remains the same due to the adjustment in strength to relaxation speed ratio.

One system that addresses this is Jay Schroeders system, which uses a progression of extreme isometrics -> altitude drops -> rebounds. I’ve also come to understand that there are some aspects of this also considered in DB Hammers system. Both are outlier systems and spawn many strong opinions due to the coaches personas. However, the systems you might find answers from.

 

[oab]

Aside from strongfirst, quite a few systems don't emphasize relaxation training - noting that "fast and loose" methods were included in Pavel Tsatsoulines first book written decades ago. There are different types of strength training eg grinds and ballistics. Ballistics training involve rapid tensing and relaxation. In the case of the swing, from memory, expert KB "swingers" had a more pulse like EMG. The had shorter periods of more rapid contraction which you might describe as skill and also involving rapid relaxation.

Relaxation, as far as I'm concerned, involves learning the ability to relax the pathways involved in control of individual muscles as well as the relaxation of mind ie shifting the mental balance towards calm away from fight-flight response. Being able to do things with relaxed muscles while the whole self is relaxed is an ability that various traditional fighting systems value.

A higher level of maximum strength means that one can cultivate a use of more relaxed strength during sports\athletic skills. For example, Pavel T mentions that fighters hit hardest at 80% of max strength. This means that very many repetitations can be executed at say 66% max strength. By building the peak, the pyramid underneath is also build up.

Some sports also train speed strength, for example, some martial arts weapons are used this way. Indian clubs are an example. The weights for hand speed strength have to be pretty light. So, one needs to analyse and understand the sport. For example grapplers shift , throw and collide with people and so need to be able to quickly do so. The mass of the opponent the are working with is ball park 70-90kg, Whereas a boxer is trying to get the fist to collide with and shift a head which is much lighter. It gets more complicated than that as some styles use one punch and other use a flurry.

Sports practice involves the development of coordinated movement with the right amount of tension and relaxation incorporated. So, time spent on skill practice becomes important. In the past, some strength coaches (like Pavel T, Dan John and others) have said 80pc sport, 20 pc strength\conditioning ie most of the time is spent on activities directly related to skill development.

"Fast and loose" type practice and some types of meditation are two methods that help with relaxation of limb-torso and global relaxation of body AND mind. In respect of meditation, I much prefer pure effortless relaxation that alllows the mind to slow down and become still. In stillness lies calm. Some methods use a focus and this can lead to a monotone of the focus but not stillness as such. If the mind is truly still then you know you remain awake but not much else. If the mind is focussed on breathing, emotions, wandering and so on then the mental activity involved in that focus must prevent stillness. You may have to think about that a bit to get the idea.

Methods that contribute to excellent posture may also be involved as poor posture tends to promote a higher level of resting muscular tension. For example, the chicken neck of the modern digital mobile phone addict with head poked forward. The muscles of the upper back, neck and top of the head must work much harder to prevent the whole structure collapsing. Whereas a person with good upper back-head neck posture has the head more balanced upon the bones with lesser muscular tension involved.

Just some thoughts I have picked up along the way, hopefully, some experts will add to this thread.

 

[Kenny Croxdale]

There are different types of strength training eg grinds and ballistics.

Maximum Strength, Quazi-Ballistic and Ballistic Movements
Let's define these...

1) Maximum Strength (aka Grinds)

A slow movement with near 1 Repetition Max Loads.

2) Quazi-Ballistic

A Low to Moderate Load Movement in which an object is held on to.

The issue with Quazi-Ballistic Movement is that Power is not developed through the entire Range of The Movement.

3) Ballistic Movement

A Balistic Movement is on in which an object or the body become airborne; throwing and jumping.

a) Power Development; Moderate Loads

b) Speed Development: Low Loads

rapid tensing and relaxation. In the case of the swing, from memory, expert KB "swingers" had a more pulse like EMG.

Pulse Training Post 23

Kettlebell - Best kettlebell lifts for Jiu Jitsu?

IMHO, The best lifts are: The ones you know how to do or are willing to take the time to learn. The one you'll actually do. The ones you have access to (barbell vs. KB, for example). The ones you will stick to doing over a give period of time long enough to measure the results.

www.strongfirst.com

Evidence of a Double Peak in Muscle Activation to Enhance... : The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research

Evidence of a Double Peak in Muscle Activation to Enhance... : The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research

mize speed and strike force. When muscle contracts, it increases in both force and stiffness. Force creates faster movement, but the corresponding stiffness slows the change of muscle shape and joint velocity. The purpose of this study was to investigate how this speed strength is accomplished...

journals.lww.com

"...the paradox of muscle contraction to optimize speed and strike force. When muscle contracts, it increases in both force and stiffness'."

"Many of the strikes intend to create fast motion and finish with a very large striking force, demonstrating a "double peak" of muscle activity. An initial peak was timed with the initiation of motion presumably to enhance stiffness and stability through the body before motion. This appeared to create an inertial mass in the large "core" for limb muscles to "pry" against to initiate limb motion. Then, some muscles underwent a relaxation phase as speed of limb motion increased. A second peak was observed upon contact with the opponent (heavy bag). It was postulated that this would increase stiffness through the body linkage, resulting in a higher effective mass behind the strike and likely a higher strike force. Observation of the contract-relax-contract pulsing cycle during forceful and quick strikes suggests that it may be fruitful to consider pulse training that involves not only the rate of muscle contraction but also the rate of muscle relaxation."

Matveyev (9) showed that elite athletes could have a muscle relaxation time of up to 8 times faster than nonathletes. The same work suggested that although relaxation rate is difficult to train, the release of an isometric contraction into full relaxation and speed of movement is the most effective training method.

...nor are only elite MMA athletes capable of this feature. They simply constitute an interesting study group to document the phenomenon. ...we have observed similar “pulsing” of activation in other elite sportsmen, including golfers and sprinters (10).

With that in mind, let's look at one method of employing it in Resistance Training...

Kettlebell Pulse Training

Tip: 3 Little-Known Ways to Improve Athleticism

Not many people talk about these methods for getting faster and more powerful. Let's fix that.

www.t-nation.com

How to Train for Rapid Relaxation​

The kettlebell swing can be used for developing the skill of pulsing contraction followed by rapid relaxation. Here's how:

• A burst of energy or "pulse" is used to begin the swing.
• Once the swing is around chest height, rapid relaxation must occur to re-hinge the hips and guide the kettlebell back between the legs.
• Another pulsed contraction is used to start the beginning of the next swing.
• Then the kettlebell swings go in a continuous cycle of turning on and turning off certain musculature in the right sequence to create pulsing contractions. That develops the ability to produce power.

Understanding "The Contract-Relax-Contract Pulsing Cycle" of Training

Understanding the mechanism/concept behind this "Pulse Training Method" allow write a program and apply it with other Resistance Training Exercises or in training other sports, like grappling.

 

[Bauer]

I took the Second Wind Express course some time back now and I am still having a hard time understanding some aspects of the relaxation chapter. Hoping someone can simplify it for me. Researchers demonstrated that speed of muscle relaxation correlated more with level of athletic achievement than strength indices in 17 out of the 20 sports that were studied and that this was especially true at the highest level. Furthermore there were a number of sports that showed no correlation or slightly negative correlation between strength and achievement. Myorelaxation in the training process of skilled athletes
The authors also showed that there are 3 types of "long term adaptation" categories that athletes fall into. hypertrophic, transient and relaxation. This is estimated by calculating ones strength to relaxation speed ratio. The relaxation type adaptation is the most beneficial: "The relaxation type of individual development is the most profitable in all intents. For relaxation type persons the CNC exciting and inhibitory processes' balance, high rate of muscles' relaxation, excellent regulation and movement coordination, perfect reaction to moving objects, that guarantees the sport, everyday and street traumatism minimization, are specific. The most economical - eukinetic circulation type prevails in them, the cardiac performance high economical efficiency, the minimal level of energy consumption, a decreased concentration of energy exchange metabolites in blood, a high rate of reparative processes and resynthesis of energy resources, excellent physical performance and stamina prevail in them. They excel with an increased stress tolerance, twice or trice as seldom they are subject to overwork and diseases, as compared to the hypertrophic type persons. Relaxation type sportsmen, as contrasted with hypertrophic type ones, enjoy considerably greater sport longevity, stand physical and psychological stresses far easier, are subject to various overworks, traumas and diseases 8-10 times as seldom and achieve the highest sport results' " Myorelaxation in Increase of Efficiency of Training Process of Athletes

With all of this information in mind, my main question is how beneficial is it for an athlete, especially an athlete where there was no correlation between level of achievement and strength (hockey, boxing, skating, decathlon, swimming, soccer) to gain strength? Please consider as well that a gain of strength would also push their long term adaptation away from relaxation, if relaxation speed remains the same due to the adjustment in strength to relaxation speed ratio.

I feel as though in a perfect world one could raise there strength to a moderate level and raise there relaxation speed to a high level to obtain an ideal ratio however I feel like raising relaxation speed substantially is less straight forward than strength training.

Thanks for any insight on this and please note that I enjoy strength training. I am trying to gain a better understanding of athletic performance.

Very interesting question.

When you look at the tables comparing the effects and carryover from different types of training (endurance, strength, power, and sprinting) in Q&D and AXE, power training has the most beneficial effects on other domains. Besides targeting specific muscle fibers and energy system adaptations, this might also be due to the rhythmic nature of power training, possibly improving relaxation speed as well as noted by @Kenny Croxdale .

When I watched the track and field world championships I was wondering about something similar while watching discus and hammer throwing: The body types and strength levels are very diverse in these disciplines. Some are very wiry and fast, others are ultra strong (Daniel Stahl deadlifts more than 400kg, I think, and there is a vid of him deadlifting 350kg for 5 reps). Very interesting to see the different approaches and to wonder how they possibly try to overcome the trade-offs of being lighter or heavier, etc.

 

[Denys Carthusian]

Aside from strongfirst, quite a few systems don't emphasize relaxation training - noting that "fast and loose" methods were included in Pavel Tsatsoulines first book written decades ago. There are different types of strength training eg grinds and ballistics. Ballistics training involve rapid tensing and relaxation. In the case of the swing, from memory, expert KB "swingers" had a more pulse like EMG. The had shorter periods of more rapid contraction which you might describe as skill and also involving rapid relaxation.

Relaxation, as far as I'm concerned, involves learning the ability to relax the pathways involved in control of individual muscles as well as the relaxation of mind ie shifting the mental balance towards calm away from fight-flight response. Being able to do things with relaxed muscles while the whole self is relaxed is an ability that various traditional fighting systems value.

A higher level of maximum strength means that one can cultivate a use of more relaxed strength during sports\athletic skills. For example, Pavel T mentions that fighters hit hardest at 80% of max strength. This means that very many repetitations can be executed at say 66% max strength. By building the peak, the pyramid underneath is also build up.

Some sports also train speed strength, for example, some martial arts weapons are used this way. Indian clubs are an example. The weights for hand speed strength have to be pretty light. So, one needs to analyse and understand the sport. For example grapplers shift , throw and collide with people and so need to be able to quickly do so. The mass of the opponent the are working with is ball park 70-90kg, Whereas a boxer is trying to get the fist to collide with and shift a head which is much lighter. It gets more complicated than that as some styles use one punch and other use a flurry.

Sports practice involves the development of coordinated movement with the right amount of tension and relaxation incorporated. So, time spent on skill practice becomes important. In the past, some strength coaches (like Pavel T, Dan John and others) have said 80pc sport, 20 pc strength\conditioning ie most of the time is spent on activities directly related to skill development.

"Fast and loose" type practice and some types of meditation are two methods that help with relaxation of limb-torso and global relaxation of body AND mind. In respect of meditation, I much prefer pure effortless relaxation that alllows the mind to slow down and become still. In stillness lies calm. Some methods use a focus and this can lead to a monotone of the focus but not stillness as such. If the mind is truly still then you know you remain awake but not much else. If the mind is focussed on breathing, emotions, wandering and so on then the mental activity involved in that focus must prevent stillness. You may have to think about that a bit to get the idea.

Methods that contribute to excellent posture may also be involved as poor posture tends to promote a higher level of resting muscular tension. For example, the chicken neck of the modern digital mobile phone addict with head poked forward. The muscles of the upper back, neck and top of the head must work much harder to prevent the whole structure collapsing. Whereas a person with good upper back-head neck posture has the head more balanced upon the bones with lesser muscular tension involved.

Just some thoughts I have picked up along the way, hopefully, some experts will add to this thread.

While I've been rehabbing, I noticed a similar effect - my upper thoracic spine was all jammed up which required several unscheduled visit to my new chiropractor. Keep in mind I'm doing S&S with relatively light weights. The conclusion we finally came to was I wasn't relaxing enough in between sets. So, I immediately made sure I was doing them in total silence, lots of fast and loose, and minimum 2 minute rest period, pushing 3 minutes just to make sure and Voila! no more pent up tension, no more "injury" interrupting training.

 

[shawnjm23]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Perhaps relaxation speed measurement will become more accessible for athletes as time goes on as it appears to be a significant factor in performance and health

 

[North Coast Miller]

...The same work suggested that although relaxation rate is difficult to train, the release of an isometric contraction into full relaxation and speed of movement is the most effective training method.

This is one of the reasons I employ "pulse" isometrics where the speed of relaxation from exertion is as important as rate of force production. It doesn't have an obvious effect on limit strength or hypertrophy.

Informally, my hand speed and overall movement speed has increased without specifically training for it.

 

[shawnjm23]

It is interesting to me that all sports didn't show a slight correlation between strength and level of achievement as I feel the higher level athletes have been training longer and would have accumulated more strength during this process. Thoughts?

 

[Anna C]

How to Train for Rapid Relaxation​

The kettlebell swing can be used for developing the skill of pulsing contraction followed by rapid relaxation. Here's how:

• A burst of energy or "pulse" is used to begin the swing.
• Once the swing is around chest height, rapid relaxation must occur to re-hinge the hips and guide the kettlebell back between the legs.
• Another pulsed contraction is used to start the beginning of the next swing.
• Then the kettlebell swings go in a continuous cycle of turning on and turning off certain musculature in the right sequence to create pulsing contractions. That develops the ability to produce power.

I agree! The kettlebell swing is our most useful tool in learning this skill. However, I found that tension-relaxation-tension from plank to hinge in the kettlebell swing did not translate to the same ability when it came to learning to pull myself down into a squat fast for weightlifting. Thus the Kettlebell Goblet Drop Squat drill.

I think relaxation is like strength in this way:

Strength training is an interesting mix of two opposing but both true principles:

• Strength is a general adaptation, applicable to anything with a force production component.
• Strength is specific. You get strong at what you train.

So, the relaxation skill, although having some general qualities that carry over, may also be specific to a movement.

Aside from strongfirst, quite a few systems don't emphasize relaxation training - noting that "fast and loose" methods were included in Pavel Tsatsoulines first book written decades ago. There are different types of strength training eg grinds and ballistics. Ballistics training involve rapid tensing and relaxation. In the case of the swing, from memory, expert KB "swingers" had a more pulse like EMG. The had shorter periods of more rapid contraction which you might describe as skill and also involving rapid relaxation.

Relaxation, as far as I'm concerned, involves learning the ability to relax the pathways involved in control of individual muscles as well as the relaxation of mind ie shifting the mental balance towards calm away from fight-flight response. Being able to do things with relaxed muscles while the whole self is relaxed is an ability that various traditional fighting systems value.

A higher level of maximum strength means that one can cultivate a use of more relaxed strength during sports\athletic skills. For example, Pavel T mentions that fighters hit hardest at 80% of max strength. This means that very many repetitations can be executed at say 66% max strength. By building the peak, the pyramid underneath is also build up.

Some sports also train speed strength, for example, some martial arts weapons are used this way. Indian clubs are an example. The weights for hand speed strength have to be pretty light. So, one needs to analyse and understand the sport. For example grapplers shift , throw and collide with people and so need to be able to quickly do so. The mass of the opponent the are working with is ball park 70-90kg, Whereas a boxer is trying to get the fist to collide with and shift a head which is much lighter. It gets more complicated than that as some styles use one punch and other use a flurry.

Sports practice involves the development of coordinated movement with the right amount of tension and relaxation incorporated. So, time spent on skill practice becomes important. In the past, some strength coaches (like Pavel T, Dan John and others) have said 80pc sport, 20 pc strength\conditioning ie most of the time is spent on activities directly related to skill development.

"Fast and loose" type practice and some types of meditation are two methods that help with relaxation of limb-torso and global relaxation of body AND mind. In respect of meditation, I much prefer pure effortless relaxation that alllows the mind to slow down and become still. In stillness lies calm. Some methods use a focus and this can lead to a monotone of the focus but not stillness as such. If the mind is truly still then you know you remain awake but not much else. If the mind is focussed on breathing, emotions, wandering and so on then the mental activity involved in that focus must prevent stillness. You may have to think about that a bit to get the idea.

Methods that contribute to excellent posture may also be involved as poor posture tends to promote a higher level of resting muscular tension. For example, the chicken neck of the modern digital mobile phone addict with head poked forward. The muscles of the upper back, neck and top of the head must work much harder to prevent the whole structure collapsing. Whereas a person with good upper back-head neck posture has the head more balanced upon the bones with lesser muscular tension involved.

Just some thoughts I have picked up along the way, hopefully, some experts will add to this thread.

Some great thoughts here. I put my favorites in bold.

In Al Ciampa's forum www.bewellandstrong.com, we were talking about how high tension techniques may lead to inefficient movement. Balancing tension and relaxation may be the key to avoiding this trap.

 

[shawnjm23]

Thanks again for the responses everyone. What are your thoughts on the original question? Say we have a soccer player, where there was no correlation between strength and level of play. Hypothetically if this athlete's strength was 20% below the average for the sport, would it be a benefit, neutral or detrimental for this athlete's performance if they raise their strength 20% and their relaxation speed remained the same? Consider the shift in the relaxation adaptation.