Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Nov 10;21(22):7482.
doi: 10.3390/s21227482.

Electromyography, Stiffness and Kinematics of Resisted Sprint Training in the Specialized SKILLRUN® Treadmill Using Different Load Conditions in Rugby Players

Antonio Martínez-Serrano  1   2 , Elena Marín-Cascales  2 , Konstantinos Spyrou  1   2   3 , Tomás T Freitas  1   2   3   4 , Pedro E Alcaraz  1   2
Affiliations

Electromyography, Stiffness and Kinematics of Resisted Sprint Training in the Specialized SKILLRUN® Treadmill Using Different Load Conditions in Rugby Players

Antonio Martínez-Serrano et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

This study's aim was to analyze muscle activation and kinematics of sled-pushing and resisted-parachute sprinting with three load conditions on an instrumentalized SKILLRUN® treadmill. Nine male amateur rugby union players (21.3 ± 4.3 years, 75.8 ± 10.2 kg, 176.6 ± 8.8 cm) performed a sled-push session consisting of three 15-m repetitions at 20%, 55% and 90% body mas and another resisted-parachute session using three different parachute sizes (XS, XL and 3XL). Sprinting kinematics and muscle activity of three lower-limb muscles (biceps femoris (BF), vastus lateralis (VL) and gastrocnemius medialis (GM)) were measured. A repeated-measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) showed that higher loads during the sled-push increased (VL) (p ≤ 0.001) and (GM) (p ≤ 0.001) but not (BF) (p = 0.278) activity. Furthermore, it caused significant changes in sprinting kinematics, stiffness and joint angles. Resisted-parachute sprinting did not change kinematics or muscle activation, despite producing a significant overload (i.e., speed loss). In conclusion, increased sled-push loading caused disruptions in sprinting technique and altered lower-limb muscle activation patterns as opposed to the resisted-parachute. These findings might help practitioners determine the more adequate resisted sprint exercise and load according to the training objective (e.g., power production or speed performance).

Keywords: loaded sprint; muscle activation; performance; sled-push; team-sports.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(left panel) Sled-push and, (right panel) resisted-parachute sprinting on the SR® treadmill.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Comparison of muscle activation of VL, BF and GM in sled-push under different load conditions. (B) Comparison of muscle activation of VL, BF and GM in resisted-parachute sprinting under different size conditions. * p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.001; BF = biceps femoris; BM = body mass; EMG = electromyography; GM = gastrocnemius medialis; VL = vastus.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of sprinting Kvert and kinematics under different load conditions in sled-push. * p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.001; BM = body mass; CT = contact time; FT = flight time; Kvert = vertical stiffness; SF = stride frequency; SL = stride length.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Cupples B., O’Connor D. The Development of Position-Specific Performance Indicators in Elite Youth Rugby League: A Coach’s Perspective. Int. J. Sports Sci. Coach. 2011;6:125–141. doi: 10.1260/1747-9541.6.1.125. - DOI
    1. Duthie G.M., Pyne D.B., Marsh D.J., Hooper S.L. Sprint patterns in rugby union players during competition. J. Strength Cond. Res. 2006;20:208–214. doi: 10.1519/r-16784.1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gabbett T.J., Jenkins D.G., Abernethy B. Physical demands of professional rugby league training and competition using microtechnology. J. Sci. Med. Sport. 2012;15:80–86. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2011.07.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Harries S.K., Lubans D.R., Buxton A., MacDougall T.H.J., Callister R. Effects of 12-Week Resistance Training on Sprint and Jump Performances in Competitive Adolescent Rugby Union Players. J. Strength Cond. Res. 2018;32:2762–2769. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002119. - DOI - PubMed
    1. von Lieres Und Wilkau H.C., Irwin G., Bezodis N.E., Simpson S., Bezodis I.N. Phase analysis in maximal sprinting: An investigation of step-to-step technical changes between the initial acceleration, transition and maximal velocity phases. Sports Biomech. 2020;19:141–156. doi: 10.1080/14763141.2018.1473479. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources