Effects-in Season Mechanical Stimuli for Strength and Power Adaptation

A great deal of scientific literature has investigated the effects of various resistances session training program on muscle strength and power. Surprisingly, our understanding of the stimuli that affect adaptation still remains relatively unexplained. It is thought that maximal strength and power adaptation is mediated by mechanical stimuli, that is the kinematics and kinetics associated with resistance exercise load (e.g. contraction duration, power and work time, recovery), and their interaction with other metabolic factors. However, the effect of different combinations of kinematic and kinetic variables of RT and their contribution to adaptation is unclear. The mechanical response to single repetitions has been investigated by a number of researchers; however, it seems problematic to extrapolate the findings of this type of research to the responses associated with typical resistance session training. We contend that strength and power research needs to adopt a set kinematic and kinetic analysis to improve our understanding of how to optimize strength and power.