Understanding Human Movement: Muscles, Bipedalism, and Gait

The Basis of Movement

The foundation of movement, mediated by muscle cells, is the conversion of chemical energy into mechanical energy by the contractile apparatus of muscle cells. Actin and myosin proteins are essential components of this contractile apparatus. The interaction of these proteins facilitates the contraction of muscle cells.

Characteristics of Muscle Tissue

  • Irritability: Muscles receive and respond to stimulation.
  • Contractility: Muscles can change shape, becoming shorter and thicker.
Read More

Mesocycles: Accumulation, Processing, and Embodiment

The nature and orientation of these mesocycles reflect their names. Thus, Accumulation mesocycles aim to increase the athlete’s motor potential and create a pool of basic qualities. It is, in other words, the entire preparatory mesocycle in miniature.

  • In Processing mesocycles, this potential becomes specialized preparation. Based on developed force, it increases force resistance. Based on aerobic energy supply development, it improves mixed (aerobic and anaerobic) energy supply and increases speed
Read More

Fitness & Training: Key Concepts, Muscles, Bones, Movements

Health-Related Components

  • Cardiovascular Endurance: Ability of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels to deliver oxygen to the body during prolonged physical activity.
  • Muscular Strength: Maximum force a muscle can exert against resistance.
  • Muscular Endurance: Ability of a muscle to sustain repeated contractions or continue applying force against a fixed object.
  • Flexibility: Range of motion available at a joint.
  • Body Composition: Proportion of fat and non-fat mass in the body.

Skill-Related Components

  • Agility:
Read More

Personal Training System: Optimizing Your Physical Skills

Personal Training System

Physical skills training has been practiced for over 3000 years, driven by efforts to improve human capabilities through education, sacred practices (religion), and more. Today’s training follows scientific guidelines, allowing us to plan our own systems for health benefits.

Fundamental Ideas

  1. Physical activities started 3000 years ago.
  2. The driving elements were religion and education.
  3. Current science focuses on the basic concepts of health.

Planning personal training involves

Read More

Effective Strategies for Teaching Motor Skills

Learning Factors for Teachers

A) Practice Strategies

Sometimes, the objective of learning motor skills is so complex that they cannot be learned all at once. They must be learned in parts, matching the pace of student learning. The way you split a skill to be learned is what we call a learning strategy. To determine the strategies to use, consider:

  1. The characteristics of the skill to teach: Differentiate between a simple skill and a comprehensive, complicated skill (analytical strategy).
  2. The capabilities
Read More

Hip Joint Muscles: Flexion, Extension, Abduction, Adduction

Hip Flexion

Muscles: Pectineus, iliopsoas, sartorius, tensor fascia lata.

Pectineus

  • Origin: Pubic branch of the ileum
  • Insertion: Femur
  • Function: Flexion, abduction, and external rotation

Iliopsoas

  • Origin: Psoas – 12th thoracic vertebra to the 5th lumbar vertebra; Iliac fossa – iliacus
  • Insertion: Lesser trochanter
  • Function:
    • With trunk fixed and legs mobile: flexion, adduction, and external rotation
    • With legs and trunk fixed:
      • Pelvic anteversion
      • Trunk flexion

Sartorius

  • Origin: Iliac spine
  • Insertion: Medial aspect
Read More