A simple method for assessment of muscle force, velocity, and power producing capacities from functional movement tasks

Abstract

A range of force (F) and velocity (V) data obtained from functional movement tasks (e.g., running, jumping, throwing, lifting, cycling) performed under variety of external loads have typically revealed strong and approximately linear F-V relationships. The regression model parameters reveal the maximum F (F-intercept), V (V-intercept), and power (P) producing capacities of the tested muscles. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the level of agreement between the routinely used "multiple-load model" and a simple "two-load model" based on direct assessment of the F-V relationship from only 2 external loads applied. Twelve participants were tested on the maximum performance vertical jumps, cycling, bench press throws, and bench pull performed against a variety of different loads. All 4 tested tasks revealed both exceptionally strong relationships between the parameters of the 2 models (median R = 0.98) and a lack of meaningful differences between their magnitudes (fixed bias below 3.4%). Therefore, addition of another load to the standard tests of various functional tasks typically conducted under a single set of mechanical conditions could allow for the assessment of the muscle mechanical properties such as the muscle F, V, and P producing capacities.

A Novel Two-Velocity Method for Elaborate Isokinetic Testing of Knee Extensors

“…The high level of agreement between the 2 methods is comparable to the level of agreement observed from 4 different functional tests when the force-velocity relationship of the tested muscles was observed from a number of loading conditions using a linear regression model and from just 2 loads, i.e. the '2-load method' [30]. Of particular interest could be that the 2-velocity method could also reveal valid indices of maximum force (i.e.…”

“…However, most of the available data sets suggest that the 'curvilinearity' could mainly originate from the inclusion of the relatively high isometric force, while the ranges of angular velocities typically applied provide an approximately linear relationship between the measured force and velocity [4,6,8,12,24,28]. Moreover, if the force-velocity relationship of individual muscle groups proves to be strong and approximately linear within a wide range of angular velocities, a similar approach to the recently proposed '2-load method' could be applied in routine testing [14,30]. Specifically, it has been shown that the functional movements tested under only 2 distinctive loads could provide almost identical outcomes as the same movements tested under variety of external loads that inevitably require regression modeling, as well as a prolonged and fatigue-prone testing procedure.…”

The Force-Velocity Relationship in Older People: Reliability and Validity of a Systematic Procedure

“…In any case, the 3-L protocol showed good reliability for F 0 , V 0 and L opt (CV < 10 %; ICC > 80), and excellent reliability for P max (CV = 4.3 %; ICC = 0.97), while maintaining the same ability to predict SPPB values as the extended protocol. Other authors have proposed and validated the application of a short protocol in young adults by which the F-V relationship can be deduced through the evaluation of only 2 loads [31,39]. Though it might be an advantageous approach for experienced young adults, we recommend avoiding the use of a 2-load protocol in older adults.…”

“…Thus, the evaluation of the F-V relationship can be a time-consuming and fatiguing task for an older subject, who has to perform a relatively high number of repetitions against different loads/velocities to draw the whole F-V relationship. Fortunately, the F-V relationship during multi-joint movements has been shown to follow a strong linear regression pattern [4,23], which permits the F-V relationship to be accurately drawn from a few F-V points by means of a linear regression equation [39], something that could facilitate the evaluation of the F-V relationship in older adults. However, whereas in young adults a recent study demonstrated that a two-load method was a feasible approach to assess the F-V relationship in an upper-body resistance exercise [31], the validity and reliability of the determination of the F-V relationship through the evaluation of a few loads have not been previously analyzed in older adults.…”

Peer Review #1 of "The addition of very light loads into the routine testing of the bench press increases the reliability of the force–velocity relationship (v0.1)"

“…In general, these results further support the high linearity of the F-V relationship that has been described for several exercises (e.g., vertical jumps, running, cycling, bench pull, BPT, leg extension, etc.) (Cross et al, 2018;García-Ramos et al, 2018b;García-Ramos et al, 2016;Iglesias-Soler et al, 2018;Lemaire et al, 2014;Zivkovic et al, 2017).…”