[Recovery of muscle contractility after a strength training session: mechanical, neurophysiologic and biochemical...

The purpose of this study was to observe the recovery of maximal strength immediately after a maximal eccentric strength training set. The trained female subjects (n = 8) performed 10 bouts of 10 maximal eccentric contractions of the quadriceps muscle. Each bout was separated by a 2 minutes rest period. Integrated electromyogram (iEMG) of the vastus medialis and the rectus femoris, and torque were measured before, just after, 24 and 48 hours after training session, at different knee angular velocity (-60, 0, 60, 120, and 240 degrees.s-1). Possible structural damage of the muscular cell were searched from the urinary concentration of some protein catabolism metabolites before (basal rate), 24 and 48 hours after the exercise. Maximal torque significantly fell for any angular velocity immediately after the training session: 13.6% at -60 degrees.s-1, 16.9% at 60 degrees.s-1, 7.5% at 120 degrees.s-1, 12.8% at 240 degrees.s-1 and 8.6% at 0 degree.s-1. This event was accompanied by an increase of the iEMG at the training angular speed, and by an increase of the metabolites concentration in a half part of the subjects. Strength developed during eccentric contraction showed the earliest recovery. And it even significantly overshot its initial level by 14.9% at 48 hours. A significant increase of the iEMG assessed at the eccentric velocity was then observed. In the same time, 3 of the 6 subjects showed an increase of their urinary concentration of the chosen metabolites in comparison with their initial values. This result may closely be connected with the supercompensation phenomenon, which first appears in the training mode. This phenomenon could partly be explained by the associated increase of the iEMG.