Difference between well-trained and

untrained
Difference ( in seconds) between latent contraction time (LCT) and the
latent loosening time ( LLT) of the muscles of athletes of different sporting
specialization .

Athlete’s
qualification LCT LLT (LLT- LCT)
difference
Novices 0.298 0.382 0.0840
0 0
3rd Rating 0.270 0.37 0.1022
8 30
2nd Rating 0.250 0.253 0.0032
0 2
1st Rating 0.237 0.242 0.0050
5 5
Master of 0.230 0.218 - 0.0119
Sports 4 5

LCT and LLT were determined electromyographically .

LCT - Time from giving a signal for contraction to the appearance of
electric activity in the muscle .
LLT -Time from the signal to the loosening up until biocurrents disappear in
the muscle .
With the increase of sporting mastery , the indices of the latent contraction
(LCT) and loosening time (LLT) as a general tendency draw closer until the
LLT becomes less than the LCT.

The time of a motor simple reaction to different irritants ( signals ) in

highly qualified athletes and non-athletes .

Contingent Signal Time ( in

irritant seconds)
High class Sound 0.05 – 0.10
athletes
Light 0.10 – 0.20
Non-athletes Sound 0.15- 0.25 and
more
Light 0.20- 0.35 and
more
Note - the time has been registered from the moment the signal was
given to the beginning of movements; the smaller of the values given
characterizing the time of the reaction in high-class athletes are related to
the best indices of sprinters , jumpers and other representatives of the
speed-strength sports .

It is rather difficult to reduce the time of the simple reaction considerably .

The range of the possible reduction of its latent time over the period of
many years of training is approximately 0.10 to 0.15 seconds .
Well trained athletes are capable of inhaling at least 7% of oxygen
compared to the 4% inhaled by non-sportsmen .
Unlike the latter , they pass through their lungs not 6 litres of air a
minute , but 30 times as much . This is what enables them to sustain
immense overloads without detriment to their health .
In a year a top class long distance runner covers up to 7000 kilometres
and a young swimmer up to 3500 kilometres .
During his sports career Pyotr Bolotnikov , the famous track and field man ,
ran a total distance of 69,000 kilometres . Such loads are hard on the
body .
Physical effort is attended with a drastic increase in the blood pressure
mainly owing to intensification of heart activity .
During training sessions the blood pressure of Valery Borzov , the Olympic
sprint champion , jumped to 220 mm Hg , in other words , to the level of
dangerous hypertension .
The volume of pulmonary ventilation rises to 50 litres per minute and
even to 100 ( in trained individuals ) , during strenuous physical exertion .
The vital capacity of lungs is the volume of air that can be expelled by
the most forcible exhalation after the deepest inhalation.
Systematic physical training and sports favour an increase in the vital
capacity of the lungs ( in some athletes it reaches 6000-7000 cc )

An increase in cardiac output in untrained individuals occurs usually due

to acceleration of heart rhythm ; but in trained subjects engaged in
moderate muscular exercise an increase in stroke volume occurs ( separate
contractions become more powerful , and the heart's systolic volume
increases ) and the acceleration of contraction is less marked .

The pulse of people trained for muscular activity quickens less than that of
untrained people even during the performance of the same work . But , if
the muscular work is the maximal for the given person ( for example ,
running for the period of 2 to 5 minutes at the highest speed ) the
maximum heart rate is the higher the better his muscular training . In
highly trained athletes the pulse rate may rise to 260 , whereas in
untrained people it never exceeds 200 .

The heart rate of less than 60 per minute is designated as bradycardia

and that of more than 85 to 90 per minute is termed tachycardia . as a
normal phenomenon bradycardia is encountered in highly-trained athletes
who during complete muscular rest show a pulse rate of 36 to 45 .

During hard muscular work 15 to 25 litres of blood is pumped out into

aorta per minute ; in highly trained athletes this figure reaches even 40
litres during maximal effort .
Moreover , in people trained for muscular activity the minute volume
increases because of a considerable rise in the systolic volume , while in
untrained people this increase is due mainly to acceleration of the heart
rate.
High figures of systolic volume ( about 90 to 110 ml ) with a
correspondingly slow pulse rate are noted in physically trained people even
at rest , while during hard work their beat volume rises to 150 and even
180 or 200 ml .

During tough competitions the athletes body temperature reaches 39° C ,

like that of a gravely ill patient , and a marathon runner at times finishes
the distance actually in a state of heat stroke 40.5°C - 42°C . A player in a
world hokey championship loses 1.7 litres of liquid in one game and a
marathon runner loses 3 times as much .
Estimates say that a well trained weight lifter in the heavy weight
category can hold a static load exceeding 1000 kilograms , lift a weight of
more than 500 kilograms from the ground and push at least 300 kilograms
with both arms and lift a total weight of up to 30 tonnes in one training
session .
It was discovered that ordinary man strives to throw the javelin merely
by the effort of the arm , setting only 5 to 7 muscles to work .
Yet , in order to obtain the best results ( as in the case of high class
javelin throwers ) almost 70 muscles of arm ,shoulders, legs and back
should come into play . And that they come into play in a strict sequence .