Effect of antagonist activation on agonist muscle activity during strength training

Abstract

Background. Strength training, essential for fitness and rehabilitation, relies on the coordinated action of agonist and antagonist muscles. The agonist muscle is responsible for the primary movement, while the antagonist muscle is crucial for stabilization, controlling movement speed, and injury prevention. Recent research has investigated the advantages of including antagonist muscle activation in training programs, which has led to the creation of MAA training methods. This study compares the median frequency (Fmed) values of the electromyography (EMG) signal in the agonist muscle during agonist/antagonist (MAA) and traditional (MT) strength training protocols in experienced male athletes. Materials and methods. This cross-sectional study involved 12 volunteers aged 18–35 years. On the first day, each volunteer's maximum load for 10 repetitions (10RM) was determined for the extensor chair, flexor table, biceps curl, and triceps curl exercises. On the second day, participants were divided into two groups. One group performed a series of MT first, followed by a series of MAA two hours later. The other group started with MAA and then performed the MT series after two hours. Finally, a comparison between the extensor chair and biceps curl exercises was performed using the Student's ttest for dependent samples. All procedures assumed α = 0.05 for statistical significance. All data were processed in Matlab version 2020.b (The MathWorks, USA). Results. The Fmed values for the extensor chair test at a 10RM load (101.6 ± 20.2 kg) were 78.1 ± 4.3 Hz with MT and 79.1 ± 3.4 Hz with MAA, demonstrating no significant difference (p = 0.856). For the biceps curl test at a 10RM load (27.5 ± 5.1 kg), the Fmed values were 75.6 ± 0.96 Hz with MT and 77.0 ± 3.1 Hz with MAA, also showing no significant difference (p = 0.640). Conclusion. Assessment of Fmed revealed no significant differences between MAA and MT in upper and lower limb exercises among men with strength training experience.