The effect of uphill and downhill exercises on the balance of power in terms of the electrical activity of the working and opposite muscles of football players

Authors

Maher Abdel Latif Aref, College of Physical Education – University of Diyala
Safa Abdel Wahab Ismail, College of Physical Education – University of Diyala

Abstract

Most coaches tend to focus in their training on developing only the agonist (working) muscles, without taking into account the importance of the antagonist muscles. However, many physiological theories indicate that the antagonist muscle should receive training at a rate of 70–75% of that given to the agonist muscle, in order to prevent physical problems that may affect the working muscle due to the lack of muscular support from the antagonist during training or matches. Based on this, the idea of the research emerged—to use uphill and downhill exercises due to their potential in developing strength balance between agonist and antagonist muscles in football players. This could help establish a new training method beneficial for coaches. The study aimed to design specific exercises involving inclines and declines, and to identify the effects of these exercises on the strength balance between agonist and antagonist muscles. The study was conducted on a sample of 10 youth players from the Diyala Sports Club team, using the experimental method with a one-group design that included both pre- and post-tests. A remote electromyography (EMG) device was used to measure the electrical activity of the leg muscles. The results were processed and analyzed using the SPSS statistical package. The study concluded that the applied exercises had a positive effect in achieving strength balance between the agonist and antagonist muscles in both the right and left legs, as shown by a significant improvement in the antagonist muscles, along with improved functional harmony, indicated by a decrease in the coefficient of variation—an important indicator for maintaining optimal joint function. The researchers recommended incorporating uphill and downhill training methods due to their positive impact on enhancing the performance of antagonist muscles and achieving muscular balance.

First Page

158

Last Page

170

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Aref, Maher Abdel Latif and Ismail, Safa Abdel Wahab (2014) "The effect of uphill and downhill exercises on the balance of power in terms of the electrical activity of the working and opposite muscles of football players," Modern Sport: Vol. 13: Iss. 4, Article 12.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54702/2708-3454.1443