| This
study used surface electromyography (sEMG) to examine whether there
were differences in hip and trunk muscle activation during the rowing
cycle on two of the most widely used air braked ergometers: the Concept
2C and the Rowperfect. sEMG methods were used to record the muscle
activity patterns from the right: m. Erector spinae (ES), m. Rectus
Abdominus (RA), m. Rectus Femoris (RF) and m. Biceps Femoris (BF)
for their contributions as agonist-antagonist pairs underlying hip
and trunk extension/flexion. The sEMG activity patterns of these muscles
were examined in six young male elite rowers completing a 2 minute
set at a moderate training intensity (23 stroke·min-1 and
1:47.500 m-1 split time, 300W). The rowers closely maintained
the required target pace through visual inspection of the standard
LCD display of each ergometer. The measurements of duration of each
rowing cycle and onset of each stroke during the test were recorded
simultaneously with the sEMG activity through the additional instrumentation
of a foot-pressure switch and handle accelerometry. There were no
significant differences between the two ergometer designs in group
means for: work rate (i.e., rowing speed and stroke rate), metabolic
load as measured by mean heart rate, rowing cycle duration, or timing
of the stroke in the cycle. 2-D motion analysis of hip and knee motion
for the rowing cycle from the video footage taken during the test
also revealed no significant differences in the joint range of motion
between the ergometers. Ensemble average sEMG activity profiles based
on 30+ strokes were obtained for each participant and normalised per
10% intervals of the cycle duration as well as for peak mean sEMG
amplitude for each muscle. A repeated measures ANOVA on the sEMG activity
per 10% interval for the four muscles contributing to hip and trunk
motion during the rowing cycle revealed no significant differences
between the Concept 2C and Rowperfect (F = 0.070, df = 1,5, p = 0.802).
The outcome of this study suggests that the two different ergometer
designs are equally useful for dry land training.
KEY
WORDS: Flexion, extension, land-based training.
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