COMPARISON BETWEEN UNIPEDAL AND BIPEDAL PLANTAR FLEXIONS USING TIME UNDER TENSION METHOD

Abstract

Introduction. Bodybuilding is a sport that requires all muscle groups to be similarly developed, bringing an aesthetic physique to the observers. The development of the triceps surae may be a difficult goal to achieve for some athletes. Considering this, we chose to focus on a new training method that induces less stress in muscle groups: the time under tension. Objective. The purpose of the study was to compare exercises used for calf hypertrophy using the time under tension method and to identify the optimal situations in which this method could be used. Methods. Ten subjects, 6 male and 4 female, age of 25.7±4.9 years old, height 174.7±9.5 centimeters, body weight 82±17.8 kg and with varied levels of fitness, participated in the study. The plantar flexions were done with body weight only on one and both feet. The exercises we tested were done on a 3 second cycle: 3 seconds on the upwards movement and 3 seconds for the downwards one. The subjects performed a total of 10 repetitions for each exercise. Results. A significant statistical difference was found between the types of plantar flexion measured. This indicates that the analysis of time under tension plantar flexion should take into account the actual type of movement done. Conclusions. Time under tension method for calf muscle hypertrophy should take into consideration the movement characteristics for the focused muscle group. Our results showed that postural balance and body position can influence the force and power output of plantar flexion.