Laboratory Questions set 4 - Essay Example

A. Factors affecting strength- 1.Although men's and women's muscle tissue are characteristically the same, men generally have more muscle tissue than women do because muscle size is increased by the presence of testosterone, the male sex hormone. The larger the muscles, the stronger the person; this is why most men are stronger than most women.2. The point of tendon insertion also influences muscle strength. For example, for two people with the same arm and muscle length, if one person's biceps tendon attaches to the forearm farther from the elbow joint than the other person's, that person will have a biomechanical advantage and be able to lift more weight than the other in biceps exercises such as the biceps curl.

(Tackett 2003) Factors affecting power: 1. The ability to transport oxygen to the muscles by the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. The energy systems can be classified into the anaerobic and aerobic system and most activities generally require the use of a combination of systems for energy fulfillment. The anaerobic system is classified further into the immediate supply via the "alactic" or adenosine triphosphate-creatine phosphate (ATP-CP) and the short term energy supply from the "lactic" or gylcolytic pathways of energy supply.

For more sustained and longer term energy supply the aerobic system is utilised by the process of oxidation. The ATP-CP system provides for the first 5-10 seconds and relates to speed and strength activities thus being very important to the production of power within performance. The recovery of this system is relatively quick with only periods of 30 seconds required to be replenished and then apply repeat effort. If high energy tasks are required greater than 10 seconds then the breakdown of glycogen to glucose and