Muscle cross-sectional areas and performance power of limbs and trunk in the rowing motion

Abstract

Although it is clear that rowers have a large muscle mass, their distribution of muscle mass and which of the main motions in rowing mediates muscle hypertrophy in each body part are unclear. We examine the relationships between partial motion power in rowing and muscle cross-sectional area of the thigh, lower back, and upper arms. Sixty young rowers (39 males and 21 females) participated in the study. Joint positions and forces were measured by video cameras and rowing ergometer software, respectively. One-dimensional motion analysis was performed to calculate the power of leg drive, trunk swing, and arm pull motions. Muscle cross-sectional areas were measured using magnetic resonance imaging. Multiple regression analyses were carried out to determine the association of different muscle cross-sectional areas with partial motion power. The anterior thigh best explained the power demonstrated by leg drive (r2 = 0.508), the posterior thigh and lower back combined best explained the power demonstrated by the trunk swing (r2 = 0.493), and the elbow extensors best explained the power demonstrated by the arm pull (r2 = 0.195). Other correlations, such as arm muscles with leg drive power (r2 = 0.424) and anterior thigh with trunk swing power (r2 = 0.33 5), were also significant. All muscle cross-sectional areas were associated with rowing performance either through the production of power or by transmitting work. The results imply that rowing motion requires a well-balanced distribution of muscle mass throughout the body.

Recognition of muscle functional organisation in rowing by synergy identification

“…The muscular organisation found in this study is similar to that defined at a mechanical level in previous studies (Kleshnev 2000;Tachibana et al 2007), highlighting the functional meaning of the synergies, i.e. synergies 1-3 correspond to the leg drive, trunk swing and arm pull in the propulsive phase, respectively.…”

Elderly oarsmen have larger trunk and thigh muscles and greater strength than age-matched untrained men

“…In the rowing motion, the trunk generates about 50% of the total rowing power (Tachibana et al 2007). A recent study indicated that trunk lean soft tissue mass measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was significantly greater in senior rowers than in senior controls (Sanada et al 2009), but it was unclear which muscles in the trunk were larger in the rowers.…”

“…Because it links the legs and the arms, the trunk performs much work by swinging backward in the middle of the drive phase. The leg, trunk, and arm motions account for about 40, 50, and 10% of the total rowing power, respectively (Tachibana et al 2007). Yoshiga et al (2002a, b) demonstrated that elderly oarsmen have larger knee extensor muscles and higher aerobic capacity than agematched sedentary men.…”

Factors That Affect Selection of Elite Women’s Sculling Crews

“…In addition, although our oarswomen were relatively homogeneous in height and body fat, future research might investigate whether the distribution of lean body mass differed in segments critical to the development of rowing power (ie, anterior thigh, posterior chain complex, and erector spinae muscle groups of the legs and trunk) by use of ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging. 28 The greater strength and performance standards of elite rowers can in part be attributed to a greater lean body mass and muscle hypertrophy. 3,4,[29][30][31] Although rowing ergometry can discriminate between rowers of competitive ability, 6,7,9 a 2000-m time trial was not a significant discriminator in the assign-ment of elite oarswomen to crews in the current study.…”