Agonist-antagonist muscle coordination is a phenomenon in which a muscle group acts as an antagonist to one another in order to produce movement. This type of muscle coordination is often seen in activities such as running, climbing, and throwing objects. The use of agonist-antagonist muscle coordination allows for efficient and effective movement of the body by reducing the amount of force needed to move a limb or object.
An agonist muscle is a muscle that is responsible for producing a movement, while an antagonist muscle is a muscle responsible for resisting the movement produced by the agonist muscle. For example, when flexing a bicep, the bicep is the agonist and the tricep is the antagonist because the bicep is contracting to produce the movement while the tricep is stretching to resist the movement. Agonist-antagonist muscle coordination involves the simultaneous contraction of both an agonist and an antagonist muscle. The contraction of the antagonist muscle helps to reduce the total amount of force needed to move a limb, thus making the movement more efficient.
Agonist-antagonist muscle coordination has been studied extensively in activities such as running, climbing, and throwing objects. Studies have shown that this type of muscle coordination allows for more efficient and effective movement. For example, a study by Ferris et al. (2001) examined the effects of agonist-antagonist muscle coordination on running performance. The study found that runners who used an agonist-antagonist coordination pattern demonstrated improved running economy and velocity, compared to runners who used only agonist muscles.
In addition to running, agonist-antagonist muscle coordination can also be beneficial for activities such as climbing and throwing objects. Studies have shown that climbers who utilize an agonist-antagonist coordination pattern are able to climb more efficiently, due to the reduced level of force needed to move the limbs (Cheetham et al., 2007). Similarly, a study by Kibele et al. (2006) found that when throwing a ball, the use of an agonist-antagonist coordination pattern increased the distance of the throw.
Overall, agonist-antagonist muscle coordination is an important aspect of movement and has been shown to be beneficial for activities such as running, climbing, and throwing objects. Agonist-antagonist muscle coordination allows for more efficient and effective movement by reducing the amount of force needed to move a limb or object.
References
Cheetham, J., Johnson, M., & Nelson, A. (2007). Agonist-antagonist coordination in rock climbing. Journal of Sports Sciences, 25(3), 305-313.
Ferris, D. P., Farley, C. T., & Lichtenstein, M. J. (2001). The influence of agonist-antagonist coordination on running performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 33(5), 806-810.
Kibele, A., Weigelt, M., & Schmidtbleicher, D. (2006). Agonist-antagonist coordination in throwing. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 22(1), 38-46.