Fatigue during dynamic muscle contractions in male sprinters and marathon runners: relationships between performance, electromyographic activity, muscle cross-sectional area and morphology

Knee extensor fatigue and endurance during repeated maximum isokinetic manoeuvres were studied in five sprinters and five marathon runners, all males. Fatigue and endurance were expressed in terms of output (contractional work, CW) and input (integrated electromyograms, iEMG), and was related to muscle fibre composition of m. vastus lateralis and to cross-sectional area (CSA) of m. quadriceps. The initially performed contractional work was positively related to the calculated absolute type II fibre area of m. vastus lateralis, but not to the cross-sectional area of m. quadriceps. During the first 25 contractions, sprinters fatigued, with a slope of decline in contractional work that was correlated to the absolute type II fibre area, also after correction of performed work for CSA of m. quadriceps. As the electromyographic activity decreased less than the contractional work, a drastic fall in the CW/iEMG ratio was found in the sprinter group. Three out of five sprinters could perform less than 50 knee extensions, due to subjective discomfort in tested thighs. In contrast, all marathon runners could, after a minor similar decline in electromyographic activity and contractional work during the first part of the experiment, maintain a steady-state endurance level of CW and iEMG throughout the test (200 knee extensions). In conclusion, fatigue during isokinetic maximal knee extensions is closely related to the muscle structure of m. vastus lateralis.