Find out why your muscle mass and absolute strength are the least important factors in arm wrestling. Most of the representatives of armwrestling are quite poorly versed in the features of the ligamentous-tendon apparatus. First of all, this concerns confusion with the definition of ligaments and tendons. In addition, they often endow the ligaments with supernatural abilities, and by the thickness of the tendons they can immediately determine the genetic tendency of a person to engage in this sport.
It can be assumed that they are not familiar with the anatomy textbook, but given that they have a good knowledge of the pronators (round and square), the instep support muscle, as well as the purpose of the brachioradialis muscle, it turns out that this topic was still studied. Today we will try to tell as much as possible about the role of ligaments and tendons in arm wrestling.
What are ligaments?
Ligaments are connective tissue of increased strength. This is achieved due to the arrangement of their fibers, namely cross and oblique motion. In normal connective tissues, the fibers run parallel to each other. As a result, some ligaments, say, the plantar, are able to withstand loads of hundreds of pounds.
Also, the ligament tissue has a large number of collagen fibers. As a result, they contain more elastin and stretch better. Some ligaments have an elongation capacity of up to 40 percent. In turn, for tendons, this figure is a maximum of five percent.
The main task of the ligaments is to strengthen the joint. At the same time, they are in no way connected with muscles and for this reason they simply cannot take part in muscle contraction. It is clear that it is impossible to pump the ligaments, although some athletes are sure otherwise. But with a high concentration of somatotropin in the ligaments, it is possible to accelerate the production of protein compounds. Thus, during training in a static-dynamic mode, we are able to accelerate the production of somatotropin and, as a result, some of the hormone molecules will be absorbed by the ligament tissues.
Based on the foregoing, we can say that to maintain the ligaments in a normal state, ordinary training is enough, and this does not require any specialization. If tensile forces are often applied to the ligaments, then they will not strengthen, but will overstretch. It is important to remember that this process cannot be reversed. After the end of their athletic careers, many disciplines in which flexibility is key often suffer from sprains, which can lead to joint laxity and even spinal cord laxity.
In these cases, there are only two ways out. The first is to perform surgery to remove part of the ligament, and the second is to exercise constantly. If you stop exercising, then the muscle tone will quickly decrease and the joints will begin to fly out.
What is the elbow joint?
The elbow joint is a very strong connection. The strength of the joint is provided by the special shape of the block-shaped elbow-shoulder joint, the annular ligament, as well as two ligaments (fan-shaped and collateral). In arm wrestling, in any case, the main movement is the pronation of the shoulder joint, which is performed statically. Thus, during the fight, a load is always applied to the elbow joint, directed towards the supination and turning the bones out of the joint. In such conditions, it can be assumed that the medial ligaments of the joint will become the main limiting factor, but in practice this does not happen.
First of all, this fact is due to the fact that the joint is strengthened by muscles that are in a tense state. It should be noted that not only the main muscles of the forearm, but also its flexors are involved in strengthening. As a result, we see that the main load falls on the muscles, and not the tendons. It is for this reason that the trauma of the ligaments is quite low.
What are tendons?
Tendons are part of the muscles that attach to the bones. They are composed of collagen fibers and fibrocytes arranged in rows between the fibers. The task of the tendons is to transfer the forces of the muscles to the bony lever.
Although the tendons are involved in the work of the muscles, they are devoid of their own contractile elements. They can be compared to powerful cables that connect muscle to bone, but are not able to affect muscle strength. The size of the tendons cannot affect strength, since this parameter is associated only with the myofibrillar apparatus. However, if you have a wide tendon, then this fact indicates the presence of a large number of fibers in the muscle tissue and, as a result, is a confirmation of a genetic predisposition to doing "iron sports".
At the same time, it should be remembered that the strength index is influenced not by the number of muscle drags, but by the number of myofibrils. Also, a very important indicator is the distance from the axis of rotation of the joint to the point of attachment of the tendon to the bone. The larger it is, the less effort you need to make to achieve a certain strength.
The myths about the great influence of tendons on the strength index have a long history, which begins with the famous wrestler and circus athlete Alexander Zass and his words on this topic. This man has become an iconic figure in power sports. But he did not have sufficient medical knowledge, and his training program was based on his own experience. His isometric training is not able to influence the development of tendons, but it is very effective for increasing strength indicators.
Note that tendon growth occurs simultaneously with hyperplasia, during which the number of myofibrils increases. On average, it takes about two weeks for myofibrils to grow, and those parts of them that connect to the tendons grow from 50 to 90 days. If you use the appropriate training program, then with the growth of myofibrils, the size of the tendons will also increase. Konstantin Bublikov tells how to train ligaments and tendons in this video:
