Conclusion
The present study showed that superimposed E during cycling might be a useful tool to induce a high local stimulus to skeletal muscle even when performing low to moderate external workloads. This effect might be due the activation of additional muscle fibers and mild eccentric work due to the concomitant activation of agonist and antagonist. However the higher load to skeletal muscle has to be taken into account.
Methods
13 subjects participated in three experimental trials each lasting 60 min in a randomized order. 1) Cycling (C), 2) Cycling with superimposed E (C+E) and 3) E. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), creatine kinase (CK) and myoglobin were determined before (pre) and 0', 30', 60', 240' and 24h after each intervention.
Results
Only C+E caused significant increases in levels of CK and myoglobin. BDNF and IL-6 significantly increased after C and C+E, however increases for IL-6 were significantly higher after C+E compared to C.