Original paper
TRAINING-INDUCED CHANGES IN THE TOPOGRAPHY OF MUSCLE TORQUES AND MAXIMAL MUSCLE TORQUES IN BASKETBALL PLAYERS

The aim of the study was to detect changes in the maximal muscle torques in male basketball play-

ers during a two-year training cycle. We verified the hypothesis that different workloads applied during the prep-

aration and competition periods would result in changes in the maximal muscle torques of the athletes (increase

during the former and decrease or no change during the latter period) accompanied by no alteration of the per-

cent muscle topography of all the muscle groups tested. The examinations were conducted on nine senior male

basketball players from the Polish national team. Estimations of the muscle torques in static conditions were

performed at the end of the preparation (measurements I and III) and competition (measurements II and IV) pe-

riods of a two-year training cycle. Eleven muscle groups were studied including flexors and extensors of the

trunk and flexors and extensors of the shoulder, the elbow, the hip, the knee, and the ankle. Muscle torques of

the shoulder and the elbow insignificantly decreased except for the muscle torque of the flexors of the shoul-

der. Muscle torques of the flexors and extensors of the trunk as well as of the flexors and extensors of the hip,

the knee, and the ankle increased between measurements I and III and between measurements I and IV with

the only exception being the muscle torque of the flexors of the knee (which significantly decreased by 7.4%).

In the case of the flexors and extensors of the trunk and the flexors and extensors of the hip, the changes ap-

peared to be significant. The sum of the muscle torques of the upper limbs markedly decreased between the

preparation (measurement I) and competition (measurement IV) periods. The sum of the muscle torques of the

trunk and the lower limbs and the sum of the muscle torques of the eleven muscle groups significantly increased

between measurements I and IV. Percent muscle topography significantly decreased for the flexors and exten-

sors of the shoulder and the elbow. Likewise, the muscle topography for the sum of the upper extremities was

significantly reduced. No changes in the “flexors-extensors” indices of the shoulder, the elbow, the hip, and the

knee were observed during the two-year training cycle.