THE CHRONIC EFFECT OF STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY TRAINING ON STIFFNESS AND RANGE OF MOTION

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Twelve male subjects were in the training group (T) who performed concentric strength training (CON) on one side and concentric plus flexibility training (CON_F) on the other side; other 10 subjects served as a control (C). A strength and stretch tests were administered before and after the training period. After 6 weeks of training a significant difference between pre and posttest was found for the 1 repetition maximum (1RM) test on T group. The ROM increased significantly only in CONC_F group. No differences between groups or time existed was found for stiffness. Concentric training was able to enhance strength without any alterations in the stiffness of muscle-tendon unit (MTU). The concentric training combined with flexibility training was able to increase strength and ROM without any augmentation in stiffness.