Temperature and forcevelocity relationship of human muscles

tractions with the handgrip muscles is established in a group of subjects. The effect of different muscle temperatures is studied. The parameters v. (maximal velocity), F, (maximal force), P,,,,, (maximal power), a/F, and H (both parameters describing the shape of the curve), and FJF, (the value of the force at which power is maximal) are established. It is shown that 1) in repeated measurements the coeffkient of variation in general is less than 10 % for all the parameters except a/F,; 2) the parameter a/F, should be discarded in comparative measurements since it is not linearly related to the course of the curve. A parameter called H should be used instead to describe the curvature; 3) an increase in muscle temperature is accompanied by an increase in magnitude of all parameters except F,. The temperature effect expressed as Qlo in the range 22-38°C is in the order of 1.2. muscle temperature; Qlo; maximal force; maximal velocity THE RELATIONSHIPBETWEEN DYNAMIC FORCE andveloc-ity of single maximal contractions of muscles can be illustrated by the so-called force-velocity diagram. Mathematically this relationship can be described by the formula of a rectangular hyperbola (9). This ap-proach does not only apply to isolated muscles but also to human muscles in vivo. In man this has been show