Here's a cut and past job from www.drkmirkin.com
Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
March 12, 2006
Cross-Transference Keeps You Strong While Injuries Heal
Injuries upset athletes because they know their
competitors are still training. They can maintain fitness by using
a training technique called cross transference, and so can you.
Exercising one leg or arm helps to maintain strength, endurance
and power in the opposite limb. The muscles in the injured limb
are not strengthened directly because they are not being used.
Cross transference stimulates nerves in both limbs, even though
only one is being exercised (Journal of Applied Physiology,
November 2005).
Each muscle is made of millions of fibers, and each fiber
is stimulated by a single nerve. When you exercise, your brain
sends messages along these nerves, telling only about five
percent of the nerves to contract at the same time. With training,
your brain learns to contract a greater percentage of muscle
fibers simultaneously. The more you practice a specific exercise,
the greater percentage of your muscle fibers you can contract at
the same time. When you stop exercising, your brain quickly
loses its ability to contract as many fibers at the same time and
you lose strength, endurance and coordination. However, if you
continue to exercise one arm, your brain retains its ability to
contract the fibers in the opposite arm.
This concept applies only to opposite limbs; you can
maintain strength in an injured arm by continuing to exercise the
uninjured one, but exercising your legs will not strengthen your
arms and vice versa. So if you are a runner who injures a leg
muscle, you can work the uninjured leg on resistance machines
to keep up the strength of both legs. If you are a baseball
pitcher, you can help to maintain strength in an injured arm by
using your other arm to throw and do resistance exercises.
*******************************************************
Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
March 12, 2006
Cross-Transference Keeps You Strong While Injuries Heal
Injuries upset athletes because they know their
competitors are still training. They can maintain fitness by using
a training technique called cross transference, and so can you.
Exercising one leg or arm helps to maintain strength, endurance
and power in the opposite limb. The muscles in the injured limb
are not strengthened directly because they are not being used.
Cross transference stimulates nerves in both limbs, even though
only one is being exercised (Journal of Applied Physiology,
November 2005).
Each muscle is made of millions of fibers, and each fiber
is stimulated by a single nerve. When you exercise, your brain
sends messages along these nerves, telling only about five
percent of the nerves to contract at the same time. With training,
your brain learns to contract a greater percentage of muscle
fibers simultaneously. The more you practice a specific exercise,
the greater percentage of your muscle fibers you can contract at
the same time. When you stop exercising, your brain quickly
loses its ability to contract as many fibers at the same time and
you lose strength, endurance and coordination. However, if you
continue to exercise one arm, your brain retains its ability to
contract the fibers in the opposite arm.
This concept applies only to opposite limbs; you can
maintain strength in an injured arm by continuing to exercise the
uninjured one, but exercising your legs will not strengthen your
arms and vice versa. So if you are a runner who injures a leg
muscle, you can work the uninjured leg on resistance machines
to keep up the strength of both legs. If you are a baseball
pitcher, you can help to maintain strength in an injured arm by
using your other arm to throw and do resistance exercises.
*******************************************************
