Resistance is the physical capacity that allows you to sustain a certain effort for as long as possible. This ability reflects the efficiency of the energy systems involved in the execution of the motor gesture; to be performed, in fact, any movement requires a certain amount of ATP (energy currency of the organism) distributed over a certain period of time. Having more energy available means maintaining the effort for longer without loss of performance; in a nutshell, energy is synonymous not only with power, but also with resistance. Think, for example, of a marathon runner: he will need a high and constant flow of ATP over a fairly long period of time (3-4 h); on the contrary, a centometrist needs a massive amount of ATP in an extremely short time (about 10 seconds). With regard to the latter, we know that after starting from the blocks it reaches its maximum speed within about 40 meters, after which it must try to keep it up to the finish line; it must therefore resist stress. This trivial example makes us understand how there are so many forms of resistance and consequently various methods to train it.
Types of resistance
Resistance, understood as the ability to prolong a more or less demanding physical activity over time, may involve a restricted muscle group and the relative local energy substrates (muscular resistance) or involve important muscular masses and the entire cardio-circulatory and respiratory system (general resistance).
| GENERAL RESISTANCE | ability to sustain a general effort, often far from the athletic gesture for which resistance is being trained. The most common example is the race. |
| SPECIAL RESISTANCE | ability to sustain an effort very close to the race. |
The general resistance, unlike the special, is important for everyone, even for those who do not practice physical activity with competitive ambitions (for those who have it is the basis on which to build the different types of specific resistance). The human organism, in fact, by its nature needs to move and in this regard there is nothing better than regular exercise; if this possibility is denied him, sooner or later, he becomes ill.
Two other particular expressions of resistance are strength and speed resistance.
| RESISTANCE TO STRENGTH | ability to oppose a static or dynamic resistance for as long as possible. |
| RESISTANCE TO SPEED | ability to sustain a maximal or submaximal speed for relatively long times (8 - 45 seconds). |
Compared to maximal strength, resistance to force is closely related to energy production systems, substrate resentments and metabolite removal (while maximum strength depends mainly on muscular and nerve characteristics).
Resistance to speed, which requires a good reactive elastic force, is important in the previous example of the centometrist; after 5 or 6 seconds from the start, in fact, he has exhausted the reserves of ATP and phosphocreatine and must therefore rely on the anaerobic lactate metabolism.
From a metabolic point of view, resistance can be classified in relation to the energy system involved in the exercise. Physical activity lasting more than 10 minutes, as a rule, always involves the cardio-respiratory system in an important way, thus constituting an aerobic activity with consumption of muscle and liver glycogen, and fat; on the contrary, short duration activities require anaerobic resistance, in which the availability of glycogen in the muscles and the liver, lactic acid disposal systems and phosphocreatine muscle reserves play an important role.
