Rapid Strength: Function, Tasks, Role & Diseases

An explosive drive to the point, this is the infamous quick strength. Emerging during evolution as an advantageous factor in the struggle for survival, the importance of quick strength continues unabated in modern times.

What is quick strength?

Quick strength is a physical energy performance in which muscles produce an explosive effect in a very short time. It is to be distinguished from strength performances of the body such as stamina or strength endurance. High-speed strength is a physical energy performance in which muscles achieve an explosive effect in a very short time. It is to be distinguished from strength performances of the body such as condition or strength endurance. The body reacts in lightning speed to a demand in order to call up the necessary rapid strength. In doing so, it mobilizes all forces for maximum performance and expresses them selectively. During the mobilization of rapid power, a large amount of ATP, the human fuel, is consumed. This provides the strength needed to sustain the high intensity of the body’s movement. Sports that use quickness include many jumping and sprinting sports. Team sports such as soccer or basketball, as well as athletic competitions, demand a high degree of quickness from the athlete. Strength sports and bodybuilding also demand a great deal of quickness from the muscles. The quick strength can be increased by special exercises. For a high level of quick strength, it is important to train the muscle parts regularly through exercises that push the body to its limits.

Function and task

Quick strength is a highly adaptive mechanism in the human body. Through the rapid force, an intense impulse is caused in the muscles in a fraction of a second, which is carried explosively to the outside. In this process, the muscles contract with a jerk and develop a powerful thrust in the expanding movement. In the archaic societies of hunter-gatherers, quickness gave them an evolutionary advantage. Faster, more powerful people were not only more successful in escaping from predators. They also performed better in hunting and fighting with hostile tribes. Thus, speed was a helpful factor in the struggle for survival. In ancient cultures, in medieval jousting, and even in today’s technology-dominated wars, speed is an advantage for soldiers and combatants. Those who run faster, jump farther or strike harder still have the upper hand in conflicts today. Speed has even become a cultural event. Like the gladiator fights of antiquity and the joust of the Middle Ages, there are also major sporting events today. These reach people all over the world. Here, too, athletes take advantage of their speed. Moreover, they do many things to improve their performance. Performance-enhancing agents are in demand in a variety of ways, underscoring the importance of an athletic component in public reception, which remains unbroken even in the civilized world. Meanwhile, doping agents are not only part of the diet of competitive athletes. More often than not, it is amateur athletes who take performance-enhancing supplements to increase their quickness.

Diseases and ailments

From such developments, a high risk arises for the individuals. In most cases, supplements for synthetic performance enhancement have serious side effects. For example, they not only thin the blood and produce persistent vasodilation. They stimulate the heart rate and demand an excessive workload from our central organ. The consequences of this can be devastating. Too high blood pressure sets in prematurely, and in extreme cases heart attacks can occur. In addition to such cardiac rhythm disturbances, drugs to increase the speed also have a negative effect on the potency of the organism. Even more so, it causes the affected person to have a lowered self-esteem and diminishes the experience of their masculinity. Complaints such as these can then lead to further supplement abuse, as one’s own inadequacy is expressed through extensive virility. High training demands are also often the cause of premature aging of tendons and ligaments.Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, exercisers neglect their limits and push their bodies to perform feats for which they are fundamentally not ready. Knee problems, torn ligaments, overstretching, strains and other such complaints are evidence of excessive training intensity. In such cases, the muscles may be able to withstand the high training load. However, the rest of the body and especially the motor apparatus are far from being able to cope with the demands. Overexertion in the unreasonable pursuit of rapid strength is often the cause of massive pain and dysfunction in old age. To prevent these developments, it is necessary to set long-term goals in the training of quickness, which are tackled prudently. In this way, one not only preserves one’s body, but also one’s environment. Likewise it represents a serious problem, if the high-speed strength can no longer be called up by a weakening. Losses in the development of rapid strength hinder motor skills and reduce the mobility of the body. With chronic diseases of the neuromuscular system, even the supposedly easiest tasks cause difficulties. Diseases that permanently weaken muscle strength include multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Even temporary ailments such as strains or bruises affect the ability to perform movements that require quickness.