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purpose of this study was to compare the effects of bicycle seat tube
angles (STA) of (72° and 82°) on power production and EMG of the vastus
laeralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), semimembranous (SM), biceps femoris
(BF) during a Wingate test (WAT). Twelve experienced cyclists performed
a WAT at each STA. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to identify differences
in muscular activation by STA. EMG variables were normalized to isometric
maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Paired t-tests were used to test
the effects of STA on: peak power, average power, minimum power and
percent power drop. Results indicated BF activation was significantly
lower at STA 82° (482.9 ± 166.6 %MVC·s) compared to STA 72° (712.6
± 265.6 %MVC·s). There were no differences in the power variables
between STAs. The primary finding was that increasing the STA from
72° to 82° enabled triathletes' to maintain power production, while
significantly reducing the muscular activation of the biceps femoris
muscle.
KEY
WORDS: Cycling, anaerobic power, triathlon, efficiency, EMG.
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