Structure and Function of

Exercising Muscle

Chapter 1 Overview
Anatomy of skeletal muscle
Muscle fibers
Myofibrils
Muscle fiber contraction
Skeletal muscle and exercise
Muscle fiber types
Muscle fiber (motor unit) recruitment
Orderly recruitment of muscle fibers (size principle)
Fiber type and athletic success

Three Types of Muscle Tissue

Smooth muscle:
involuntary, hollow organs, and blood vessels

Cardiac muscle:
involuntary, heart only

Skeletal muscle:
voluntary, skeleton

Figure 1.1. Microscopic photographs of the three types of

muscle.

Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

Entire muscle
Surrounded by epimysium
Consists of many bundles (fasciculi)

Fasciculi
Surrounded by perimysium
Consists of individual muscle cells (muscle fibers)

Muscle fiber
Surrounded by endomysium
Consists of myofibrils divided into sarcomeres

The basic structure of muscle.

Structure of Muscle Fibers

Plasmalemma (cell membrane)
Fuses with tendon
Conducts action potential
Maintains pH, transports nutrients

Satellite cells
Muscle growth, development
Response to injury, immobilization, training

Structure of Muscle Fibers

Sarcoplasm
Cytoplasm of muscle cell
Unique features: glycogen storage, myoglobin

Transverse tubules (T-tubules)

Extensions of plasmalemma
Carry action potential deep into muscle fiber

Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR): Ca2+ storage

Figure 1.3

Myofibrils and Sarcomeres

Myofibrils
Muscle fasciculi muscle fiber myofibril
Hundreds to thousands per muscle fiber

Sarcomeres
Basic contractile element of skeletal muscle
Smallest functional unit of a muscle
End to end for full myofibril length

Sarcomeres
Distinctive striped appearance (striations)

A-bands: dark stripes

I-bands: light stripes
H-zone: middle of A-band
M-line: middle of H-zone

Common boundary structure: Z-disk

Sarcomeres

Sarcomere: Protein Filaments

Used for muscle contraction
Actin (thin filaments)
Show up lighter under microscope
I-band contains only actin filaments

Myosin (thick filaments)

Show up darker under microscope
A-band contains both actin and myosin filaments
H-zone contains only myosin filaments

Myosin (Thick Filaments)

Two intertwined filaments with globular
heads
Globular heads
Protrude 360 from thick filament axis
Will interact with actin filaments for contraction

Stabilized by titin

Actin (Thin Filaments)

Actually composed of three proteins
Actin: contains myosin-binding site
Tropomyosin: covers active site at rest
Troponin: anchored to actin, moves tropomyosin

Anchored at Z-disk
Equally spaced out by titin

Figure 1.5

Myosin and Actin

Motor Units
-Motor neurons innervate muscle fibers
Motor unit
Single -motor neuron + all fibers it innervates
More operating motor units = more contractile force

Neuromuscular junction
Site of communication between neuron and muscle
Consists of synapse between -motor neuron and
muscle fiber

Figure 1.6

Muscle Fiber Contraction:

Excitation-Contraction Coupling
1. Action potential (AP) starts in brain
2. AP arrives at axon terminal, releases acetylcholine
(ACh)
3. ACh crosses synapse, binds to ACh receptors on
plasmalemma

4. AP travels down plasmalemma, T-tubules

5. Triggers Ca2+ release from sarcoplasmic reticulum
(SR)
6. Ca2+ enables actin-myosin contraction

Figure 1.7

Animation 1.7

Muscle Contraction
Animation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=CepeYFvqmk4&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Ct8AbZn_A8A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=BMT4PtXRCVA

Role of Ca2+ in Muscle Fiber

AP arrives at SR from T-tubule
SR sensitive to electrical charge
Causes mass release of Ca2+ into sarcoplasm

Ca2+ binds to troponin on thin filament

At rest, tropomyosin covers myosin-binding site,
blocking actin-myosin attraction
Troponin-Ca2+ complex moves tropomyosin
Myosin binds to actin, contraction can occur

Sliding Filament Theory:

How Muscles Create Movement
Process of actin-myosin contraction
Relaxed state
No actin-myosin interaction at binding site
Myofilaments overlap a little

Contracted state
Myosin head pulls actin toward sarcomere center
(power stroke)
Filaments slide past each other
Sarcomeres, myofibrils, muscle fiber all shorten

Figure 1.8

Animation 1.8

Sliding Filament Theory:

How Muscles Create Movement
After power stroke ends
Myosin detaches from active site
Myosin head rotates back to original position
Myosin attaches to another active site farther down

Process continues until

Z-disk reaches myosin filaments or
AP stops, Ca2+ gets pumped back into SR

Figure 1.9

Animation 1.9

Energy for Muscle Contraction

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
Binds to myosin head
ATPase on myosin head
ATP ADP + Pi + energy

Necessary for muscle contraction

Muscle Relaxation
AP ends, electrical stimulation of SR stops
Ca2+ pumped back into SR
Stored until next AP arrives
Requires ATP

Without Ca2+, troponin and tropomyosin

return to resting conformation
Covers myosin-binding site
Prevents actin-myosin cross-bridging

Muscle Fiber Types

Type I
~50% of fibers in an average muscle
Peak tension in 110 ms (slow twitch)

Type II
Peak tension in 50 ms (fast twitch)
Type IIa (~25% of fibers in an average muscle)
Type IIx (~25% of fibers in an average muscle)

Figure 1.10

Type I: Black
Type IIa: white
Type IIx: gray

Type I vs. Type II

Speed of myosin ATPase varies
Fast myosin ATPase = fast contraction cycling
Slower myosin ATPase = slower contraction cycling

Muscle biopsy
Small (10-100 g) piece of muscle removed
Frozen, sliced, examined under microscope

Gel electrophoresis
Type I versus II fibers have different types of myosin
Separates different types of myosin by size

Figure 1.11

Type I vs. Type II

Sarcoplasmic reticulum
Type II fibers have a more highly developed SR
Faster Ca2+ release, 3 to 5 times faster Vo

Motor units
Type I motor unit: smaller neuron, <300 fibers
Type II motor unit: larger neuron, >300 fibers

Table 1.1

Type I vs. Type II:

Peak Power
Peak power: type IIx > type IIa > type I
Effects of different SR, motor units, etc.
Single muscle fiber recording

Regardless of fiber type, all muscle fibers

reach peak power at ~20% peak force

Distribution of Fiber Types:

Type I:Type II Ratios
Each person has different ratios
Arm and leg ratios are similar in one person
Endurance athlete: type I predominates
Power athlete: type II predominates

Soleus: type I in everyone

Table 1.2

Figure 1.12c

Type I Fibers During Exercise

High aerobic endurance
Can maintain exercise for prolonged periods
Require oxygen for ATP production
Low-intensity aerobic exercise, daily activities

Efficiently produce ATP from fat,

carbohydrate

Type II Fibers During Exercise

Type II fibers in general
Poor aerobic endurance, fatigue quickly
Produce ATP anaerobically

Type IIa
More force, faster fatigue than type I
Short, high-intensity endurance events (1,600 m run)

Type IIx
Seldom used for everyday activities
Short, explosive sprints (100 m)

Fiber Type Determinants

Genetic factors
Determine which -motor neurons innervate fibers
Fibers differentiate based on -motor neuron

Training factors
Endurance versus strength training, detraining
Can induce small (10%) change in fiber type
Decrease of IIx % with increase of IIa fibers

Aging: muscles lose type II motor units

Muscle Fiber Recruitment

Also called motor unit recruitment
All or none principle
Method for altering force production
Less force production: fewer or smaller motor units
More force production: more or larger motor units
Type I motor units smaller than type II

Recruitment order:
type I type Iia type IIx

Orderly Recruitment
and the Size Principle
Recruit minimum number of motor units
needed

Smallest (type I) motor units recruited first

Midsized (type IIa) motor units recruited next
Largest (type IIx) motor units recruited last
Recruitment is force production dependent

Recruited in same order each time

Size principle: order of recruitment of motor
units directly related to size of -motor
neuron

Fiber Type and Athletic Success

Endurance athletestype I predominates
Sprinterstype II predominates
Fiber type not sole predictor of success

Cardiovascular function
Motivation
Training habits
Muscle size

Types of Muscle Contraction

Static (isometric) contraction
Muscle produces force but does not change length
Joint angle does not change
Myosin cross-bridges form and recycle, no sliding

Dynamic contraction
Muscle produces force and changes length
Joint movement produced

Dynamic Contraction Subtypes

Concentric contraction
Muscle shortens while producing force
Most familiar type of contraction
Sarcomere shortens, filaments slide toward center

Eccentric contraction
Muscle lengthens while producing force
Cross-bridges form but sarcomere lengthens
Example: lowering heavy weight

Generation of Force
Force required is dependent on the activity
being performed
Actual muscle force developed is dependent on:

Number and type of motor units activated

Frequency of stimulation
Size of the muscle
Fiber/sarcomere length
Speed of contraction

Generation of Force
Motor unit recruitment
Type II motor units = more force
Type I motor units = less force
Fewer small fibers versus more large fibers

Frequency of stimulation: rate coding

- Twitch (smallest contractile response)

- Summation (response from several, rapid stimuli)
- Tetanus (results in peak force / tension)

Figure 1.13

Generation of Force
Length-tension relationship
Optimal sarcomere length = optimal overlap
Too short or too stretched = little or no force
develops

Speed-force relationship
Concentric: maximal force development decreases
at higher speeds
Eccentric: maximal force development increases at
higher speeds

Figure 1.14

Figure 1.15