Muscle contraction is the tightening, shortening, or lengthening of muscles when you do some activity. It can happen when you hold or pick up something, or when you stretch or exercise with weights.

A concentric contraction is a type of muscle activation that causes tension on your muscle as it shortens. As your muscle shortens, it generates enough force to move an object. This is the most ...

When muscle cells are viewed under the microscope, one can see that they contain a striped pattern (striations). This pattern is formed by a series of basic units called sarcomeres that are arranged ...

Isometric exercises are exercises that involve the contraction of muscles without any movement in the surrounding joints. Most muscle strengthening exercises involve moving the joints, using the ...

Actomyosin is a protein complex composed of actin and myosin. It is found in muscle fibers where it plays a role in muscle contraction. Actin is one of the most abundant proteins in eukaryotes. It ...

The flow of water within a muscle fiber may dictate how quickly muscle can contract, according to a new study. The flow of water within a muscle fiber may dictate how quickly muscle can contract, ...

Using powerful new visualization technologies, researchers have captured the first 3-D images of the structure of a key muscle receptor, providing new insights on how muscles develop across the animal ...

The mechanism of skeletal muscle contraction is a process that relies on calcium signaling. However, the physiological role of calcium-induced calcium release (CICR) through the ryanodine receptor ...

Time under contraction is not directly measured in a typical weight training program. Most people really don't even think about the number of seconds a given muscle is forced to work. Indirectly, ...

Beet juice boosts endurance for many (but not all) people, according to a series of studies over the past five years or so. The active ingredient appears to be nitrate, which somehow reduces the ...