The Inverted Swallow in Artistic Gymnastics and Its Related Preconditioning Strengthening Exercises: Electromyographic Analysis, Muscle Synergies and Training Implications
The Inverted Swallow (IS) is a rare isometric upper-body skill in artistic gymnastics. Athletes use Preconditioning Strengthening Exercises (PSEs) to develop the strength necessary to hold the IS at competition rings. However, the specific muscle excitation and synergies typical of the IS and its PS...
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2025-07-01
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| author | Giuseppe Rosaci Sandro Bartolomei Silvia Fantozzi Christoph Schärer |
| author_facet | Giuseppe Rosaci Sandro Bartolomei Silvia Fantozzi Christoph Schärer |
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| description | The Inverted Swallow (IS) is a rare isometric upper-body skill in artistic gymnastics. Athletes use Preconditioning Strengthening Exercises (PSEs) to develop the strength necessary to hold the IS at competition rings. However, the specific muscle excitation and synergies typical of the IS and its PSEs remain unexplored. Thus, this study analyzed muscle excitations and synergies during the IS and its five common PSEs. Muscle excitation was recorded from the pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, triceps brachii, infraspinatus, trapezius, serratus anterior, biceps brachii and posterior deltoid muscles in six elite calisthenics athletes (age: 24.5 ± 3.0 years; height: 168.6 ± 5.8 cm; body mass: 65.0 ± 4.7 kg). Non-Negative Matrix Factorization was used to extract synergies. The results showed a predominant role of the posterior deltoid and triceps brachii during the IS. Significant differences were observed in the muscle excitation of the triceps brachii between the IS and its PSEs (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.001; W = 0.765), and in the posterior deltoid (<i>p</i> = 0.002; W = 0.629). Muscle synergy patterns also differed in simultaneous muscle activation between the IS and its PSEs. These findings provide the first detailed evidence of the characteristics of the IS element, providing insights for optimizing strength training and gymnastics performance. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-d4f175de26674296a5c3b6045d3fe9132025-08-20T03:28:28ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-07-011513753710.3390/app15137537The Inverted Swallow in Artistic Gymnastics and Its Related Preconditioning Strengthening Exercises: Electromyographic Analysis, Muscle Synergies and Training ImplicationsGiuseppe Rosaci0Sandro Bartolomei1Silvia Fantozzi2Christoph Schärer3Department for Life Quality Studies, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, ItalyDepartment for Life Quality Studies, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Electrical Energy and Information Engineering, 40126 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Elite Sport, Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen (SFISM), 2532 Magglingen, SwitzerlandThe Inverted Swallow (IS) is a rare isometric upper-body skill in artistic gymnastics. Athletes use Preconditioning Strengthening Exercises (PSEs) to develop the strength necessary to hold the IS at competition rings. However, the specific muscle excitation and synergies typical of the IS and its PSEs remain unexplored. Thus, this study analyzed muscle excitations and synergies during the IS and its five common PSEs. Muscle excitation was recorded from the pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, triceps brachii, infraspinatus, trapezius, serratus anterior, biceps brachii and posterior deltoid muscles in six elite calisthenics athletes (age: 24.5 ± 3.0 years; height: 168.6 ± 5.8 cm; body mass: 65.0 ± 4.7 kg). Non-Negative Matrix Factorization was used to extract synergies. The results showed a predominant role of the posterior deltoid and triceps brachii during the IS. Significant differences were observed in the muscle excitation of the triceps brachii between the IS and its PSEs (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.001; W = 0.765), and in the posterior deltoid (<i>p</i> = 0.002; W = 0.629). Muscle synergy patterns also differed in simultaneous muscle activation between the IS and its PSEs. These findings provide the first detailed evidence of the characteristics of the IS element, providing insights for optimizing strength training and gymnastics performance.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/7537non-negative matrix factorizationstill ringsmuscle excitationstrength traininggymnastics performance |
| spellingShingle | Giuseppe Rosaci Sandro Bartolomei Silvia Fantozzi Christoph Schärer The Inverted Swallow in Artistic Gymnastics and Its Related Preconditioning Strengthening Exercises: Electromyographic Analysis, Muscle Synergies and Training Implications Applied Sciences non-negative matrix factorization still rings muscle excitation strength training gymnastics performance |
| title | The Inverted Swallow in Artistic Gymnastics and Its Related Preconditioning Strengthening Exercises: Electromyographic Analysis, Muscle Synergies and Training Implications |
| title_full | The Inverted Swallow in Artistic Gymnastics and Its Related Preconditioning Strengthening Exercises: Electromyographic Analysis, Muscle Synergies and Training Implications |
| title_fullStr | The Inverted Swallow in Artistic Gymnastics and Its Related Preconditioning Strengthening Exercises: Electromyographic Analysis, Muscle Synergies and Training Implications |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Inverted Swallow in Artistic Gymnastics and Its Related Preconditioning Strengthening Exercises: Electromyographic Analysis, Muscle Synergies and Training Implications |
| title_short | The Inverted Swallow in Artistic Gymnastics and Its Related Preconditioning Strengthening Exercises: Electromyographic Analysis, Muscle Synergies and Training Implications |
| title_sort | inverted swallow in artistic gymnastics and its related preconditioning strengthening exercises electromyographic analysis muscle synergies and training implications |
| topic | non-negative matrix factorization still rings muscle excitation strength training gymnastics performance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/7537 |
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