Resistance training entrances the stability of sensorimotor coordination

Strategics for the control of human movement are constrained by the neuroan atomical characteristics of the motor system. In particular, there is evide nce that the capacity of muscles for producing force has a strong influence on the stability of coordination in certain movement tasks. In the present experiment, our aim was to determine whether physiological adaptations tha t cause relatively long-lasting changes in the ability of muscles to produc e force can influence the stability of coordination in a systematic manner. We assessed the effects of resistance training on the performance of a dif ficult coordination task that required participants to synchronize or synco pate movements of their index finger with an auditory metronome. Our result s revealed that training that increased isometric finger strength also enha nced the stability of movement coordination. These changes were accompanied by alterations in muscle recruitment patterns. In Particular, the trained muscles were recruited in a more consistent fashion following the programme of resistance training. These results indicate that resistance training pr oduces functional adaptations of the neuroanatomical constraints that under lie the control of voluntary movement.