Optimising the force capability of those you work with requires an understanding of the tissues at play and how to target these tissues with focused assessments and training. Muscle is not the only tissue that has a role in force production. Forty percent of muscle is connective tissue, which is hugely significant in the transmission of forces. The tendon is also hugely significant in the storage of elastic energy and transmission of forces. The tendon lies in series with the muscle and mysial tissues, and connects these tissues to bone to produce movement. In this block course, you will learn about the contribution of the contractile component from muscles to myofilaments, the role of parallel elastic component (mysial tissues as well as the titin filament) and how to assess and improve their contribution to force. Finally, you will learn about the role of the series elastic component and how to assess and improve tendon contribution to force production and transmission.

In this block course, you will learn about the length tension relationship and the implications for what strength looks like at different muscle lengths. You will also dive into the force-velocity relationship and how different parts of the curve impact assessment and programming. The three topics covered in this block course will be, Isometrics, Concentrics and Eccentrics. Static/isometric strength training is back in vogue, understanding the length-tension relationship will help drive tendinous, connective tissue and muscular adaptation to better effect and improve the application of isometrics to sport performance. The applications and implications of concentrics to strength and conditioning are explored in the concentrics topic. You will learn about the concentric force-velocity relationship and how different parts of the curve impact assessment and programming. Eccentrics will be the last topic covered. The applications and implication of eccentrics to your practice are many. You will learn about the eccentric force-velocity relationship and how different parts of the curve impact assessment and programming. There will be a particular emphasis around accentuated and supramaximal eccentrics.

Changing the shape as in size, thickness and length of muscle, and shifting fibre type can have substantial effects on the force-velocity properties of muscle. Given this information, this course introduces and extends your knowledge in three broad subject areas; hypertrophy, architecture and fibre type. There are significant bodies of work in each of these areas, therefore the resources narrow down on information that is meaningful to your practice. Of particular emphasis are the loading considerations for hypertrophy, the effects of, and how to train to change pennation angle and fascicle length, and how different types of training influence fibre type transformation.

Where do you start with your exercise prescription for your client/athletes? There are most likely a few areas that could guide your diagnosis of client/athlete needs. Movement screening prior to gym based training, landing ability prior to plyometric prescription, and understanding inter-limb asymmetry, are some areas that will guide your programming to better effect, and hence provide the foci of this course. Specifically, this course will: 1) introduce you to the movement competency screen, a tool that will help you determine the ability of the client/athlete to execute certain gym-based movement patterns and guide your programming in a systematic manner; 2) develop your understanding of the injurious nature of landing impact forces and provide you with training strategies to increase the resistance of your client/athletes to such injuries; and, 3) explore the area of inter-limb asymmetry in depth from both an injury and performance perspective.

Can't decide which course to do? Why not do all of them? This Physiotherapy Bundle gives you access to our first 4 online courses:

• Optimising Strength and Power: A  Tissue Perspective
• Eccentrics, Concentrics and Isometrics Unpacked
• Shaping and Shifting Muscle
• Movement Screening, Landings and Asymmetries

Each course is approximately 10 learning hours. You will have access to all of these courses for the lifetime of JC Online!

This short course aims to help you make sense of balance, and the various types of assessment that can inform better diagnostics and programming. Specifically, you are introduced to:

• The mechanical and physiological determinants of balance are discussed and balance assessment, and an exercise continuum to address problematic balance is introduced.
  
• Static and dynamic, qualitative and quantitative as well as field and laboratory assessments of balance are introduced. Force plate analysis of balance is a particular emphasis the various tests, variables and conditions discussed. A data set is presented and interpreted.
  
• A three phase model of exercise prescription for balance training, and the progression from static to semi-dynamic and dynamic exercises is discussed in detail. Exercises are introduced to address various diagnoses, and the data set from the assessment resource is used as an exemplar of how you would translate these various diagnoses into a progressive balance training program.