Category: Wrestling

INTRODUCTION

In order for animals to be able to perform any type of movement, its body requires the use of muscles. The human body is composed of around six hundred muscles while only around forty through fifty percent of those muscles are skeletal muscles. In order to make the body move, it uses skeletal muscles and bones as a lever. The muscle provides a force on the bone that moves the bone. The muscle is also able to contract, extend, relax and flex to cause a bone to rotate around a joint. The bones, muscles, and joints work together as a lever where the joint acts as the fulcrum, the bone as a lever, and the muscles provide the effort.

This experiment was performed in order to observe the electromyogram (EMG) activity while winning or losing an arm wrestling match. An EMG is an electrical impulse that is produced whether the muscle is active or inactive. The muscles used for arm wrestling are mainly the pronator teres, biceps brachii, pectoralis major and flexor carpi ulnaris along with the deltoid, latissimus dorsii, and triceps brachii which are also used but not as much (iWorx Labs 2019). In this lab, we put the majority of the focus on the pronator teres and biceps brachii muscles.

The pronator teres is a rectangular muscle which is located on the superficial region of the anterior compartment of the forearm. This muscle has two origins at the proximal end of the humerus and at the distal end of the ulna, and it also has an insertion near the middle of the radius (Muscles of the Upper Limb, N.D.). The pronator teres serves as a third-class lever and is responsible for the flexion of the elbow and pronate the forearm. Since the motion in relation to arm wrestling for the pronator teres is turning toward the center when the muscle is active, this muscle will most likely be associated with winning the arm wrestling match.

The biceps brachii is a two-headed muscle that is located in the anterior compartment of the upper arm. The majority of its muscle mass is located anteriorly to the humerus and on average is 9 cm in length (Tiwana and Varacallo 2019). The two heads consist of a short and long head, with the short head’s origin is the tip of the coracoid process while the long head origin is located on the supraglenoid tubercle of the scapula. The biceps brachii is located anteriorly to the humerus, but it does not attach to the bone. The function of the biceps brachii is primarily as a strong forearm supinator and a weak elbow flexor.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In order to compare the EGM activity from each muscle, the experiment was separated into two different exercises. The first exercise consisted of taking measurements in a simulated arm wrestling match for the Pronator teres and the Biceps brachii. The measurements in the simulated match were recorded while the subject was both winning and losing. The second exercise was similar except instead of a simulated match, the subject took part in an actual arm wrestling match and recorded the same data as the previous exercise.

Before either exercise can be started, the electrodes need to be attached to the right arm and lower abdomen. The red “+1” lead was placed on the anterior forearm on the Pronator teres near the middle of the muscle. The black “-1” lead was placed on the same muscle 2-4cm away towards the subject’s elbow. The white “+2” lead was placed on the anterior upper arm on the Biceps brachii near the elbow, while the brown “-2” was on the same muscle 2-4cm further up. The green “C” lead was placed on the lower right abdomen to serve as the ground.

After all five electrodes were connected, the first exercise was able to be started. This was done by having the subject place their right arm on the rubber mat in the neutral position where their arm was perpendicular to the table. The subject’s arm was then moved from the neutral position to the winning position, which was the subject’s palm facing the table, while the opponent providing minimum resistance. This position was held for four seconds then was returned to neutral for another four seconds. The subject’s arm was then moved from the neutral position to the losing position, which was the subject’s palm facing the ceiling, while the opponent providing minimum resistance. This position was held for four seconds then was returned to neutral for at least two seconds. This cycle was repeated two more times in order to conclude exercise 1.

For the second exercise, the same experimental setup from exercise 1 was used. The difference in this exercise was the recording was started and the command “Start Wrestling” was given to the subject and their opponent. When the command was given, both opponents tried to win using their full strength. During the match, the sections where the subject was in a winning or losing position was marked. The test was recorded from when the command was given until one of the opponents’ hands was pinned to the table, which ends exercise 2 and the data can then be analyzed. The data gathered from both exercise was done by using the mathematical functions, Abs. Int and T2-T1 which was then plugged into the class’s main chart to be compared to the other groups.

DISCUSSION

When performing the first exercise, the purpose was to identify the electromyogram activity in the biceps brachii and pronator teres muscles when both winning and losing the arm wrestling matches. Since these matches were stimulated, the muscles being observed were not being used to their maximum potential. This is because the muscle was not being fully flexed or extended. Flexion and extension are responsible for the muscles to contract which creates tension. Tension is responsible for driving the EMG activity and the EMG activity and levels of tension are directly proportional to each other. Since the muscles were not being used to their full extent so they only serve as a baseline that can be used to serve as a control for the second exercise. All the EMG activity recorded was formatted together to compare each group’s results for each situation as seen in Table 1.1. When analyzing the data recorded from exercise one, the results were better split into two subsections which were winning and losing.

When analyzing the data for the stimulated winning arm wrestling matches, the pronator teres had the most EMG activity in every group except for Group 3T, 5T, and 3W. The average of all the groups winning pronator teres was 0.936 mV. The average of the groups for the winning biceps brachii was lower at 0.684 mV which means that when the subject was winning they were using more of the pronator teres muscle than the biceps brachii.

When analyzing the data for the stimulated losing arm wrestling matches, the pronator teres had the most EMG activity in five of the nine groups which were 0.804 mV. The average of the groups for the activity in the biceps brachii muscle was 0.679 mV. These results were the opposite of what was expected, but this could be from the lack of effort given by the subjects.

Exercise two was done to observe the electromyogram activity in the biceps brachii and pronator teres muscles when both winning and losing an actual arm wrestling match. This exercise was also split into the same subsections as exercise one.

The data from the actual winning arm wrestling matches showed that the pronator teres had the highest EMG activity in all nine of the groups with an average of 9.103 mV. The average of the groups for the biceps brachii muscle activity was 6.046 mV. This data concurs with the results from exercise one.

The data received for the actual losing arm wrestling match was the opposite of the results of the stimulated losing arm wrestling with the activity of the biceps brachii being higher than the pronator teres in the actual match except for Groups 1T, 2T, and 3W. The biceps brachii muscle average was 8.273 mV while the average activity for the pronator teres was 7.02 mV. The results of this exercise agreed with what was expected.

The results of the actual matches had a much higher strength in EMG activity than that of the stimulated matches, as shown in Graph 1.1. This is due to the actual match having much higher levels of tension which causes the EMG activity to be greater. During the experiment, the subjects were able to feel the strain in the forearm when they were winning and a strain in the upper arm when they were losing. These feelings correlate with the data by the pronator teres being located in the forearm and the biceps brachii being located in the upper arm. Along with the pronator teres and the biceps brachii, there are other muscles that are also used in arm wrestling such as the pectoralis major and flexor carpi ulnaris. The deltoid, latissimus dorsii, and triceps brachii are also being used, but not as much as the other four muscles. The reason that the pronator teres and the biceps brachii were chosen to be analyzed was because of the function of the pronator teres is to pronate the forearm while the function of the biceps brachii is supination of the forearm.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the pronator teres play a large role in winning an arm wrestling match while the biceps brachii plays a major role in losing in an arm wrestling match. Along with this information, it was discovered that there was a large difference in the strength of the EMG activity from that of the stimulated arm wrestling match and that of an actual arm wrestling match. This was due to the actual match having more tension due to flexion and extension of the muscles. The results of the experiment further strengthened the earlier hypothesis of which muscle was responsible for winning or losing the match.

WORK CITED

1. Muscles of the Upper Limb | Boundless Anatomy and Physiology. [accessed 2019 Nov 5]. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ap/chapter/muscles-of-the-upper-limb/.
2. Tiwana MS, Varacallo M. 2019. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Biceps Muscle. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. [accessed 2019 Nov 5]. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519538/.
3. iWorx Labs. 2019. Experiment HM-7: Electromyogram (EMG) Activity while Arm Wrestling: Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Lab Handout 1-2p.

Wrestling has been around since the beginning of civilization. The earliest records of it were carvings found in caves in southern Europe that are estimated to be over 15,000 years old (National Wrestling Hall of Fame). It is known as the oldest sport and it has changed a lot over time. Wrestling is a combat-based sport that has been around for thousands and thousands of years. In this time the rules, the styles, and the way it’s done have been changed. These are the changes that have been made to wrestling over the last 15-20,000 years. Wrestling has been around for over 15,000 years and it’s changed a lot.

Wrestling started in Ancient Greece as an Olympic Sport. Wrestling has been an Olympic sport since 776 BCE. (Britannica). The first Olympic Games were held in Greece, 776 BCE. Which including wrestling. At the games in Athens, wrestling tournaments were held but there were no weight classes and the wrestlers wrestled under similar rules to current day Olympic wrestling. The most famous wrestler from Ancient Greece was a man named Milo of Croton. Milo was a wrestler from Crotone, Italy that was a six-time Olympic victor and was claimed to be the best and most known wrestler. Wrestling was not as popular with Rome as it was to Greece and with the fall of the Roman Empire, we did not hear much about wrestling until about 800 CE.

In Persia the rulers would hire mercenaries, these mercenaries used a style of wrestling called Koresh. This loose style of wrestling allowed wrestlers to grab the pants of their opponent, which were usually made of leather. The goal of the sport was to momentarily get their opponents back flat on the ground. Soon after Turks and Mongols invaded and Mongolian wrestling was created. In Mongolian wrestling or bökh wrestling slap their thighs to show they are both ready. The goal of bökh is to get your opponent’s back, knee or elbow touching the ground. Mongolian wrestling or was very popular and even received royal patronage. The sport then became the national sport of modern Iran. Mongolian wrestling is still around to this day but there are other styles similar to Mongolian wrestling like sumo which was created around the same time Mongolian wrestling was.

Sumo is a style of wrestling that was created in Japan. Sumo is a belt-wrestling style that involves forcing your opponent out of a 15-foot circle or to force them to touch the ground with any body part other than the soles of their feet (Britannica). The wrestlers wear only loincloths and grab their opponents by their belt to move them and attempt to push or throw their opponent out of the circle. In Japan, sumo wrestling became so popular it received Imperial patronage between 710 and 1185, it also became a very popular spectator sport. Around this time the Shoguns took over the Japanese government with the help of the Samurai. The Shoguns eventually banned public sumo events and the sport wasn’t seen again until the 1600s. Sumo is still a very popular sport in Japan and is practiced today. Wrestling became popular all over the world, even in Europe, with many different styles practiced.

The first accounts of European wrestling occurred in the middle ages around the 13th century. London was said to the first place to hold an official match. In England, a style often called Cornwall and Devon was created. The style was a kind of Cornish wrestling that was usually taught to knights of the Holy Roman Empire. Wrestling was very popular and books were made with instructions of the sport. Even the English Kings, Henry VIII and Charles II and the French King Francis I were known patrons of wrestling. In later ages, wrestling became something people enjoyed spectating. Over the next centuries, Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling were the most known and practiced styles. These are the styles that are mostly used today with the exception of folkstyle, which is the style used in highschools and colleges over the US.

Today the styles Greco-Roman, freestyle, and folkstyle are the most known and used styles in the US. Greco-Roman is a style that combines Ancient Greek and Roman styles. In this style, you are rewarded when you throw or slam your opponent as it is encouraged. In freestyle, the main goal is to get your opponents shoulders against the mat for a couple of seconds to get a pinfall. Folkstyle is a style used in highschools which is a lot like freestyle except the rules try to protect the wrestling from being injured by not allowing slams that are not controlled.

Wrestling has been around for a very long time and the sport has had a lot of styles and changes over time. The number of different types of wrestling other countries have are endless and there are many types that I haven’t listed. In the future people will create new types of wrestling. The possibilities of wrestling are endless. It has been around for over 15,000 years and it can only be improved.

Wrestling has been around for a long time and in that time many things have changed. Wrestling is one of the most known Olympic sports and there are many styles practiced all over the world. This sport teaches discipline and hard work and is a great sport to try.

Professional Wrestling is a career that has a very wide gap in the pay depending on the level of experience and the promotion in which you are working for. When you begin in the wrestling world and are wrestling matches for promotions, these promotions are likely going to be small and hence the pay for these events is very low and can range from £10 to £25 depending on venue, crowd capacity etc. This a vital step however on the way up the ladder as it is through these promotions that you perfect everything from in ring wrestling to the character that you portray.In ideal world after doing this for a year or two bigger independent promotions may begin to pick you up and start booking you on their shows and these are more highly paid jobs and as more book you or you sign an exclusive deal towards one of these seasoned indie to super indie promotions this could increase to around £5,000 per tapings/month or even match sometimes depending experience and promotion.

From this position higher people begin to recognise talent and this could lead to tryouts to WWE tryouts or more likely being offered a contract for an international wrestling promotion such as Impact Wrestling (F.K.A TNA Wrestling), Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro-Wrestling etc. In these promotions wrestlers are likely to earn a varying salary of between £25,000-£40,000and sometimes up to £1,000,000 depending on which of the three you’re working for and what part of the card you are on.The £1,000,000 earnings in these promotions is very rare but possible as the top star of NJPW,Kazuchika Okada, in 2015 earned $2.2 million(£1.6 million).These types of salaries in these businesses as previously mentioned are very uncommon and these types of salaries are usually reserved for the top stars in the highest grossing wrestling promotion in the world, the WWE. To reach these seven figure sums in the WWE a wrestler must first make its way through the performance center and developmental stage of the WWE. This developmental brand is known as NXT and is pretty much like TNA and ROH etc. however you have an official WWE contract and instead of earning between £25,000-£40,000 they earn between £50,000 and 150,000, with the average coming in at £80,000. When the call is made to move a wrestler to the top brands in Raw and Smackdown the salaries make a massive increase.

On the top brands their is 4 levels of workers:the jobbers(who come in to just to get destroyed in order to get another wrestler over); the lower mid card(people who will make the occasional appearance and usually lose to main eventers and higher mid carders but do still win matches occasionally); the high mid carders (these are the wrestlers who will fight for the lower championships such as the Intercontinental Championship and United States Championship); and finally their is the main eventers (these are the top stars in the WWE and are always around the WWE and Universal Championships but can drop to the lower title if needs be).A jobber on the main roster, such as Curt Hawkins, earns $200,000 (£150,000),the lower mid carders,such as Apollo Crews, earns $300,000(£230,000). The high mid-carders,such as Rusev, earn $800,000 (£610,000).The main eventer and top stars, such as Brock Lesnar or John Cena, earn around $10million (£7.6 million).

These salaries may seem as if they are very high wages however a massive portion of earning is lost through wrestling. This is because of the price to travel around the country to wrestle the matches that you are booked in. This alone can cost a wrestler thousands a year, which some do not earn enough to cover and hence plummet into debt in pursuit of their dream. On top of this the price of a place to stay adds to this expense and is a major reason that many wrestlers live in their cars when they have a show on that day. The price of buying a wrestling attire can become very expensive depending how detailed the attire is and the different elements to it.For example most wrestling tights begin at £80 for plain black ones and this price keeps rising heavily the more customised and complicated the design is, this can result in tights alone coming in at over £250.On top of this every wrestler needs knee pads to protect themselves and a good pair of these can range from around £25-£50 depending on quality and brand. A wrestler will most likely need footwear and these can vary as most footwear can be worn in a wrestling environment however if you were to wear traditional wrestling footwear in wrestling boots these can come in at over £50 for pre-made one colour boots but if custom boots were wanted then these can come in at over £150.

Away from shows a lot of work also has to go in to things such as a good diet, keeping in shape and wrestling training. A good and nutritious diet is very expensive to maintain due to the price of fresh foods compared to frozen foods.In addition to this a wrestler must work hard in the gym and gym memberships do not come in cheap as they can be over £100 per annum if using a reliable and high-end gym. Moreover to training in the gym, training in a wrestling academy is also very important, a good wrestling academy can come in at over £1000 per annum and wrestling training must be done for a year or two before actually having a match and continued afterwards to stay at your peak or to keep improving and hence can be very hard to maintain.