Total Wipeout: Putting Muscles to Work

Post created by Sara and Grace

Introduction

The TV Series Wipeout is considered fun entertainment in daytime television. The show displays a series of challenges contestants go through testing their physical abilities. Obstacles such as the Aqua Sweeper and Big Red Balls hinder the contestants from making it to the finish line in a timely manner. The person who makes it to the finish line first moves onto the next round ultimately leading them to a cash prize. Although the series is heavily focused on entertainment, much of the body systems we talk about in class occur on the show.    

Muscle Contraction

In Season 6 Episode 9 of Wipeout as Amanda starts the obstacle course she is first faced with the Sideway Sweeper. The goal is to run across a beam without getting hit by padded square rods swinging back and forth in front of her. Most of the time, if the contestants are hit, they fall into the pool of water below them. However, Amanda decided to grip onto the swinging rod and hold on for the ride until she could jump back on the beam. As she held onto the rod, she was exerting isometric muscle contractions. In order for her to carry her own body weight while the rod is swinging, her muscles had to fire but stay at a constant length. The myofibers are not lengthening and shortening and joints are stable even though the muscle is still activated in contraction. 

This type of contraction gives the human body the ability to hold a weight for a certain amount of time. On the Sideway Sweeper, most of the isometric contractions are engaged in the arms due to the position of the body. However, in order to hold the entire body, isometric activation has to occur all throughout the body. Due to this anatomical reaction, Amanda used isometric muscle contractions to help move her along in her race for the prize. 

Muscle Fibers

Throughout the episode, contestants face various obstacle courses that challenge not only their physical capabilities but mentality. The majority of the time, these obstacles are short, yet they are completed at a high intensity. An example we can look at is Tristan who is a contestant on episode 9 of Total Wipeout’s Season 6. He had to face the challenging obstacle course, Treadmill Doors. This obstacle course consists of big red revolving doors that are spinning 360 at all times. The goal is to run through without getting hit and take a huge leap at the end to the safe base. 

In order to reach this obstacle course, Tristan needs to run from base one and jump onto the beginning of the obstacle course. As Tristan is running, the energy that he is using to run is the ATP stored in his muscles; these are Tristan’s slow oxidative fibers. As soon as he lands onto the beginning of the obstacle course, he still has yet to run through the revolving doors and take a leap at the end to the next base. At that point, he will be using anaerobic glycolysis. The glycogen stored in his muscle will be broken down into glucose, which is oxidized to generate ATP. This generates high amounts of glycogen, which generates ATP quickly to produce high levels of tension. From Tristan sprinting from point A to point B or jumping from base to base -- these all require rapid, forceful contractions. Fast glycolytic fibers are used to produce these powerful movements.