Question

Why is it that muscles produce the most power at an intermediate sarcomere length?

Answer 1

The thick myosin filament contains numerous heads, which when attached to the thinner actin filaments create actin myosin croaa bridges. In essence, a myosin head is similar to a cocked spring, which on binding with an actin filament flexes and produces a power stroke. The power stroke slides the actin filament past the myosin, resulting in force generation and shortening of an individual sarcomere. Because sarcomeres are joined end to end throughout an entire muscle fiber, their simultaneous contraction shortens the entire muscle.