Recently someone wrote to me asking why I distinguish between the words
"maximum " and "optimum", especially since the Oxford Concise Dictionary
defines optimum as meaning the largest, biggest, most important, best or most
satisfactory. This issue is so important in sports science and biomechanics
that I would like to share this discussion with others who may not always
make such a distinction.
***Unfortunately, most dictionaries tend to give the general rather than the
specific or technical meanings of words. "Optimal" and "greatest" (or
"maximal") have very different meanings in a scientific sense. Maximum or
greatest is the largest value that anything can have. Optimum usually refers
to a value chosen to offer the best possible balance or compromise between
different factors under given conditions.
Optimisation processes are very important in engineering and science, because
production of maximum force or response by one component within a given
system may lead to failure of the entire system. That is why anyone who
talks about producing maximum force in any given muscle during exercise needs
to be very sure that this is exactly what is necessary, safest and most
efficient.
That is also why we devoted the first few pages of our "Supertraining" book
(Siff & Verkhoshansky) to explaining exactly what is meant by "maximal" or
"maximum" strength or force. Dr Zatsiorsky takes even greater pains in his
"Science and Practice of Strength Training" to explain the same difference,
as well as the concept of "maximum maximorum" (maximum of all maximums or
maxima).
Unfortunately, far too much muscle testing focuses on the measurement of
isolated muscle actions rather than the concurrent contributions made at any
instant by all muscles involved. In other words, manual testing, as well as
isokinetic and similar dynamometric devices tend to assess maxima in
isolation and often lead therapists to make unwarranted inferences about
optimal muscle involvement in any given motor action.
Mel Siff
Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
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