Skeletal muscles respond to a single electric shock of sufficient magnitude by rapid, intense contractions called phasic contractions. If the ends of a frog sartorius muscle (at 0 °C) are fixed to prevent shortening, the tension increases for about 200 milliseconds and then begins to decrease, at first rather rapidly and then more slowly. More happens during this mechanical response to a single stimulation, called a twitch, than the tension record suggests.

The mechanical response to repeated stimulation depends on the rate of the stimulation. Muscle, like other excitable tissues, has a period following its action potential during which the membrane will not respond to stimulation regardless of the strength. This absolute refractory period in the frog sartorius at 0 °C lasts about 10 milliseconds after stimulation. Therefore, a second pulse within that time span will not elicit any response. If, however, the pulses are 300 milliseconds apart, the muscle will be relaxing when the second pulse is given, and the tension will appear in waves in phase with the stimulation, causing an unfused tetanus. It is possible to stimulate the muscle at a frequency between these extremes so that the tension developed by the muscle remains constant. This latter type of contraction is called a fused tetanus, and the rate of stimulation that produces it is called the fusion frequency. The exact rate depends upon the particular muscle and the temperature.

Usually, the maximum tetanus tension is from 1.2 to 1.8 times greater than the maximum tension during a twitch. Within the muscle, many elastic structures, connected in series with the contractile elements, are stretched during contraction. The attachment of the muscle fibres to the tendons at the end of the muscle and the attachment of the thin filaments to the Z line contribute to this elastic component. In single fibres, however, most of the elasticity of the series of elastic elements is contributed by the actin-myosin cross bridges themselves. Full maximum tension is not apparent at the end of the muscle until the contractile elements have shortened enough to stretch the elastic elements—somewhat like taking up the slack in a rope before a pull on one end can be felt at the other end. In a twitch, the activity of the muscle is so brief that the contractile elements cannot extend the elastic elements completely before relaxation begins; as a result, the tension at the ends of the muscle does not reach the maximum possible level. During a tetanus, on the other hand, the activity of the contractile elements is maintained, and they can eventually shorten enough to extend fully the series of elastic elements. When this has been accomplished, the maximum tension is apparent at the ends of the muscle.

Length-tension relationship

The force developed by a muscle, whether it is contracting or resting, is strongly dependent on the length of the muscle. Resting skeletal muscle does not exert any force at lengths less than the normal length of the resting muscle in the body. When resting skeletal muscle is extended somewhat beyond the normal length of the muscle, however, a passive force begins to assert itself. The exact length at which this passive force occurs depends on the particular muscle. This force is characterized as passive because it is developed in noncontracting or inactive muscles by the elastic elements of the muscle.

Load-velocity relation

When a muscle is to lift a constant load (isotonic conditions) after stimulation starts, the force increases, just as in an isometric contraction, and, when the force is equal to the load, the muscle begins to shorten and lifts the load. When both the activity of the muscle and the force in it begin to decline, the load stretches the muscle back to its initial length. The tension in the muscle is equal to the load during the shortening and the lengthening of the muscle, except during brief periods of acceleration as the muscle begins to move. Only after the muscle has returned to its initial length does the tension begin to diminish. The size of the load also determines the velocity of shortening; this relationship between load and velocity also applies to cardiac and smooth muscles.

Source of energy for muscle work

Muscles use the free energy released by chemical reactions by coupling the chemical reaction to physical changes in the contractile proteins. The exact molecular details of this fundamental coupling process are not yet completely known. Of the reactions that have been identified, the splitting of ATP is the energy-yielding reaction nearest to the contractile event. Water participates in this reaction in which ATP is broken down to ADP and phosphate (P_i); the reaction that occurs in the muscle, during which chemical free energy is converted into work, can be written as follows: ATP + H₂O + contractile elements → ADP + P _i + contractile elements + work + heat This equation emphasizes the obligatory role of the contractile elements and the coupled nature of the reaction that produces work.

Energy stores

In skeletal muscle most ATP is produced in metabolic pathways involving reactions of the sugar glucose or some other carbohydrate derived from glucose. During contraction, for example, glucose is made available for these reactions by the breakdown of glycogen, the storage form of carbohydrate in animal cells. The concentration of Ca²⁺ is transiently increased on activation of muscle. The ions are also activators of the process of glycogen breakdown. During the recovery period, the glycogen supply is replenished by synthesizing glycogen from glucose supplied to the muscle tissue by the blood. For a more detailed discussion of the metabolic pathways producing ATP, see metabolism.

In a resting vertebrate muscle, the available supply of ATP can sustain maximal muscle work for less than one second. The muscle, therefore, must continuously replenish its ATP store, and this is done in many different ways. One mechanism for the formation of ATP operates so rapidly that for a long time scientists were unable to detect any change in the amount of ATP in the muscle as a result of contraction. This immediate rebuilding of ATP is accomplished by the reactions of compounds called phosphagens. All of these compounds contain phosphorus in a chemical unit called a phosphoryl group, which they transfer to ADP to produce ATP (these compounds are also referred to as high-energy phosphates).

During rapid and intense contraction, phosphagen can be utilized to rebuild ATP rapidly and maintain its level as long as the phosphagen lasts, which in a maximally working human muscle is just a few seconds. After contraction, ATP is utilized to form phosphagen from creatine; ADP is also formed.

The amount of phosphagen is higher in skeletal muscle than it is in cardiac or smooth muscle. This correlates with the type of activity of the muscles. Skeletal muscle operates in bursts of activity, whereas cardiac and smooth muscle contract in a regular pattern. Skeletal muscle needs an immediate supply of a large amount of ATP, which is provided by the phosphagen reaction; cardiac and smooth muscle, which use ATP at a lower rate, rely on slower reactions to fill their energy requirements.