The strength of muscle contractions can vary from weak to strong. For example, the force generated by muscles to lift a feather is much less than the force required to lift a 25-pound weight. The force of contraction produced by a muscle is increased in two ways: 1. Summation, which involves increasing the force of contraction of the muscle fibers within the muscle and 2. Recruitment, which involves increasing the number of muscle fibers contracting. In summation, the force of contraction of individual muscle fibers is increased by rapidly stimulating them. When stimulus frequency, which is the number of times a motor neuron is stimulated per second, is low, there is time for complete relaxation of muscle fibers between muscle twitches. As stimulus frequency increases, there is not enough time between contractions for muscle fibers to completely relax. Thus, one contraction summates, or is added onto, a previous contraction. As a result, the overall force of contraction increases. Tetanus is a sustained contraction that occurs when the frequency of stimulation is so rapid that there is no relaxation. The increased force of contraction produced in summation and tetanus occurs because of a buildup of Ca2+ in myofibrils, which promotes cross-bridge formation and cycling. The buildup of Ca2+ occurs because the rapid production of action potentials in muscle fibers causes Ca2+ to be released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum faster than they are actively transported back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum.