Fast Twitch Muscles

Oh yeah, you want fast twitch muscles.  Fast twitch muscles give you the ability to explode in your movements.  For example, fast twitch athletes are good sprinters and leapers because their muscles enable performers to generate short bursts of strength and speed very quickly.

In contrast, slow twitch muscles provide for endurance exhibited in marathon runners and cyclers.  Slow twitchers also have strength behind them but on a different wave length.  The muscle doesn’t “fire” as quickly.

I would much prefer the quick leaping ability or short bursts over power that come with fast twitch rather than the ability to run for hours upon hours.  Of course, the combination of both attributes is ideal.

Depending on what sport or activity you want to excel in, you will want to base your method of training around what muscles optimize your results.  For example, to train for football you will rely heavily on building fast twitch muscle because NFL plays usually last only a few seconds.  Basketball requires a nice combination of both types of fibers.  You need speed and quickness, but you also can’t last on the court unless you have a high level of endurance.  As mentioned above, marathon runners rely almost exclusively on their slow twitch muscles to carry them for so many miles.

We’ll talk more about different types of exercises to train for both muscle fibers next blog.

SXC.hu