Do Muscle Fibers Determine Athletic Ability?

 (photo source)

How's everyone Tuesday going??? Mine has been pretty HOT! It's NASTY hot out there! Geez! I hear the thunder rumbling..so hopefully we get a nice lil' thunderstorm to feed the plants out there!

Thought I would do an exercise post today ;-)

My gym is in the process of changing over the equipment. If you have been a reader for a while you know the story, if not I will give a brief  re-cap:

The gym I've belonged to since I was 16 up and closed over night, the owners were having financial trouble and skipped out to re-open another (failed) gym under a different name. I do not work at the gym I exercise at. I have my own in-home personal training business, and prefer to workout where I can actually workout...and not be the chick that knows everyone and takes 5 hours to get through my workout (which is what happened 6-7 years ago when I worked for the rehab center in the gym). Another gym that has a few locations in our area, not a franchise, decided to swoop in a save the day....thank GOODNESS...because I did not really want to join an LA fitness (they tend to be over-crowded, and VERY sales oriented).

So, they have really cleaned up the gym (which is AMAZING b/c it was starting to get pretty narsty)--and now they are finally getting new equipment.

First, they started with the cardio deck. Behold...my newly, upgraded EFX Precor.

I did intervals today, so my time on here is kinda lame. I don't mind. When you are doing intervals of resistance 3 for 1 minute, and resistance 10 for another...you're time will not be that quick. I am not that fast to begin with...my running days are looooooooooooooong gone :( I decided and few years ago that it was not worth the pain and injuries. 

"sweaty me"... why, hello there ;-)

^preview from my workout today. Don't mind the poor quality and the goofy face.

I remember the first time I was able to do lunges again...for years, during my running days, when I would "work through" the knee and ankle pain...I could NOT do any lunges, I wasn't THAT dumb to scream through both.

Unlike the lady I saw in the locker room last week, screaming and agonizing while she got dressed...and once her bare behind was no longer shining in my face I asked her if she was OK. She told me she tore her meniscus, and was not supposed to do any cardio, but her surgery wasn't for another 2 weeks and she couldn't stand waiting any longer without working out. Ummm, OK!??? I never heard anyone scream and moan in pain like that trying to put some skivvy's on. NOT a great idea, sista.  Instead of waiting and resting, she worked her way through several miles on the bike. I can not IMAGINE how she was feeling with a torn meniscus. Yikes.

Anyhoo...back to the topic at hand. Muscle fibers. What do you know about them? Fast Twitch and Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers were one of the first things I had to learn when studying  for my PT certification many moons ago.

The Functional Parts of a Muscle Fiber (skeletal muscle cell)

(photo source)

The way to simply break it down on the different muscle fiber types is to look at athletic ability. A long distance runner verses a sprinter for example. They are broken down into two types, fast Twitch (Type IIa & IIb) and Slow Twitch (Type I).

• slow-twitch muscle fibers are adapted for slow, long duration contractions. Also called type I muscle fibers, they are used at the beginning of a movement or an exercise.ST muscle fibers are more resistant to fatigue because they contract more slowly (better endurance), so a good example of putting the ST fibers to use would be in a marathon runner.

• fast-twitch muscle fibers are adapted for rapid but short duration contractions. As you progress through a movement or an exercise, the fast-twitch fibers take over. Also called type II muscle fibers, they are mostly used during anaerobic workout, like weight lifting.FT fibers do not have nearly the capacity of ST fibers; a good example would be an Olympic power lifter, or a sprinter.

Although muscle fiber type may strongly influence what athletic abilities you have, they do not 100% determine  how well you will perform in a certain sport. Genetics influence your muscle fiber composition, muscle size, lung capacity and flexibility, and  unfortunately we all can't be super human like Usian Bolt (who was probably born with abundance of fast twitch muscle fibers); However, we can train our bodies to be the BEST it can be! Which is what you are doing every time you exercise or train for a certain activity. Anyone that works out knows this from experience.

 The jury is still out whether you can "change" muscle fiber types; researchers  and scientists have been debating and studying this for years.

This is just one piece of the puzzle when trying to perform your best at any activity. Each of us are unique in our abilities and how we respond to stress in an exercise program. This is why I always say that there is "no one size fits all workout." There are many factors that influence how you respond...age, proper diet, body type, rest, genetics (which determine muscle fiber type and how it responds to training, as well as lung capacity and other factors), gender, previous injuries, and even your history with exercise in general. It is important that you get a well designed, personalized program fit for your individual needs.  This will minimize your risk for injury, and give you the best chance for success ;-)

I know many of you bloggers out there have seen great success with programs like P90X and the 30 Day Shred, which is fabulous! Just be safe, and make sure you go at your own pace, and follow a good flexibility program (I know P90X covers most of the training principles--beginners & the injured should really tread lightly with this program though), switch up the activity, and learn to listen to your body! If it hurts, don't just work through the pain...I'm talking about joint pain...not muscle "burning"--learn to tell the difference...and keep it fresh, and you should be good to go!!!

When did you notice the biggest gain in your strength, endurance, athletic ability from training? What was it for? How long until you noticed a significant change?

Off to make some oatmeal cookies from Ani's Raw Foods dessert book (with my own twist of course)

:-) I'll let you know how they turn out with recipe and pics!!

Ciao for now!

xoxo