When choosing the best type of workout program for yourself, you have to understand that you will need to stimulate the muscle fiber type that will get you the results you’re looking for is extremely important. Now you can’t differentiate between muscle fibers from your outside appearance, but on the inside of the muscle tissue body, there are three main different fibers present.
The first type of muscle fibers are known as Type A Fast Twitch which are responsible for the most forceful contractions generated, however, will tire the fastest. If you were to perform an all out set of 3 reps for bench press, you would predominately be using these type A muscle fibers. They tend to have very large motor neurons and very low mitochondrial density. They will not be able to utilize oxygen very well. It is for this reason that they are not suited to endurance type of activities, because during these exercise variations, oxygen must be present in order to sustain the muscular contractions. The major type of fuel that these muscle fibers are going to rely on is creatine phosphate and stored muscle glycogen (glucose). They will not utilize stored body fat at all due to the fact that they are only able to continually contract for between one and about 20 seconds.
The next muscle fiber is also classified as a fast twitch muscle fiber but not to the extent that type A are. This muscle fiber type is mostly utilized in activities that are relatively short in duration, but are not at an all out pace. If you were to sprint 100 meters running an interval at about 80-90% of your max capacity for 30 seconds, this would utilize this type B muscle. Some characteristics of the type B muscle fibers are that they still have a large motor neuron, they are on the intermediate scale as far as being resistant to fatigue, and they have a high degree of mitochondrial density. These muscle fiber types are also able to use oxygen to a great extent, as demonstrated by their higher resistance to fatigue and longer duration of contraction abilities.
Finally, the third type of muscle fiber that you have in your body is classified as slow-twitch. This is the muscle fiber type you would use if you were to run a marathon or any other extended duration, medium-to-low intensity activity. These muscle fibers have a very high ability to resist fatigue and have a large oxidative capacity. They are also relatively slow to contract, therefore you cannot expect a great deal of force generation from these muscles, and thus, will not be intended for exercises requiring a high degree of power. They also rely more on fat as fuel, as opposed to strictly using carbohydrates or creatine phosphate.
So, now how you would train each effectively? Since type A are your primary force generators, if you wish to get a higher performance from them you’ll need to train using exercises that require you to max out your effort for a short period of time...Think sprinting at full speed, 1-5 rep sets for lifting, etc.
To train your type B muscles fibers you’ll want to slightly decrease the force with which you are to contract while simultaneously increasing the time over which you contract ever so slightly...perform 30-45 intervals repeated ten times with about a minute or a minute and a half at a low to moderate pace.
Finally, to improve your slow twitch muscle fibers, think endurance. This type of fiber will usually require the greatest amount of time to train for improvement because you’ll want to focus on simply going ‘longer’...If you’re a runner, try and run longer. If you’re a biker, bike longer. If you’re a swimmer, swim longer
So, next time you are trying to sort out your training plan make sure to take the various muscle fiber types into consideration. Doing so will allow you to make the most out of your training program so you get the exact results you’re looking for.
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