What Are Slow Twitch And Fast Twitch Muscles?
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Some people are naturally good at physical activities while other people are not. The main reason behind this is genetics. There are some people who are born with athletic skills and there are some that are not blessed that much. To explain this further, you need to understand how the different types of muscle-fibers affect your physical capabilities.
There are mainly two types of muscle-fibers. These two types are the slow-twitch and the fast twitch-muscles. The slow twitch muscle fibers, Type I, are the ones that function slowly. However, they have a very high level of endurance and they can last longer. Fast twitch, type 2, are the muscle-fibers that function fast and they often provide a person with the speed burst. However, they cannot be used for a long time because they lack a certain degree of endurance. The distribution of slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers are different from person to person. Some have equal distribution while others do not. There are some ways, however, on how you can develop and equally distribute these muscle fibers. But before we go into that, let us first discuss the two types in detail.
Slow-twitch are present in large amount among the marathon runners. Marathon runners do not necessarily have to run fast however they need to build a good endurance to last until the end of the race. Because of the low power output they release every time, they are able to keep their energy allowing them to last longer than usual. You can change your fast twitch to slow twitch ones by walking a lot and jogging for a long period of time. This is why if you want to join a marathon, you need to train weeks or months before the running event. This way, you can develop your slow twitch muscles. Slow- twitch dream age use aerobic metabolism.
Fast twitch, on the other hand, are present in large amount among sprinters. Sprinters need to run fast and they do not need to run for a long time. Therefore, they have more amount of fast twitch-muscle fibers than slow twitch ones. There are two types of fast twitch muscles - Type II A and Type 2 B. If you practice sprinting a lot of times, you will be able to develop your fast twitch muscles. Type II A muscle fibers use both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism while Type II B muscle fibers only use anaerobic metabolism. People with more Type II A muscle can run longer distances than those who use Type II B ones.
It is also important to note that there are muscle groups that are more prone of having fast twitch or slow twitch muscle. For instance, you will find fast twitch muscles mainly on your chest and hamstring areas while slow-twitch can be found mainly on your calves and shoulders.
Understanding slow and fats twitch muscle will help you distribute both equally.