Fast Twitch Muscles

There are great differences in the types of twitch muscles we have in our bodies. We have slow twitch muscles, and two types of fast twitch muscles, A and B. Slow twitch muscles have a great deal of triglycerides, but a low amount of creatine phosphate so they are good for endurance events like marathons. Fast Twitch A muscles are more equipped for anaerobic activities such as the 400 metes. Fast Twitch B muscles are more equipped for even shorter bursts like the 100 meters.

Here at Sport Science Lab we actually train all of the muscles. But we focus on training the Fast Twitch B fibers predominantly because we are trying to make athletes as explosive as possible. Muscle fibers act like they are trained. In other words slow twitch will act like fast twitch and vice versa depending on how they are trained. We do not want the ratio in the body to be the same because genetically each person is born with a certain percentage of each fibers. However depending on how you train them they will act like the other if trained that way.

We have often been asked if we train them equally? No, we focus more on Fast Twitch B fibers. Conventional methods believe that the only way to engage Fast Twitch B fibers you must use maximal loads. They are engaged with rapid stretch speeds and that is proven when an athlete is seen running or jumping. Unless you are trying to train to be a heavy weight lifter, it more beneficial to have a greater amount of Fast Twitch B muscles.