Personal muscle fibers and training way

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elkynben

Question:

Personal muscle fibers and training way

If someone has more slow type muscle fibers (like an ectomorph type) and an endurance target (like olympic distance triathlon), would be better to do more % of fast muscle fibers and strength (these are the weak links) training?

Also the opposite for someone having fast muscle fibers looking for the same target?

Asked by elkynben - 2 answers - 12 weeks 1 day ago

r.j.b.andrade

First is crucial understand that don't exist only fast fibers (Type IIa & IIb) separate of slow fibers (type I). In the muscular system exist muscular fibers with all characteristics but in some fibers some characteristics are dominant.

If an athlete has more fibers with type I characteristics and endurance objective, the situation is perfect. Type I fibers has more mitochondria's, myoglobin and are less fatiguability. in this case keep going with the strength training focus on endurance,but is also important work the other spectrums of strength.

In the opposite situation the athlete are in disadvantage. the science (although there are few studies) shows that are possibility to change characteristics of type II fibers to Type I. the inverse is very more difficult. in this case is more important to focus the workout on this objective (work the muscular endurance).

PS: is very difficult support the exercise prescription on muscle fibers.

Submitted 12 weeks 1 day ago by r.j.b.andrade

scousemouse78

The trick is in the selection process of the governing bodies of sports. For example, the Germans used to screen their children, as do the chinese, to see who has strength or co-ordination, or balance, excellent posture etc and then depending on their attributes they would then be 'assigned' a sport. Its not the case that all ectomorphs have slow twicth fibres, somatotyping is a very old fshioned way of determining a person's features and abilities!!!

A person's somatotype is made up of all three, and each one is scored out of 7, so someone being a mesomorph, and not a endo or ectomorph is utter crap.

As for training, your muscle fibres are virtually 100% genetically gifted. However you can train some of the type 2a fibres to an extent. did you know, for example that a middle distance runner (800 and 1500m) will have the same fibre make-up as a marathon runner. It's the training regime that differs, allowing the middle distance runners to run at such a fast pace

Submitted 11 weeks 5 days ago by scousemouse78