Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)
There are two types of muscle “Fibers” that are termed, “Fast twitch (Type II Fibers) and slow twitch (Type I Fibers).” Fast twitch contract quickly but tire rapidly while slow twitch contract slowly and keep going for a long time.
If a person is looking for endurance or speed they may want to focus on the slow twitch muscles development because endurance allows them to go a longer time without tiring out and succumbing to the effects of fatigue.
If you need speed for rapid-movements where the muscles must contract swiftly you work on the development of the fast-twitch muscles. There are two repercussions involved in the use of fast-twitch muscles, i.e., you get tired fast and you consume a lot of energy.
According to the source I used for this article, the BBC Science section on the human body and mind they state, “Most of your muscles are made up of a mixture of both slow and fast twitch muscle fibers. But, your soleus muscle in your lower leg and muscles in your back involved in maintaining posture contain mainly slow twitch muscle fibers. And muscles that move your eyes are made up of fast twitch muscle fibers.”
Keep in mind that alone these terms and their development for karate and martial arts also depend and are connected to other factors necessary to make it all work, i.e., slow twitch muscle fibers contain a lot of blood vessels and rely on a need for rich supply of oxygenated blood (think of your deep diaphragmatic breathing methods, etc.) and don’t forget they also use up oxygen to produce energy for the muscle contractions. The fast-twitch muscle fibers don’t use as much oxygen to make energy so the need for a richer blood supply is less. The fast-twitch muscle fibers produce smaller amounts of energy very fast where slow-twitch muscles produce larger amounts of energy more slowly.
Anyone with any experience and understanding in karate and martial arts for sport, combatives, fighting or self-defense can already see the value of muscle fibers for fast and slow twitch. In essence it would be optimal to have a balanced set of fibers to achieve speed when needed then the slow plodding type of slow that does not need speed to be effective. That is not how our bodies work.
We, apparently but in need of further research and validation from medical sciences, are endowed with certain proportions of fast and slow twitch muscles. Some of us are actually born with a 50/50 split of fast vs. slow twitch. Your muscles as to fiber composition come from your genetics so the 50/50 may be a good general rule but is actually not set in stone. As individual humans that setting will be dictated by genetics and possibly other factors such as health and fitness with programs toward enhancing both that may effect the ratio’s.
It comes down to genetics along with your attitude and determination when training and practicing in programs meant to develop one type of fiber over the other. There are exercises that actually develop fast twitch muscles as there are exercises that develop slow twitch muscles. I tend to think anaerobic vs. aerobic types of exercise.
Slow Twitch Example: Exercises that feature sustained isometric contractions with little-to-no joint movement keep the slow-twitch muscle fibers under contraction for an extended period of time. This can help improve their ability to utilize oxygen to produce energy. Examples include the front plank, the side plank and the single-leg balance.
Fast Twitch Example: Performing explosive, power-based movements, whether it is with a barbell, kettle-bell, medicine ball or simply your own body weight, will recruit greater levels of fast-twitch fibers.
In karate and martial arts practitioners often focus on how to develop and use speed but a more robust focus should be on what muscle fiber is needed to apply the methodology necessary to defend in any given situation. Some methods may do better with the slow-twitch developed muscle fiber while other methods the fast-twitch.
Bibliography (Click the link)
No comments:
Post a Comment