Muscle fiber composition
Muscle Fiber Composition |
So, as it is written on the page Hard muscle muscle potential, muscle fibers in terms of their metabolism are oxidative (red) and glycolytic (white). Each of them has its own structure, biomechanics and biochemistry, therefore, it reacts in its own way to a certain load. In particular, aerobic exercises are performed with the participation of oxidative muscle fibers, and anaerobic (athletic) - due to glycolytic. Although, it is worth noting that at maximum weights, the maximum possible number of fibers (that is, not only glycolytic, but also oxidizing) is involved in the work.
Each person has his own composition of muscle fibers, moreover, each individual muscle group is individual in such composition. It is believed that if a certain type of muscle fibers dominates in the muscle group, then training with an emphasis on them will bring greater results. So, if the muscle group (thigh, back, chest, shoulders) consists mostly of oxidizing fibers, then your training program should include exercises in an increased range of repetitions with moderate weights. Muscles with predominant glycolytic fibers are recommended to train in a power style - heavy weights in a low number of repetitions.
If you read this material (the site is for hard gains, after all), then, most likely, oxidizing fibers predominate in your muscles, which makes you hard gains, since these fibers are poorly hypertrophied against others and even inferior to them in diameter. The simplest test for assessing the ratio of glycolytic and oxidative - 1) recall the results of physical education lessons at a school in athletics: if you had a bad sprinter (60, 100 meters), a long and high jumper, but a good styer (1500 meters and more) , then oxidative fibers dominate in your body; 2) evaluate your achievements in power sports: if there are no special results either in power indicators or in muscle changes, then white (glycolytic) fibers in your body are in the minority. If in both cases you cannot boast of any results, that is, in sports, frankly, you are a loser, then the problem with muscle growth will be associated not only with the quality of muscle fibers (you need to look for other causes of failure).
To find out the composition of the fibers of a particular muscle more accurately (of course, by laboratory tests - by puncture biopsy - the results will be much reliable), it is necessary to determine the maximum weight of 1 PM for a working exercise for a particular muscle group. After that, a weight equal to 80% of this (maximum) value is taken, and an exercise for the maximum number of repetitions is performed with this weight. It is noteworthy that when testing the exercises it is necessary to observe a clear technique, so as not to include other muscle groups in the work, to exclude cheating. For example, if you are doing a squat, try to use your back as little as possible (lean forward), and work only with your hips.
If the maximum number of repetitions with a weight of 80% of 1 PM turned out to be no more than 8, then glycolytic fibers dominate in the muscle group, if the maximum number of repetitions exceeds 8-10, then the predominant fibers are oxidative.
Consider the test results in more detail:
5 and fewer test repetitions means that the dominant fibers will most effectively hypertrophy if they train in a power mode on an ongoing basis;
6-8 test repetitions implies the need to add non-strength exercises (light weights, many repetitions) to the strength training regimen in the form of periodization;
9-10 test reps promise the greatest development of muscles with a ratio of strength and non-strength training in a ratio of one to one (we are again talking about periodization - the sequence of training periods);
more than 10 test repetitions means that you need to do based on the frequent alternation of power and non-power programs. Moreover, the total (for example, one-year) duration of non-force training should exceed strength programs.
It is written here about what kind of load to apply in the power period to trainees in which slow muscle fibers dominate..
There are other empirical methods for assessing muscle composition and even whole systems for determining genetic capabilities in bodybuilding..
However, practice shows that pay attention to the composition of muscle fibers and adjust training planning should begin after a course of training aimed at increasing strength indicators in the basic basic exercises, to increase the total body weight (naturally, beginners should start this course after a certain introductory period training). And as the correct course, the sequence of program A, program B, program C is proposed.
Read also:
Hardgainer Ectomorph Anatomy
Hardgainer muscle potential
1 comment on the entry Composition of muscle fibers
Anton:
08/03/2015 at 02:19
the test is not correct and does not mean anything. this time. the method of training differs not in that the oxidizing muscle or glycolytic muscle, but according to what threshold of inclusion is needed to train it. the number of repetitions never changes. always to failure!!!
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