Why don’t marathon runners compete in weightlifting contests and weightlifters compete in marathons? Can you imagine a lean runner trying to dead lift 300lbs or the bulky weightlifter running a 26.2 mile stint? Our bodies are amazing machines and capable of accomplishing tremendous feats of strength, power and endurance. The runner trains for endurance, focusing on aerobic exercise like… um running. The weightlifter trains for strength, focusing on anaerobic exercises energy systems like… um lifting huge amounts of weight.
It’s all in the twitch
Muscles are made up of different types of cells that can be simplified down to two 2 types of fiber characteristics, fast twitch and slow twitch. Fast twitch fiber is used to provide a burst of energy, such as sprinting, weightlifting or hitting a golf ball. Fast twitch fiber reaches its peak very rapidly and their “strength power” is much greater than slow twitch. The problem is the energy bursting nature of fast twitch fiber causes it to fatigue quickly and so it is not able to keep up the activity over a longer period of time.
Slow twitch fiber, as you probably guessed, is most helpful in sports like marathon running, biking, swimming and climbing to name a few. Slow twitch have lower maximum tension, meaning that they won’t bear heavy weight nor will they provide the burst of energy that fast twitch provides. What they do have is a high resistance to fatigue. They will fatigue, it will just take longer. Think energizer bunny here… they keep going… and going… and going.
Now sports athletes try to gain a balance of both. Take a basketball player for instance. He needs those slow twitch fibers to be able to run up and down the court for an entire game for long periods of time dribbling a ball. He will call upon the fast twitch fiber for those sudden sprints down to the hoop and that push of energy as he leaps in the air, shoots towards the basket, stops, changes direction and sprints back to play defense.
Sports athletes need a combination of both aerobic and anaerobic exercises to strengthen both the fast twitch and slow twitch fibers.
So what does it all mean?
Once again, it all depends on what you are training for.
- If your goal is to build endurance, think lower intensity longer duration. Ex: 60 - 90 seconds TRX Body Weight Squats.
- If your goal is to bulk up, think high intenisity, short, explosive movements. Ex: 2 - 6 reps TRX Body Weight Squats with a hop (with the possible addition of a weighted vest).
- If you are looking to gain a little of both, do a combination. Ex: 30 seconds TRX Body Weight Squats followed by 15 seconds (or about 5) TRX Body Weight Squats with a hop.
Next time you are working out, think about how you are working those muscles.