Muscles: The different kinds

Your body has two broad kinds of muscle fibre. Fast twitch and slow twitch. We use both in our everyday lives, perhaps without noticing.

What role do different muscles play?

The body, designed over years, built capacity for varying needs. To sprint and escape from a predator. To throw a spear at the predator. To lift and carry the predator once dead, over long distances.

For each role, we needed different muscle fibre.

Therefore, we built fast twitch and slow twitch fibre. Fast twitch fibre come into play when you are sprinting, jumping, strength training or agility training. The size of the muscles are large. They produce a lot of force.

But they also tire easily. The reason is that their capacity to convert oxygen into energy is low. They are built for quick, powerful but short movements.

Slow twitch fibre come into play when you are walking, distance running, swimming or cycling. They allow you to endure long-range activities over hours.

They do not produce high force, do not tire easily, and can continue to use oxygen without fatigue.

So which one do you need?

The short answer is both. Which is why exercise experts ask you to engage in both cardiovascular and strength training exercises. To train fast and slow twitch muscles.

In an ideal world, you should spend several hours a day walking. Yes, several hours. That is how the body was designed. Not for 10,000 steps.

In an ideal world, you should spend at least thirty minutes strength training. Remember, not long ago, this meant lifting logs for fire, carrying water, or even your child.

You did not have the option to say today is not gym day.

Both men and women. Young and old. If you have not been doing this for a few years, start slow, start small. Do free hand exercises with only body weight.

If you dont, you lose muscles. The longer you wait, the harder it gets.

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