The Fountain of Youth: Build Athletic Muscle
One of the biggest problems of aging is that your body will selectively atrophy your fast twitch muscle fibers (this is sarcopenia).
As your fast twitch fibers start to diminish in size you will be more susceptible to falls.
You will also have less strength, power and will lose your ability to react quickly when you need to. Overall you have lowered capacity to produce force, absorb force, and kick ass when needed.
Your metabolism will slow down with the loss of muscle and this directly will worsen your bone density. Your balance will also get worse as will your coordination, walking and running.
This is not the outcome you want as you get older.
Sounds depressing, I know.
But there is reason to be hopeful.
By doing intentional speed and power movements you can keep your fast twitch muscle fibers alive and well.
It’s use it or lose it.
The solution is simple.
Develop your fast twitch fibers and never stop doing speed and power movements.
Slow twitch fibers (often called RED fibers due to high blood vessel content) use predominantly the aerobic system, meaning they are very efficient at using oxygen. They are best for endurance activities like running, walking and biking.
Almost all the general activities you do daily rely on the slow twitch fibers and your aerobic system. You don’t ever need to worry about these fibers because they are your default fibers that work all the time.
The fast twitch fibers use the Anaerobic system (less reliant on oxygen and are best suited for short bursts of power like sprinting or heavy weightlifting).
These fibers are what I call: Athletic Muscle.
This is not about becoming a bodybuilder or oversized powerlifter.
The physique you develop will be that of a lean muscular athlete (think sprinter, basketball player, or Daniel Craig as James Bond — lean but not big)
Here are some benefits of developing “Athletic Muscle.”
Improved muscularity (the lean athletic look you want)
Increased speed, strength and power
Faster Metabolism
Better carbohydrate tolerance (less likely to store carbs as fat)
Better force absorption
Requires less training volume to get an optimal training effect
The ability to produce force quickly (jump, sprint, throw)
Can you improve the ratio of your fast twitch fibers?
Sport scientists used to believe that even though you were able to develop slow twitch fibers through endurance training, you weren’t able to increase fast twitch fibers. Luckily this has been proven wrong.
The cool thing is that the most current literature proves that it’s possible to increase the ratio of fast twitch fibers. You can do it in a couple of weeks.
With intentional training methods, such as combining heavy resistance training with explosive movements, you can convert a large amount of slow twitch (and hybrid fibers) into fast twitch fibers.
However, If you stopped doing explosive work and did only endurance training, you would decrease the ratio of fast twitch fibers and increase the slow twitch fibers.
This is a huge finding and builds the case for starting explosive training.
Let’s talk about how to do it optimally.
Be Careful With Body Building Methods
The higher rep bodybuilding workouts (10 to 20 reps) will build more slow twitch dominance, so we want to be careful to not exclusively hang out in those rep ranges.
When it comes to building the fast twitch fibers it’s not as simple as “just lift weights.”
You need to add very explosive exercises which emphasize moving the object (or your body) as fast as possible.
As with many important areas of life, “Intent” is everything.
Combining heavy low rep strength work with plyometrics (jumps, sprints, track drills) or throws is the ticket for maximal fast twitch fiber development.
Be FAST and EXPLOSIVE To Stimulate Fast Twitch Fibers
Former Chicago Bull Strength Coach Al Vermiel said it best…
“Train slow, be slow. Train fast, be fast.”
If all you do are slower movements in your training you will adapt and get better at moving slowly. On the contrary if you consistently include explosive movements in your training, you will increase the ratio of fast twitch fibers.
Some examples of explosive movements are:
Jumping exercises (box jumps, loaded jumps)
Plyometrics (sprinting, hurdle hops, jumping rope, bounding, skipping)
Throws (medicine ball )
Kettlebell Swings, Cleans and Snatches (or Olympic lifting with a barbell)
Anaerobic Power (10-20 seconds on air bike or rower)
Drop and Catch Exercises
Planning Your Training
Stick to one power category per workout.
Choose to either lift heavy for low reps or do explosive movements each training session.
Stick with one method for 3 to 6 weeks.
The power movements are highly neurological and generally you will see faster progress in the first 3 weeks. If you are already advanced and explosive you will need to change your methods more frequently.
Keep your volume low.
You do not want to create fatigue when training power. The more fatigue you create means the slower you will move and that will not help you develop your fast twitch fibers. Do not approach explosive fast twitch work like you would approach bodybuilding training.. The less fatigue you experience the better.
Perform full body workouts.
Working the whole body means that every muscle will get more fast twitch fiber stimulation more frequently which means faster conversion of muscle fibers.
Take adequate rest between sets.
This is how you favor the conversion towards being amore fast twitch dominant human. Don’t do your sets when you are in a fatigued state.
Remember that Last Rep has the greatest impact on motor learning.
If your last couple of reps are done in a slow grinding type of way, you are not telling your brain or nervous system to remember the previous better reps. If you know that your last rep of an exercise was slow, rest a few minutes and then do 2 to 3 explosive reps. Decrease the weight if you feel you cannot move explosively. Better to lift a lighter load explosively.
As I discussed earlier, you can positively increase your ratio of fast-twitch fibers with the proper focus and training. It can happen rapidly, assuming you provide your body with the right stimulus.
Remember that whatever type of training you do is giving a clear message to your body on what you want it to become.
If you want to be a “fast twitch” beast you must prioritize power development into your training programs.
