Top Fitness Mistake Made by Middle-Aged Adults: Don't
forget your fast-twitch muscle fiber!
by Phil Campbell, M.S., M.A., FACHE, Author of  Ready,
Set, Go! Synergy Fitness for Time-Crunched Adults
If you are middle-aged or older, or planning on
becoming a fit middle-aged adult in the future, it's critical that
you exercise all three of your muscle fiber types - slow, fast, and
super-fast.
MUSCLE FIBER TYPES
You have three types of muscle fiber that make up your "muscles,"
and this is sometimes called muscle composition. The average person
has approximately 60 percent fast muscle fibers and 40 percent slow-twitch
fiber (type I).
There are two types of fast-twitch muscle fiber. The fast muscle
(what the researchers call IIa) moves 5 times faster than the slow.
And the super-fast (IIx) moves 10 times faster. And there can be swings
in fiber composition, (Muscle, Genes, and Athletic Performance, September
2000, Scientific American, Jesper).
The following chart shows that while there are differences in muscle
fiber composition, muscle types can be developed based on the way
they are trained.
MUSCLE FIBER COMPOSITION:
Muscle
fiber types |
Average
person |
Sprint
trained |
Endurance
trained |
Slow
(type I) |
40% |
40% |
55% |
Fast
(type IIa) |
50% |
20% |
40% |
Super-fast
(type IIx) |
10% |
40% |
5% |
Sprinters have more of all three fiber types than average, and a
higher percentage of the super-fast IIx. And endurance trained individuals
have more slow muscle (type I). While we are born with slightly different
muscle composition, the point is; super-fast muscle can be developed
if exercised properly.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Researchers show that anaerobic exercise (short, quick-burst, gets
you out-of-breath fast) is the type of fitness training that naturally
increases HGH
(human growth hormone). And HGH is, without question, the most powerful
anti-aging, and anti-middle-aging, body fat-reducing, muscle-toning
agent made by your body naturally.
Yet, when most finish high school (perhaps with the exception of
a few that compete in college and the small number that make it to
the pros); many middle-age adults become slow-twitch exercisers beginning
at age 20. And this is a mistake!
It's a mistake because muscle begins to waste away (atrophy) if it
is not used.
Many adults continue developing slow muscle fiber with weight training
and cardio at the gym, and with jogging. This typically only works
slow muscle fiber. If you think about it, most adults start the atrophy
process of fast muscle fiber (the wasting away of muscle) on over
half of their muscle fiber ... beginning at age 20!
No wonder we have an obesity epidemic. This year, 650,000 Americans
will hear their physician say, "You have diabetes."
The cure for the obesity crisis, the cure the middle-age somatopause
(the middle-age metabolism slow-down), the cure for insulin resistance
and (in many cases) diabetes -- is so simple, we keep missing it.
The cure is natural. And it's free. Middle-age adults should consider
adding anaerobic workouts to their fitness training.
However, it can't be done overnight because the muscle fiber necessary
to perform high-intensity anaerobic exercise has atrophied (wasted
away).
THERE'S GREAT NEWS FOR MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS!
You can build back your fast-twitch muscle fiber (starting slowly
at first) by performing plyometrics to build the fast muscle (IIa
fiber) and performing sprinting types of training to build the super-fast
(IIx fiber) to the point where HGH growth hormone can be released
through exercise.
THE TAKE HOME
Middle-age adults need to be doing more than exercising their slow
muscle fiber with weight training, cardio, and jogging. Don't neglect
slow-muscle training however; this is 40% of your muscle fiber, and
to a degree, it serves as a base for the development of the fast and
super-fast muscle fiber.
It's always recommended to see your physician before beginning a
fitness program. And even if you're in great condition, spend at least
6 to 8 weeks -- slowing and progressively -- building back fast and
super-fast muscle fiber by adding plyometrics and sprinting types
of training to your workouts.
More
Information: National
Library of Medicine. Phil Campbell is the author of "Ready,
Set, Go! Synergy Fitness for Time-Crunched Adults" Pristine
Publishers Inc. USA. A free Newsletter on this topic at www.readysetgofitness.com
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