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The human body is able to show ability like no other organism can. This is all due to the complexity of muscles and how they are attached to different skeletal bones. Our body is properly facilitated to move with the help of a bunch of muscle cells that are overall controlled by our nervous system. There are diff muscle fiber types that involve the mobility of our body and how it is able to perform complex tasks.
When our body performs a certain exercise, the muscles are highly involved and they can impact the result. The proper knowledge of all the muscles and how they work is really important before you go for a certain type of muscle workout. Your daily workout routine should be created with proper knowledge. Using a treadmill is a great option as it targets most of the muscles.
Broad Muscle Fiber Types
Learning the science behind the muscles that are involved in our body is really essential. It will enhance your performance and you will know what type of results will be obtained from a certain exercise. You will perform better if you know what you’re doing. The knowledge of all the muscle fibers types and their working enhances the way you perform your workout and gain muscle strength.
If we talk about the broader aspect of division, there are three basic muscle fiber types.
Skeletal Muscle Fibers
These are the muscle fiber types present around the human skeleton. They are multinucleated and have long fibers. If you look at them under a microscope you will find cross striated fibers. These muscles are controlled by another system and we can voluntarily move them. You can perform any action by consciously controlling the skeletal fibers and moving your body.
They are adults with skeletal structures of a human body that means each skeletal muscle has a connection with a bone. Tendons are the small pieces that attach a bone to a skeletal muscle. The most common muscles from this type are the biceps and triceps.
Exercises for Skeletal Muscles
You can perform push-ups and pull-ups using proper equipment and dumbbells to strengthen your biceps and triceps.
Cardiac Muscle Fibers
These are striated muscle fibers that have overlapping and crossing of the myofilaments of fibers. They are controlled involuntarily by the nervous system and we don’t have any role in it. Our autonomic nervous system has total control over them. These are present in the making of the heart so that it can keep on pumping blood.
Smooth Muscle Fibers
Our autonomic nervous system controls the smooth muscle fibers. These muscle fibers are present in most of the body organs. All the inner linings of the organs of the human body have smooth muscles. They help in the contraction of the inner walls to move the content. The internal stomach walls are an example of these muscle fiber types.
Muscle Fiber Types Sub-Categories
Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers
These are also called type I muscle fibers. Their name suggests that they are slow in twitching. The reason behind that fact is the presence of high levels of myoglobin and mitochondria in the muscle cells. That way more proteins are created and they can be strengthened easily. As compared to the fast-twitch muscle fibers, these have a higher mitochondrial count in the cells.
Role of Mitochondria
Mitochondria are a type of cell organelles that carry out certain metabolic processes so that fuel is created to properly conduct the cell respiration cycle.
Role of Myoglobin
The protein called myoglobin is abundant in slow-twitch muscle fiber types as it carries oxygen. They work similar to hemoglobin and carry oxygen to different parts of the body. They are also responsible for storing them. The aerobic processes supply energy and oxygen to the slow-twitch muscles make them primary reactants.
Exercises
You can try weight lifting to strengthen your slow-twitch muscles.
Long treadmill sessions can also be beneficial for your slow-twitch muscles.
Fast Twitch Muscles
Type II or fast-twitch muscle fibers have a reduced number of myoglobin and mitochondria. Although this number is lesser, the amount of metabolic energy is still large. They get their energy through anaerobic processes without utilizing much oxygen. Mostly glucose is utilized in these processes and adenosine triphosphates (ATP) are continuously generated.
Exercises for Fast Twitch Muscles
These fiber muscle types initiate contractions after they receive an electrical impulse. You can try jump rope or HIIT Cardio.
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