Top Fitness Mistake Made by Middle-Aged
Adults:
Don't forget your fast-twitch muscle fiber!
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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