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Strength can be divided into two categories. Short-term endurance and long-term endurance. In humans, there are three primary muscle fiber classifications: ''Slow Twitch'' (''Type I'' or ''ST''), ''Fast Twitch A'' (also known as ''Type IIa'' or ''FT-A''), and ''Fast Twitch B'' (''Type IIb'' or ''FT-B'').


COMPARISON CHART






































































Slow Twitch

Fast Twitch A

Fast Twitch B
Endurance

Long term

Short-term, upper limit

Short-term, lower limit

Contraction/Reaction

Slow

Fast

Very fast

Motor Neuron size

Small

Large

Very large

Glycolytic capacity

Low

High

High

Mitochondrial density

High

High

Low

Capillary density

High

Average

Low

Oxidative capacity

High

High

Low

Resistance to fatigue

High

Average

Low

Activity used for

Aerobic

Extended Anaerobic

Anaerobic

Major power source(s)

Triglycerides

CP (Creatine phosphate), Oxygen

CP, oxygen




NOTES

While most people have more or less equal amounts of the fibers, some people are genetically-gifted with a disproportionate composition of them, resulting in excellent performance in a relevant sport. For example, a person with high concentrations of fast twitch B fibers would make an excellent sprinter. Conversely, this means that the same person would perform terribly in a long-distance run.

Hypertrophy of the muscles usually results from any sort of sufficient physical activity, though to varying degrees of size, dependent upon the physical activity itself. Hyperplasia , the introduction of additional muscle fiber, has only been observed to occur in animals.


MISCELLANEOUS

Many studies show that training one rigorously harms the other - eg. large muscles are good for maximal Power during short time periods, but they consume lots of Oxygen which muscles need a lot of during long periods of exercise.

Many Athletes depend mostly on physical strength, even though Coordination and Dexterity also play an important role.


IDENTIFICATION

One can determine the type of muscle that is present in a meat Food product, by looking at it after it has been cooked. White meat is fast-twitch fiber, while red meat is slow-twitch fiber. The difference is due to the greater presence of Myoglobin in slow twitch muscle, which gives it its red hue. Red meat from an animal would indicate that it came from body component that is expected to operate for extended periods of time, such as the legs. While white meat conversely comes from body parts that operate for extremely short periods, such as the muscles involved in chicken flight, an activity which doesn't last long.

Human muscle composition testing requires a Biopsy .