

If you’re slow-twitch dominant, you have a great advantage in longer-duration activities.

Olympic weightlifting, however, will target Type IIb muscle fibers specifically.ĭuring exercise, you fire your Type I fibers before your Type II (unless you’re an Olympic-level athlete - those guys can skip right to their Type II fibers). When playing football, you primarily use fast-twitch fibers (Type IIa and IIb). Type IIa yields more endurance but produces slightly less strength Type IIb creates the most strength, but yields less endurance. There are also two types of fast-twitch fibers: Type IIa and Type IIb. During a marathon, you primarily use slow-twitch fibers.įast-twitch muscle fibers (also known as “Type II”) generate far more power and strength, but they fatigue much faster and require more time for recovery. The cells within these muscles excel at clearing waste and using oxygen as fuel and, within the muscles, there’s a high-density of capillaries, which helps bring blood to the muscles. Slow-twitch muscle fibers (also known as “Type I”) generate less power and strength than fast-twitch fibers, but they have can sustain activity for longer. Plus, learn the best way to train for your type for better and faster muscle gains. And depending on how you train - and even your own genetics - you could be either slow or fast-twitch dominant. But how can you tell? Take our test to find out which muscle-fiber type you have more of. Have you heard of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers? These are the two types of muscle that are responsible for all your gains in the gym.
