Written by Emily Rulli
Which do you find yourself saying more often: “man I really need to get my strength up, it is killing my workouts!!” or “man I really need to work on my cardio, I am gassed during my workouts!!”
Take a moment and ask yourself: 1. WHY am I saying this? And 2. Which one is MORE important?
Well here is some food for thought…
Right now, in your body are three types of muscle fibers, Type I, Type IIA and Type IIX. For simplicity, let’s just focus onType I and Type II.
Type I fibers are known as your SLOW TWITCH fibers. These are your aerobic or ‘with oxygen’ fibers, in other words, these fibers are what you use when doing endurance style workouts. The last important note is to remember Type I fibers have a LONGER lifespan than Type II fibers.
Type II fibers are known as FAST TWITCH fibers. These fibers are your anaerobic ‘without oxygen’ fibers. Type II fibers are used during explosive bouts of exercise. You use Type II when sprinting, heavy lifting, max vertical jumping, etc. Typically, these exercises are found during your strength sessions. The last important note to remember is these have a SHORTER lifespan than Type I.
So why should this matter to you? As you start to get up in age you lose those Type II fibers. Without them, some of life’s basic tasks such as standing up instantly, walking up the stairs, or even carrying groceries becomes a daunting task. Continuing your strength training as you age will help keep your bones and joints strong and stable; which in the long run will help keep you on your feet, literally!
You might be rolling your eyes right now and thinking, “Emily I am not THAT old!!” I know you aren’t old. This is me letting you know your strength goes first when it comes to aging. This is me letting you know to stop favoring one system over the other. No one has ever seen grandma sprinting down the isles at bingo night, but we have all helped her at one point to stand up from a chair. There is no stopping the numerical aging process, but we can be proactive and make sure as we age, we are keeping our strength up, which will keep our quality of life up.
How do we do that? With a well balanced, and personalized, fitness plan. Your coaches, lead by Head Coach Marc Z, take great pride in ensuring every workout written meets you where you are and moves you closer to where you want to go.
