Muscle Fiber Recruitment Muscles produce force by recruiting motor units (a group of muscle fibers innervated by a motor neuron) along a gradient. During muscle contractions, the orderly pattern of recruitment is controlled by the size of the motor unit, a condition known as the size principle (Henneman, et al., 1974). Small motor units, which contain slow-twitch muscle fibers, have the lowest firing threshold and are recruited first. Demands for larger forces are met by the recruitment of increasingly larger motor units. The largest motor units that contain the fast-twitch fibers have the highest threshold and are recruited last. No matter what the workout intensity, slow-twitch motor units are recruited first. If the workout intensity is low, these motor units may be the only ones that are recruited. If the workout intensity is high, such as when lifting heavy weights, slow- twitch motor units are recruited first, followed by fast-twitch A and fast- twitch B, if needed. Therefore, it is extremely important for athletes to include strength training as a basis for a program to get faster and jump higher. Doing speed and quickness drills without having a strength basis is like putting mag wheels on a 70s Volkswagon Bug. It looks cool, but is not much for performance. CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO ALSO: youtube/watch?v=fPve5VMaC6Y
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 22:35:55 +0000
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