How Fast Do Your Muscles Twitch?

Type 2 (Fast Twitch) Muscle Fibres

Muscle fibres of this type do not require oxygen to contract. They’re best suited for short and powerful bursts of speed or strength. Compared to slow twitch muscle fibres, they tire more easily. If you want to be a sprinter, you need more of this type of fibre to produce a lot of power immediately.

Type 2b Muscle Fibres. This type is known as the classical type of fast twitch fibre. You need this type if you want to attain maximal contraction in the shortest amount of time. You also exhaust the muscle quickly because you use the energy almost immediately. Used during periods of short high intense activity.
Type 2a Muscle Fibres. These muscle fibres are versatile because they can both function well without the presence of oxygen (anaerobic) and with the presence of oxygen (aerobic). They’re also called intermediate fast-twitch fibres. They’re basically a mixture of Type I and Type II. Used during periods of prolonged high intense activities.

Type 1 (Slow Twitch) Muscle Fibres

This muscle fibre type is better at using oxygen to produce more ATP and sustained energy. It allows you to train or exercise for longer periods of time. It takes a considerable amount of time to tire them. If you engage in endurance sports, you need to train your slow twitch muscle fibres.

Here are exercises to develop both your slow and fast twitch muscle fibres:

5 Exercises Which Predominantly Develop Your Slow Twitch Muscle Fibres	5 Exercises Which Predominantly Develop Your Fast Twitch Muscle Fibres
Walking - particularly long distance	Sprinting
Lifting lighter weights at a faster pace	Lifting heavy weights slowly
Running a marathon!	High-intensity interval training
Cycling (for long distances)	Swimming
Rock climbing	Squats
Ron Clarke - regarded as one of Australia’s best world record breakers in long distance running must have had well-conditioned slow twitch muscle fibres.	Valerie Adams - a Kiwi favourite, won the women’s shot put event back in the 2012 London Olympics. She certainly would have used a lot of fast twitch muscle fibres to achieve that title.
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It is believed and hypothesised that the type of fibres which predominate in your muscles is genetically predetermined. Some people may be naturally better at some sports over others depending on their predominant type of muscle fiber. The question remains - can the type of training a person does change their fiber type? This is not yet fully understood and research continues in this area. Include both groups of exercises (for slow and fast twitch muscle fibres) to get the most out of your training. This will help to bring optimal results in your training regardless of which sport you want to excel at. Work with what you have and continue to focus on practical factors for your health like getting adequate sleep and rest, proper nutrition, mental focus, all of which will enhance your training