From another thread:
> I have no interest in short distances since I have no fast-twitch fibers to speak of.
It's been decades since I was a physiology student, but I have to wonder if fast twitch fibers would be really all that useful to swimming, even to the short sprints. Maybe for 25s. I would think that larger cross sectional area of the swimming musculature (more available power) and the ability to recruit more muscle fibers simultaneously (using a larger fraction of the power on tap) would be more important for sprinting. Are there published studies which demonstrate that drop dead sprinters have a significantly different distribution of fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers than the rest of the swimming population?
Are there published studies which demonstrate that drop dead sprinters have a significantly different distribution of fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers than the rest of the swimming population?
I'd certainly like to know that since I come from a track & field background and that's what is ingrained in my head. Sprints and throwing events are all about recruiting fast twitch muscle cells.
An BTW Skip, I worked at GE R&D for many years.
Like Sumo, I came into swimming from a T&F/distance running background. In HS our distance coach would have us do drills that 'supposedly' increased fast-twitch muscle fibers (e.g. Sets of downhill sprints). Not sure if it really worked. But unlike in running, in swimming I think the athlete's physical makeup comes into play more. All other things being equal...two swimmers with identical stature, muscle distribution and make-up, stroke, etc. The only difference is that one swimmer has slightly larger hands, while the other has more fast-twitch muscle fiber. What's the possibility of the larger hands trumping the fast-twitch muscles?
Dan
I can't explain Dara except that maybe she missed her true calling, but this does explain why you're able to blast from the 50 to the 1650.
patrick,
to my recollection i have not swum the 1650 since 1987. swc champs to be exact. if my aged memory is correct.
were you and i both in the finals?
egad why do i even want to remember that let alone do it again???
I can't explain Dara except that maybe she missed her true calling
Two bits she could have also been a fantastic distance swimmer, but had no interest in swimming distance!
i have actually had a muscle biopsy done to determine muscle composition.
in 1983, 24 of us from MVN were lab rats for the University of Irvine and the USOC.
we did all kinds of test, leg dyno, vo2 on swim bench, stretch distance, vertical leap, lung capacity, bicep curl....
i forget exactly how may it was, but the very last thing was...a nice little shot of novacain in your thigh to deaden the skin
the razor blade to open the skin (yes i still have the scar)
and then the knitting needle sized biopsy plunge.
imagine someone shoving a pencil into your thigh.
of those 24, at least 3 of them (mike o'brien, tiffany cohen, and then infamous dara torres) won olympic gold medals the next year.
i think amy white was also part of the group and won a silver. others in the group that also made the '88 olympic team included dan jorgensen and tammy bruce.
why do i bring this all up?
because dara (worlds best in the 50m free at the time) had the LEAST fast twitch muscle of all of us. according to her thigh muscle composition, she should have been a distance racer not the worlds best sprinter. if i remember correctly she was 75% red and 25% white. myself was 55% red (the slow) and 45% white (the fast).
sometimes muscle composition makes a difference and sometimes it does not.
btw, when UoI and USOC came back in early '84 for us do the the same tests again, but this time on our shoulder, mark said "not only no but hell no". all 24 of our thighs took 2 weeks to recover and there was no way that was going to happen to our shoulders.
steve - the human rat
because dara (worlds best in the 50m free at the time) had the LEAST fast twitch muscle of all of us. according to her thigh muscle composition, she should have been a distance racer not the worlds best sprinter. if i remember correctly she was 75% red and 25% white. myself was 55% red (the slow) and 45% white (the fast).I can't explain Dara except that maybe she missed her true calling, but this does explain why you're able to blast from the 50 to the 1650.
i have actually had a muscle biopsy done to determine muscle composition.
in 1983, 24 of us from MVN were lab rats for the University of Irvine and the USOC.
we did all kinds of test, leg dyno, vo2 on swim bench, stretch distance, vertical leap, lung capacity, bicep curl....
i forget exactly how may it was, but the very last thing was...a nice little shot of novacain in your thigh to deaden the skin
the razor blade to open the skin (yes i still have the scar)
and then the knitting needle sized biopsy plunge.
imagine someone shoving a pencil into your thigh.
of those 24, at least 3 of them (mike o'brien, tiffany cohen, and then infamous dara torres) won olympic gold medals the next year.
i think amy white was also part of the group and won a silver. others in the group that also made the '88 olympic team included dan jorgensen and tammy bruce.
why do i bring this all up?
because dara (worlds best in the 50m free at the time) had the LEAST fast twitch muscle of all of us. according to her thigh muscle composition, she should have been a distance racer not the worlds best sprinter. if i remember correctly she was 75% red and 25% white. myself was 55% red (the slow) and 45% white (the fast).
sometimes muscle composition makes a difference and sometimes it does not.
btw, when UoI and USOC came back in early '84 for us do the the same tests again, but this time on our shoulder, mark said "not only no but hell no". all 24 of our thighs took 2 weeks to recover and there was no way that was going to happen to our shoulders.
steve - the human rat
Because, stating the obvious, swimming is very technical versus running, and there are many and more dynamic variables at play. We've all seen mega fit and powerful people floundering around in the pool...
