Weight training causes fast glycolytic fibers to hypertrophy (increase in diameter). Explain why this increases strength.
Weight training causes fast glycolytic fibers to hypertrophy (increase in diameter). Explain why this increases strength.
Hypertrophy is a term used to refer to an abnormal enlargement of an organ or tissue from the increase in the size of its cells. It can occur due to a number of different factors, ranging from normal growth that occurs with age, weight training, disease, or tumors.
Strength is a factor that depends on the cross-sectional area of muscle fibers. A greater cross-sectional area means more myosin and actin filaments within each muscle fiber; there are more opportunities for myofibrils to come in contact with one another, creating strong binding interactions.
The faster a muscle fiber moves, the more its cross-sectional area increases with resistance training. Since fast glycolytic fibers have more myosin and actin filaments than slow oxidative fibers, they typically contribute most to the strength of a muscle.
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