October/November Newsletter
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 5
Muscle Fibers:
SPECIAL
POINTS OF
INTEREST:
Are You Fast? Or
Are You Slow?
 Cover Story
 Favorite Recipes
By Aaron J. Allie, CPT
 Special Offer
 Client Corner
 Yoga Pose of the
Month
 Randomness Fun
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Are You Fast?
Or Are You
Slow?
Watching athletes perform
at the highest level of competition in 2012 Summer
Olympics very accurately
portrays how different
body shapes excel in different activities. Sprinters
glaze with muscles from
head-to-toe, swimmers are
long and lean, and there is
no mistaking a diver for a
shot-putter. You even feel
the urge to compete as your
1
Chrys’s Recipe 2
50% Off! Oct/
Nov Special
2
Meet Angela
3
Wheel Pose
3
Soapoint
4
emotions spring you from
the recliner to the sound of
cheering and “another gold
medal for…”
Seconds
pass and then you remind
yourself that you are slow
and have a 3-inch vertical
leap.
Your hearts and
smarts are great attributes,
but the likelihood of becoming the next Rudy is
heavily determined by your
body’s distribution of slow
-twitch and fast-twitch
muscle fibers.
OCTOBER 16, 2012
The percentages of Type 1
or slow-twitch fibers in
your biceps, hamstrings,
quadriceps, triceps and
other muscles differ from
person to person. Craig
Alexander, Roger Banister
or Greg LeMond are/were
examples of slow-twitch
athletes. As the name implies the fibers contract
more slowly and “are better suited for aerobic energy utilization and can
produce relatively low levels of force for relatively
long periods of time.”1
Type 1 muscle fibers are
rampantly abundant in endurance athletes like cyclists, distance runners,
nordic skiers and rowers
who benefit from a higher
mitochondria concentration
than anaerobic or power
athletes. A muscle biopsy
reveals a very dark crosssection of muscle full of
oxygen-rich blood. Slowtwitch fibers are very
prevalent in postural muscles like those of the abdominals, deep abdominals, lower and upper back.
However, individuals with
a favorable slow-twitch to
fast-twitch ratio in the extremities are hard gainers
when it comes to bulk or
muscle size.
Linebackers, running
backs, sprinters and other
explosive athletes benefit
from a heaping supply of
Type II or fast-twitch muscle fibers. “World-class
power athletes, such as
power weight lifters, have
a distribution of approximately 60 – 90% fasttwitch fibers in those muscles that are used in their
activity.”1 On the contrary,
elite distance runners may
have 60 – 90% slow-twitch
fibers in the same muscles.
Fast-twitch fibers occupy
your body’s primary movers in the largest quantities
including the hamstrings,
pectorals, quadriceps and
latissimus dorsi. This anaerobic environment of
quick, powerful contractions is fueled primarily by
non-oxygen energy sources
like carbohydrates. A fasttwitch athlete like Willis
McGahee is capable of
really quick movements,
explosive changes of direction and the ability to move
a lot of weight really
quickly.
However, the
chances of enduring a 3hour tennis match against
Serena Williams are very
low, as fast-twitch fibers
fatigue far more quickly
than their slow-twitch
counterparts.
PAGE
2
Are You Slow? Or Are You Fast? ...Continued
Special Offer:
50% OFF
Aaron is offering 50%
off all personal training sessions in October and November at
Club Form or Mojo
Fitness of Littleton.
$25 per session.
(Regular Price $50)
Have you tried
Power Plate or Suspension Training?
Like a good orchestra, the
booming brass and the
softer-sounding woodwinds
work together in harmony.
During activity, you recruit
both fast-twitch and slowtwitch fibers throughout the
entire movement progression. The first few repetitions on a leg extension machine will primarily be fasttwitch fibers that move the
weight stack. As the fibers
quickly fatigue, many slow
twitch fibers continue on or
jump in to finish the set.
You can manipulate this to
a certain extent. Heavy
resistance or faster repetitions enhances maximum
fast-twitch output on the
muscles that carry large
amounts of Type II fibers.
Lighter resistance or slower
repetitions enables maximum slow-twitch recruitment. However, you can’t
convert slow-twitch fibers
into fast-twitch fibers or 7-1-1 would be extreme
endomorph or 1-7-1 would
vice versa.
be extreme mesomorph.
American psychologist He then tried to predict
William H. Sheldon took it behavioral patterns (i.e.
deeper by classifying the endomorphs are sloppy
human body using 3 differ- and lazy) for each
ent somatypes:
Endo- somatype, which is likely
morph (fast-twitch, slow the reason his work is dismetabolism, pear or round regarded by many experts
body shape), Mesomorph today.
(fast-twitch, high metabolism, sprinter or leaper) For more information
and Ectomorph (high me- about the right form of extabolism, slow-twitch, ercise for your body shape
skinny or lanky body feel free to contact me or
shape). The study took check out Sheldon’s book
into account less-alterable Atlas Of Men. Sheldon
components of the human was a CU-Boulder grad!
body like hip and shoulder 1
Bryant, Cedric X. Ph.D., Green,
width, posture, muscle dis- Daniel
J., ACE Personal Trainer
tribution and other struc- Manual. American Council On Exertural ratios. Sheldon cre- cise. 2003. p. 18.
ated a 1 – 7 ranking system
for each somatype with
either endomorph, mesomorph, or ectomorph being
dominant. For example
Florida Orange Avocado Salad
by: Chrys Hyde
For more information
contact Aaron
[email protected]
OCTOBER/
NOVEMBER
NEWSLETTER
Make orange dressing by arranging oranges,
avocados and onion on 6 salad plates. If you
wish you can omit the onion and fruits of your
choice. I sometimes use kiwi. Serve with dressing, or alone over greens.
Orange dressing: 1/3 cup veggie oil, 1 teaspoon
grated orange peel,
¼ cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice,
½ teaspoon ground mustard, ¼ teaspoon salt
Shake all ingredients in a tightly covered container. Refrigerate until serving.
If desired, sprinkle with roasted pecans or pine
nuts just before serving.
VOLUME
1,
ISSUE
5
PAGE
Client Corner: Meet Angela
Question: What’s your occupation, or how do you stay busy?
Angela:
I’m an electrical engineer working on the MAVEN project, a Mars
orbiter.
Question: Do you have a favorite/funny physical fitness story or moment?
Angela:
When I was pregnant, my feet got sweaty easily, so I had a really hard
time staying in yoga poses!
Question: What is your favorite exercise to perform
(type or specific move)?
Angela:
I like yoga, rowing, and Romanian deadlifts.
Question: How has regular exercise affected your
life?
Angela:
Exercising with Aaron while I was pregnant helped me keep my energy up and
feel like I was doing the best I could for
baby Seamus.
Question: What have you learned while working
with Aaron?
Angela:
Gyms really aren’t that scary after all. :)
Aaron also shared lots of information
about the benefits of exercise for the baby
while pregnant.
Congratulations
Angela—welcome
baby Seamus! May
your days be filled
with blessings from
above. We wish
you strong health,
hope, and faith!
Yoga Pose of the Month: Wheel Pose
Wheel Pose or Backbend = No problem for
your kids. Wheel pose is an advanced pose
once you reach the adult years. It requires
much back flexibility and shoulder and triceps
strength. Use as a static stretch for the abdominals and hip flexors by holding for 40 seconds,
or do upside-down push-ups.
RANDOMNESS
Random Fact: Pumpkins were once
recommended for removing freckles
and curing snake bites.
3
Aaron J. Allie, CPT
10500 W. Fair Ave, #E
Littleton, CO 80127
www.personaltraineraaron.com
Phone: (920) 410-9895
Email: [email protected]
Follow me on
Twitter and
become a fan on
Facebook!
Just a couple breaths of
fresh oxygen can be energizing in itself. Substitute
your morning coffee for
the smell of fresh dew on
the walking trail or the
gentle tickling of waves
against your kayak and
experience nature's stimulant.
After reshaping my body as a teenager, I've continued to exercise and help many others in the
process. The backdrop has often been the beautiful scenery, singing birds and blowing grasses of
Wisconsin and now Colorado. Let me help you
train indoors or outdoors for a personal conquest,
muscle strength, improved flexibility, weight loss
or that wonderful feeling of accomplishment.