Gait, Running and Muscle fiber types & Why you want to train to mimic your sport.

This weeks neuromechanics explores muscle fiber types, the characteristics of each, and what that means for training. How does that relate to gait?

Our lower extremity muscles are a mix of strength and endurance muscles and each must be trained (or retrained) appropriately. If you lack endurance capacity in your gluteus medius (commonly seen with fatigue and manifesting as a pelvic dip), strength training will not help the problem… in fact, it will make it worse! Larger cross sectional area with less mitochondria, fewer capillaries and less myoglobin only fuels more anaerobic glycolysis (read LACTIC ACID PRODUCTION); if you cannot recycle this appropriately, your endurance goes down. Remember, exercise is specific as to the type of contraction (isometric, isotonic, isokinetic) as well as the speed of contraction.

Have your attention? Watch the video!

We Are and will remain The Gait Guys: piecing it together so you don’t have to.