Are your muscles red or white?

We cannot deny the fact that well-built muscles really make us look good! They make us look virile, giving us that more “astig” masculine look. They are a symbol of strength and power that any passerby won’t fail to notice and appreciate. Some people even stare at muscular men as if they are eye candies, looking at them like some sort of gods! Anyway, before we set our imaginations loose and engage in muscle worship, let’s go back to the title question and try to answer it.  So  next time you stare at yourself in the mirror or look at other guys, you will have a little brain activity to do by asking what kind of fiber could be making up the muscles you're staring at. What kind of trainings does he do? What kind of training shall  you do to attain this and that?

Muscles are essentially organs themselves.  A bicep is one organ while the tricep is another organ. As organs are made up of cells, so are muscles made up of fibers. These fibers can either be of the red type or the white type, literally classified according to their color (although you cannot really see it on a skin-covered living person). The red muscles fibers are designed for power and strength, whereas the white muscles fibers are designed for endurance. The former is essentially stronger than the latter, while the latter essentially tires longer than the former. The former looks bulkier while the latter looks leaner. Isometric and weight lifting exercises basically builds the former while aerobic, cardio exercises generally builds the latter. In any given muscle, both types of fibers are present; However, either one may predominate when it is often called to action depending on the type of training and activities that muscle is trained to do.

Muscular individuals vary in their built based on their training and hence, the predominant type of fibers that they most likely have. Of course, not to mention they also differ due to their fat mass and distribution, which is not covered in this article. Endurance athletes like cyclers, swimmers, and runners are trained for speed and endurance. They obvious have an abundance of the white fibers in their muscles.  So physically, they look lean. On the other hand, body builders are trained for power and strength. So it follows that their muscles are primarily pumped up with the red fibers. Their bodies would have a heavier built. Martial arts fighters and boxers which require both power and endurance have a good proportion of the two fibers, depending on the kind of trainings they get, whether more on endurance, more on power, of an equal of both. So their muscular bodies are intermediate of the first two mentioned earlier.

Now, you might ask, “Which is better, training to bulk my muscles up with the red fibers or with the white fibers?” It doesn’t really matter. What is most important is that your muscle training is best suited for the kind of activities you want to engage in, whether you require more strength or more endurance.

Cheers to muscle-building! ;-)