Exercise for Your Muscle Type

John Speraw, Michelle Lovitt

Description

People are often dissatisfied with the success of their exercise programmes or activities, but they may simply have been the wrong programmes for their muscular structure. Exercise For Your Muscle Type eliminates this frustration by showing readers how they are built and by helping them put together an appropriate personalised comprehensive exercise programme. With a better understanding of ones own body, anyone can achieve his or her fitness goals more quickly.

Sujets

• Exercise
• Health
• Fitness

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781591206415
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Exercise for Your
Muscle Type
T HE S MART W AY TO G ET F IT
M ICHELLE L OVITT, M.A .
& J OHN S PERAW
The information contained in this book is based upon the research and personal and professional experiences of the authors. It is not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician or other healthcare provider. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should be done under the direction of a healthcare professional.
The publisher does not advocate the use of any particular healthcare protocol but believes the information in this book should be available to the public. The publisher and authors are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book. Should the reader have any questions concerning the appropriateness of any procedures or preparation mentioned, the authors and the publisher strongly suggest consulting a professional healthcare advisor.
Basic Health Publications, Inc.
8200 Boulevard East
North Bergen, NJ 07047
1-201-868-8336
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lovitt, Michelle, 1971–
Exercise for your muscle type / Michelle Lovitt and John Speraw.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-59120-641-5
ISBN 1-59120-066-0
1. Physical fitness. 2. Exercise. 3. Muscles. I. Speraw, John, 1969–II. Title.
RA781.L627       2004
613.7'1—dc22
2004002012
Copyright © 2004 Michelle Lovitt, M.A., and John Speraw
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
Editor: John Anderson
Typesetter/Book design: Gary A. Rosenberg
Cover design: Mike Stromberg
Photographer: Mike Medby
Printed in the United States of America
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Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
1. Muscle Types and Your Exercise Plan
2. The Six-Week Base Level Fitness Plan
3. Determining Your Muscle Type
4. Choosing an Exercise Plan
5. Nutrition and Exercise
Conclusion
Appendices
A. Exercise Instructions
B. Calculating Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
C. Muscle Determination Graphs
Endnotes
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank a number of people who were helpful during the process of completing Exercise for Your Muscle Type. First, we want to thank our parents for their love, support, and guidance. Thanks also to Jeff Nygaard, Angie Akers, Jeremy Akers, Robyn Hyden, and Mike Medby. Professors Dr. Jacobo Morales, Dr. Tim Anderson, and Dr. Don Diboll—thank you for your valuable insights. Thanks to Eric Daly for his statistical work. Thank you to Easton Gym in Santa Monica and the UC–Irvine weight room. Finally, thank you to Jack Challem and Norman Goldfind for giving us the opportunity to try and make a difference.
Preface
L ying in bed one morning, I was thinking about my exercise program. I knew I needed an increased amount of aerobic activity, not only to better my cardiovascular fitness, but also to lower my body fat. I decided that increasing aerobic activity probably meant jogging long distances. However, I despise jogging. For me, it is intensely boring, difficult on my body, and my knees begin to ache after the first mile. This alone made me realize that my body was not predisposed for long-distance aerobic activity.
From my experiences at the University of California, Los Angeles, as a volleyball player and my studies in molecular genetics and biochemistry, I knew that every person has both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers. Fast-twitch fibers are responsible for explosive, powerful movements, while slow-twitch fibers are used during endurance activities. My body is composed mostly of fast-twitch muscle fibers. It was no wonder I did not like jogging: with such a large amount of fast-twitch fiber, my body was not designed for endurance sports.
However, this knowledge about my body type was not easily obtained. It took years of training as an athlete to achieve a 38-inch vertical jump, a clear indication of explosive, fast-twitch muscle fiber. I began to wonder if other people whose bodies were designed like mine had similar experiences with endurance training. This led me to an even more important question: Does an unathletic person who sits behind a desk for ten years know anything about his or her muscle composition, let alone care how it can affect exercise? Probably not.
Many people in this situation start an exercise program by going to a gym to work with a personal trainer toward the goal of losing body fat. In many cases, the first thing trainers will do is put their clients on a treadmill or other cardiovascular equipment. Maybe these people are like me and hate the treadmill. Perhaps they have not had the opportunity to train at a sport for years, and have not determined their muscle type and preferred, personalized exercise program. So they spend time on the treadmill, but don’t find much success achieving their goals. Unfortunately, after failing with generic programs not suited for them, they eventually quit, because they are neither enjoying the exercise nor achieving results justifying the time spent on them. Then they go back behind the desk and live a less healthy life. The most efficient way to achieve your goals is by developing your body according to its muscle type.
As I considered these things, I thought to myself, “How can I reach these people and help them achieve their personal fitness goals?” I realized reaching people must begin by asking, “What muscle type are you?”
Over the years, I have read a variety of ideas about how to personalize a fitness plan. There are ideas about training based on body shape, or to address the individual location of excess body fat. For example, a pear-shaped person would be suited to a different program than one geared to someone carrying weight in the midsection. To me, all of these plans miss the point. Exercising must begin by examining body structure at the genetic level. It is critical to understand that people are built not by shape but by their muscular structure. Thus, the idea for this book was first conceived as a means for developing an exercise plan based on a person’s genetic predisposition to specific muscle structures.
It was while I was considering putting these thoughts together into a book that I met Michelle Lovitt. During the years she was a strength and conditioning coach at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Southern California, she trained several hundred athletes, as well as nonathletes in her private training business. Michelle has an undergraduate degree in sports nutrition and a masters degree in exercise physiology. After getting to know her, I decided to ask her about my idea. She thought it was great and immediately began brainstorming about how to write this book. Together, we developed this program to determine each person’s muscle makeup, and how that should apply to an exercise plan.
Our quest to develop a personalized exercise plan based on muscle type has also led us to other necessary questions. What if you are a fast-twitch muscle type who enjoys a slow-twitch activity, such as long-distance running? How do you train for that? Should you change sports? Are there nutritional implications for your body based on muscle type? How do you determine your muscle type in the first place? How do these plans change, based on your current fitness level? Rest assured, we answered all these questions and more. We hope this book brings you a better understanding of who you are and how you are built. Use this information to live a healthier, happier life.
—John Speraw
Over the past ten years, I worked with many elite, amateur athletes at the Division I collegiate level. My background in nutrition and exercise science helped me train these athletes, to the best of my ability, to become fitter, faster, stronger, and healthier. It was not until I met John Speraw that I realized the training programs I used to develop fast-twitch muscle fiber in athletes were applicable to the general population.
After much research, we came up with what I believe to be the best exercise and nutrition program available. It is a unique plan because it is designed specifically for you and your muscle fiber type. Remember that exercise, in conjunction with a balanced diet, ensures the lifelong benefits of good health.
—Michelle Lovitt
Introduction
T his book is different from any other exercise book you may have read. Most exercise books offer a generic, one-size-fits-all approach to fitness, with the same workouts for everyone. Unfortunately, everyone is different. Each body possesses a unique combination of muscle fibers. Understanding your muscle makeup can have a huge impact on your exercise program, a fact that, until now, has been largely ignored.
The body has both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers. Fast-twitch fibers are responsible for explosive, powerful movements—jumping, weight lifting, and so on. Slow-twitch fibers are used during endurance activities, such as walking and running. Many exercise programs do a sufficient job of developing slow-twitch fiber, but the average person has 45 to 55 percent fast-twitch muscle fiber in his or her body. 1 This means that most workouts ignore about half of the average body!
Each person has a unique, individualized percentage of fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibers, a kind of muscular signature. You may have been frustrated with previous exercise programs or activities, but it may simply be the wrong program for your body’s muscular structure. This book will eliminate the frustration, by showing how you are built and helping you put together a comprehensive exercise program appropriate just for you.

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