Characteristics Of Skeletal Muscles In Cyclists

As a kid, riding your bicycle was fun. You went from training wheels to two wheels, slow to fast. For some adults, that love of cycling continues whether they choose to do it for exercise or competition. As you cycle and continually challenge your body, the skeletal muscles adapt and change to allow increased efficiency, speed and fitness.

Skeletal Muscle

Skeletal muscle -- voluntary muscle that moves your skeleton -- allows you to perform activities such as cycling. The National Strength and Conditioning Association considers each individual skeletal muscle an organ that contains muscle tissue, connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels. They appear striated and, through physical training, you can increase the endurance and strength of skeletal muscles. Each person possesses three basic fiber types. Athletes in different sports often have different amounts of fiber types that make them better at their activity.

Muscles in Cycling

You'll find the major muscle groups used in cycling located in your lower body. The quadriceps group and hamstrings group allow you to pedal in a continuous push/pull motion and prove the most active during your workout or competition. The muscles in your core, upper back and arms also get used, but as stabilizers and not prime movers. The lower body muscles create the effective, purposeful movements in cycling.

Cycling Skeletal Muscle Characteristics

The type of cycling that you do relates to skeletal muscle characteristics. Sprint cyclists tend to have a higher ratio of type II fibers, or fast twitch fibers, compared to distance cyclists. Fast twitch fibers have a fast contraction speed, low fatigue resistance, high force and power output and lower endurance. This makes sense for sprint cyclists, whose sport lasts a shorter time and has a higher intensity when compared to distance cyclists. Distance cyclists tend to have more type I, or slow twitch fibers, and these characteristics include high endurance and fatigue resistance with a slower contraction speed and less force and power output.

Considerations

Train your body and adapt to your chosen type of cycling. Through systematic training, your skeletal muscle adapts and becomes more efficient as long as you continually overload and challenge them. One type of cycling comes easier than the other due to natural genetics. However, only a muscle biopsy -- a painful and often unnecessary process unless you are participating in a study -- determines your fiber types.