Chapter 45, Problem 15PIAT

Summary Introduction

To review:

The relationship between athletic performance and muscle-fiber types on the basis of the data given in the question.

Introduction:

The elite runners have a higher proportion of slow muscle fibers on average than nonelite runners or untrained subjects. The slow muscle fibers contract slowly and therefore, the elite runners get exhausted slowly. Thus, the trained elite distance runners contain slow muscle fibers and therefore, their performance is high. The mean proportion of slow fibers in elite runners is 79. The individual values ranged from 27 percent in one runner to 98 percent in another.