Distance runners legs vs sprinter legs...

Kimblesnbits
Kimblesnbits Posts: 321 Member
edited October 4 in Fitness and Exercise
This might be a dumb question but it seems like sprinters have the nicest legs ever, so muscular and toned, but distance runners are not as built (Im sure they have nice legs as well!)...why is that?! Just curious is all :)

Replies

  • feydruss
    feydruss Posts: 349 Member
    I believe that people who excel at long distance running tend to use more slow twitch muscle fibers and sprinters more fast twitch fibers. That makes a difference as to how the muscle is built and strengthened. Hopefully somebody with more physiology knowledge can jump in here with a better explanation!
  • cirellim
    cirellim Posts: 269
    There are 2 kinds of muscle fibers, quick twitch and slow twitch. Quick twitch tend to be big and thick while the slow twitch tend to be longer and more thin. Long distance runners are creating much more slow twitch fibers in their workouts whereas short distance sprinters are activating the fast twitch muscle fibers therefore building thicker more built looking (toned) legs.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Someone else will probably chime in here any minute and explain this better than me.. But the basic idea is that the long distance runners are burning through muscle (in addition to fat and glycogen). The sprinters burn less.. I'm not entirely sure why. It's a shorter duration at higher intensity. Perhaps they don't run long enough to diminish all of their glycogen stores.
  • justincantwell
    justincantwell Posts: 7 Member
    Its like comparing a person who does just cardio to a person who does cardio & weights. For long distance runners adding more muscle to their body can be counter productive (making the legs bigger and weigh more). Marathon runners burn so much calories it would be darn near impossible to maintain that good lean muscle mass. Distance runners also (serious ones at least) eat a diet consisting of a lot of carbs (great source of fuel) while sprints would eat more like an athlete/bodybuilder type (higher protein and better balance nutrition). SO if you want sexy legs, arms, abs like a sprinter eat more lean protein and lift more weights.
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