Repetition Makes Muscles More Efficient

Training is specific, so the more you practice your sport, the better you are able to do it. That's why triathletes who compete and train in three sports are relatively mediocre in each sport when compared to those who only run, cycle or swim. (Sports Biomechanics, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2007). In this study, elite cyclists produced significantly more effective force on their pedals than triathletes. They had far less wasted side-to-side motion, and they required less oxygen to do the same amount of work.

Repeating the same motion over and over causes your muscles to become more efficient so they can generate more power with less oxygen. For example, when you run, you use your arms to maintain your center of gravity. When your right leg moves forward, so does your left arm; your left leg and right arm move backward. Efficiency requires that you move your body forward with the least motion wasted going side to side, so that the more energy you use to drive your body forward, the less oxygen your muscles require. The same efficiency is required in pedaling a bicycle. You are supposed to move your pedals through a full 360 degrees, rather than just pushing through one phase of pedaling, and you move your body from side to side as little as possible.

In competitive sports today, the best athletes put in the most time training. Runners usually run more than 100 miles a week, cyclists often go over 400 miles a week, and weight lifters spend many hours each day in the gym lifting prodigious amounts of weights. If you want to compete at a high level, you need to spend a lot of time practicing. More on training and fitness