I know this topic has been discussed A LOT!
But I have some thoughts, that I haven't seen discussed anywhere else, so here goes.
Sorry to stir this topic up again, but this is something that has been in my mind for a long time.
But I have some thoughts, that I haven't seen discussed anywhere else, so here goes.
- It's important to have a high mitochondrial/capillary density - Is it possible that increasing the CSA/size of a muscle leaves more room for more total mitochondria? I know this wont improve the density, but wouldn't this allow for a higher number of total mitochondria?
- So if a rider wasn't too concerned about his power to weight ratio but more concerned about his total watts (time trialist) Wouldn't a bigger muscle allow this rider to build more total mitochondria/capillaries, even though the density would be worse?
- We often talk about BIG riders having a bigger absolute Vo2max (liters/minute) than smaller riders. or even muscular riders vs. skinny riders of the same height. if this doesn't have to do with muscle size, then why is it?
- When someone is talking about losing weight, they often say they don't want to lose too much since losing muscle will worsen power - if muscle size has nothing to do with power, and it's only the density of the muscle that's important - why are we worrying about this aspect when losing weight? I may be wrong, but wouldn't a muscle with a certain density, have the same density if that muscle had 20% of it's mass removed?
Sorry to stir this topic up again, but this is something that has been in my mind for a long time.